Chicken litter and arsenic.

The article discusses the potential of roxarsone, a chicken feed additive, to contaminate groundwater and food crops in the U.S. Roxarsone, an organic arsenic compound, is commonly applied by most broiler-chicken farms as a feed additive to prevent disease and stimulate growth. However, research revealed that the compound is not absorbed by the tissue but is excreted in poultry manure which is usually applied as a fertilizer on the surrounding farmlands. The transformation of roxarsone into more toxic inorganic arsenic is influenced by Clostridium species through anaerobic respiration mechanism. The use of poultry manure, which contains toxic inorganic arsenic, in agriculture may affect drinking water and food crops.