On behalf of the organizing committee, we cordially invite you to join the 5th International Congress on Arsenic in the Environment (As2014), to be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina between 11-16 May 2014.
The theme of As2014 is "One century of the discovery of arsenicosis in America (1913-2014)", to commemorate 100 years of the discovery of the effects of arsenic in human life in Latin America.
The Congress intends to invite and integrate researchers involved in
different study areas in an open forum, and to strengthen relations
between academia, industry, research laboratories government agencies
and the private sector to share an optimal atmosphere to interchange
knowledge, discoveries and discussions about the problem of arsenic in
the environment.
Arsenic has been an issue of concern in last decades because of the
serious incidence on human health coming from ingestion of water with
small amounts of arsenic for prolonged periods.
The presence of the element in water intended for drinking has caused
the spread of arsenicosis (known as HACRE, hidroarsenicismo crónico
regional endémico in Spanish), a set of
signs and symptoms manifested mainly by dermatological disorders, such
as melanodermia, leucodermia and/or palmoplantar keratoderma, which may
evolve into more serious pathologies, such as different types of
cancer. The affected populations usually live in countries with
low-income levels, and the disease largely affects dispersed rural and
periurban populations. Around 100 million people are at risk in Asia and
it is estimated that in Latin America the population at risk exceeds 14
million people, with high incidence in Argentina (about 4 million
people), Chile, El Salvador, Mexico, Nicaragua and Peru. In the rest of
the world, the most affected countries are India, China and Bangladesh,
although the presence of arsenic in groundwater has been also found in
some European countries and in the United States.
Since 2006, four events of International Congress on "Arsenic in the
Environment" were held in different countries (Mexico, 2006, Spain,
2008, Taiwan, 2010 and Australia, 2012). In the previous 4th
International Congress of Arsenic in the Environment (Australia, 2012),
Argentina has been elected to host the next Congress. This is consistent
with the fact that, in 2014, 100 years of the discovery of HACRE by Dr.
Abel Ayerza in the city of Bell Ville, Province of Córdoba, are
commemorated. Dr. Ayerza was the first to relate skin disorders with the
consumption of groundwater with high concentrations of arsenic. For
this reason, the organization of the next 5th International Congress in
the Latin American region is considered relevant.
For more information, visit the conference website.