Editing Arsenic (section)

== History ==
[[File:Mineraly.sk - realgar.jpg|thumb|Realgar]]
[[File:Arsenic symbol.svg|upright=0.35|thumb|[[Alchemical symbol]] for arsenic]]

The word ''arsenic'' has its origin in the [[Syriac language|Syriac]] word {{lang|arc|ܙܪܢܝܟܐ}} ''zarnika'',<ref name="etymonline.com">{{OEtymD|arsenic|access-date = 2010-05-15}}</ref><ref name="oed |arsenic">{{oed |arsenic}}</ref> from Arabic al-zarnīḵ {{lang|ar|الزرنيخ}} 'the [[orpiment]]', based on [[Persian language|Persian]] zar ("gold") from the word {{lang|fa|زرنيخ}} ''zarnikh'', meaning "yellow" (literally "gold-colored") and hence "(yellow) orpiment". It was adopted into [[Greek language|Greek]] (using [[folk etymology]]) as ''arsenikon'' ({{lang|grc|ἀρσενικόν}}) – a neuter form of the Greek adjective ''arsenikos'' ({{lang|grc| ἀρσενικός}}), meaning "male", "virile".

[[Latin]]-speakers adopted the Greek term as {{Lang|la|arsenicum}}, which in French ultimately became {{Lang|fr|arsenic}}, whence the English word "arsenic".<ref name="oed |arsenic"/>
Arsenic sulfides (orpiment, [[realgar]]) and oxides have been known and used since ancient times.<ref name="Curiosa">{{cite journal |last1=Bentley |first1=Ronald |last2=Chasteen |first2=Thomas G. |title=Arsenic Curiosa and Humanity |journal=The Chemical Educator |date=April 2002 |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=51–60 |doi=10.1007/s00897020539a }}</ref> [[Zosimos of Panopolis|Zosimos]] ({{circa|300 AD}}) describes roasting ''sandarach'' (realgar) to obtain ''cloud of arsenic'' ([[arsenic trioxide]]), which he then [[redox|reduces]] to gray arsenic.<ref>{{cite book|title= Makers of Chemistry|author= Holmyard John Eric|publisher= Read Books|date= 2007|isbn= 978-1-4067-3275-7}}</ref> As the symptoms of [[arsenic poisoning]] are not very specific, the substance was frequently used for murder until the advent in the 1830s of the [[Marsh test]], a sensitive chemical test for its presence. (Another less sensitive but more general test is the [[Reinsch test]].) Owing to its use by the ruling class to murder one another and its potency and discreetness, arsenic has been called the "poison of kings" and the "king of poisons".<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hughes |first1=Michael F. |last2=Beck |first2=Barbara D. |last3=Chen |first3=Yu |last4=Lewis |first4=Ari S. |last5=Thomas |first5=David J. |date=2011 |title=Arsenic Exposure and Toxicology: A Historical Perspective |journal=Toxicological Sciences |volume=123 |issue=2 |pages=305–332 |doi=10.1093/toxsci/kfr184 |pmc=3179678 |pmid=21750349}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |doi = 10.1177/0960327107084539 |date = 2007 |title = Arsenic neurotoxicity – a review |volume = 26 |issue = 10 |pages = 823–832 |pmid = 18025055 |journal = Human & Experimental Toxicology |last1 = Vahidnia |first1 = A. |last2 = van der Voet |first2 = G.B. |last3 = De Wolff |first3 = F.A. |bibcode = 2007HETox..26..823V |s2cid = 24138885}}</ref> Arsenic became known as "the inheritance powder" due to its use in killing family members in the [[Renaissance era]].<ref name=Ketha-Garg-2020>{{cite book |last1=Ketha |first1=Hema |last2=Garg |first2=Uttam |year=2020 |chapter=An introduction to clinical and forensic toxicology |title=Toxicology Cases for the Clinical and Forensic Laboratory |pages=3–6 |isbn=978-0-12-815846-3 |doi=10.1016/B978-0-12-815846-3.00001-6 }}</ref>{{efn|
Arsenic was nicknamed 'the inheritance powder' as it was commonly used to poison family members for a fortune in the Renaissance era.<ref name=Ketha-Garg-2020/>
}}

[[File:The Arsenic Labyrinth at Botallack Mine - geograph.org.uk - 490315.jpg|thumb|left|The arsenic labyrinth, part of [[Botallack Mine]], Cornwall]]

During the [[Bronze Age]], arsenic was melted with copper to make [[arsenical bronze]].<ref>{{cite journal |last = Lechtman |first = H. |year = 1996 |title = Arsenic bronze: Dirty copper or chosen alloy? A view from the Americas |journal = Journal of Field Archaeology |volume = 23 |issue = 4 |pages = 477–514 |doi = 10.2307/530550 |jstor = 530550 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Charles |first=J.A. |year= 1967 |title= Early Arsenical Bronzes—A Metallurgical View |journal= American Journal of Archaeology |volume= 71 |issue= 1 |pages= 21–26 |jstor = 501586 |doi = 10.2307/501586}}</ref>
[[Jabir ibn Hayyan]] described the isolation of arsenic before 815 AD.{{efn|
"We find in his [<nowiki/>[[Jabir ibn Hayyan|ibn Hayyan's]]<nowiki/>] writings [...] preparation of various substances (e.g., basic lead carbonatic, arsenic and antimony from their sulphides).<ref name=Sarton>{{cite book |last=Sarton |first=G. |author-link=George Sarton |title=Introduction to the History of Science}}</ref>{{full citation needed|date=April 2025}}
}}
[[Albertus Magnus]] (Albert the Great, 1193–1280) later isolated the element from a compound in 1250, by heating soap together with [[arsenic trisulfide]].<ref name="BuildingBlocks451-3">{{cite book |last= Emsley |first= John |year= 2001 |title= Nature's Building Blocks: An A-Z guide to the elements |pages= 43, 513, 529 |publisher= [[Oxford University Press]] |location= Oxford, UK |isbn= 978-0-19-850341-5 }}</ref> In 1649, [[Johann Schröder (physician)|Johann Schröder]] published two ways of preparing arsenic.<ref>{{cite book |last1= Fourcroy |first1= Antoine-François |author-link1 = Antoine-François de Fourcroy |year= 1804  |title= A general system of chemical knowledge, and its application to the phenomena of nature and art |page = 84 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=PTgwAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA84}}</ref> Crystals of elemental (native) arsenic are found in nature, although rarely.

[[Cadet's fuming liquid]] (impure [[cacodyl]]), often claimed as the first synthetic [[Organometallic chemistry|organometallic compound]], was synthesized in 1760 by [[Louis Claude Cadet de Gassicourt]] through the reaction of [[potassium acetate]] with [[arsenic trioxide]].<ref>{{cite journal |first = Dietmar |last = Seyferth |year = 2001 |title = Cadet's fuming arsenical liquid and the cacodyl compounds of Bunsen |journal = Organometallics |volume = 20 |issue = 8 |pages = 1488–1498 |doi = 10.1021/om0101947 |doi-access = free }}</ref>

[[File:A chemist gives a demonstration involving arsenic Wellcome V0011761.jpg|thumb|Satirical cartoon by [[Honoré Daumier]] of a chemist giving a public demonstration of arsenic, 1841]]

In the [[Victorian era]], women would eat "arsenic" ("[[white arsenic]]" or arsenic trioxide) mixed with vinegar and [[chalk]] to improve the [[complexion]] of their faces, making their skin paler (to show they did not work in the fields).<ref>{{cite news |last=Fould |first=H.S. |date=13 February 1898 |title=Display ad&nbsp;48 – no title |quote=LADIES" [in large print at the top]; [advertises] "Dr. Campbell's Safe Arsenic Complexion Wafers and Fould's Medicated Arsenic Complexion Soap |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |page=28 |place=Washington, DC |id={{ProQuest|143995174}} }}</ref> The accidental use of arsenic in the adulteration of foodstuffs led to the [[1858 Bradford sweets poisoning|Bradford sweet poisoning]] in 1858, which resulted in 21 deaths.<ref name=Food>{{cite journal |first = Alan |last = Turner |year = 1999 |title = The story so far: An overview of developments in UK food regulation and associated advisory committees |department=Viewpoint |journal = [[British Food Journal]] |volume = 101 |issue = 4 |pages = 274–283 |doi =10.1108/00070709910272141}}</ref> From the late 18th&nbsp;century wallpaper production began to use dyes made from arsenic,{{efn|
"At first, green papers were coloured with the traditional mineral pigment verdigris or buy mixing blues and yellows of plant origin. But once Scheele's green began to be produced in quantity, it was adopted as an improvement over the old colours and became a common constituent in wallpaper by 1800."
<ref name=Whorton-2010>
{{cite book
 |last1             = Whorton    |first1 = James C.
 |date              = 28 January 2010
 |orig-date         = 2010
 |chapter           = Walls of death
 |title             = The Arsenic Century: How Victorian Britain was poisoned at home, work, and play
 |edition           = reprint
 |publication-place = Oxford, UK
 |publisher         = Oxford University Press
 |page              = 205
 |isbn              = 978-0-19-162343-1
 |chapter-url       = https://books.google.com/books?id=YnVNX3drptkC
 |access-date       = 1 October 2023
 |quote             = }}
</ref>
}}
which was thought to increase the pigment's brightness.<ref>{{cite book |last = Hawksley |first = Lucinda |year= 2016 |title= Bitten by Witch Fever: Wallpaper & arsenic in the Victorian home |publisher= Thames & Hudson |location= New York, NY }}</ref> One account of the illness and [[Napoleon#Death|1821 death]] of [[Napoleon]] implicates arsenic poisoning involving wallpaper.{{efn|
"The wallpaper-as-arsenic-source of poison made the headlines in 1982 [...] when analysis of a sample of wallpaper from the living room in Longwood, [[Napoleon]]'s residence on [[Saint Helena]], revealed arsenic concentrations of about 0.12&nbsp;g/m²."<ref>
{{cite book
 |last        = Cullen  |first = William R.
 |year        = 2008
 |chapter     = 4.7.1 Was it the arsenic in the wallpaper?
 |title       = Is Arsenic an Aphrodisiac?: The sociochemistry of an element
 |publisher   = Royal Society of Chemistry
 |page        = 146
 |isbn        = 978-0-85404-363-7
 |chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=yyaTdY4UGLMC
 |access-date = 1 October 2023
}}
</ref>
}}

Two arsenic pigments have been widely used since their discovery – [[Paris Green]] in 1814 and [[Scheele's Green]] in 1775. After the toxicity of arsenic became widely known, these chemicals were used less often as pigments and more often as insecticides. In the 1860s, an arsenic byproduct of dye production, London Purple, was widely used. This was a solid mixture of arsenic trioxide, aniline, lime, and ferrous oxide, insoluble in water and very toxic by inhalation or ingestion<ref>{{cite web|url= https://cameochemicals.noaa.gov/chemical/3779|title= London purple|access-date= 24 June 2023|publisher=  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration}}</ref> But it was later replaced with [[Paris Green]], another arsenic-based dye.<ref>{{cite journal | title = Colour in the Garden: 'Malignant Magenta' | first = Susan W. | last = Lanman | journal = Garden History | volume = 28 | issue = 2 | date = 2000 | pages= 209–221 |jstor= 1587270 | doi = 10.2307/1587270}}</ref> With better understanding of the toxicology mechanism, two other compounds were used starting in the 1890s.<ref>{{cite journal | doi = 10.1021/ie50201a018 | title = Insecticides and Fungicides | date = 1926 | last1 = Holton | first1 = E. C. | journal = Industrial & Engineering Chemistry | volume = 18 | issue = 9 | pages = 931–933}}</ref> [[calcium arsenate|Arsenite of lime]] and [[arsenate of lead]] were used widely as insecticides until the discovery of [[DDT]] in 1942.<ref>{{cite journal |doi = 10.1016/S0048-9697(98)00180-6 | title = An assessment of the amounts of arsenical pesticides used historically in a geographical area | date = 1998 | last1 = Murphy | first1 = E. A. | last2 = Aucott | first2 = M. | journal = Science of the Total Environment | volume = 218 | issue = 2–3 | pages = 89–101 | bibcode = 1998ScTEn.218...89M }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | url = https://archive.org/details/CAT85816421 |page= [https://archive.org/details/CAT85816421/page/n5 5] | title = Important Insecticides: Directions for Their Preparation and Use | publisher = U.S. Department of Agriculture | last1 = Marlatt | first1 = C. L. | date = 1897}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=eIJVHFCBI_wC&pg=PA248 |title = Paradise Under Glass: An Amateur Creates a Conservatory Garden |isbn = 978-0-06-199130-1 |last1 = Kassinger |first1 = Ruth |year= 2010|publisher = Harper Collins }}</ref>

In small doses, soluble arsenic compounds act as [[stimulant]]s, and were once popular  as medicine by people in the mid-18th to 19th centuries;<ref name=Holl>{{cite book |first1 = Arnold F. |last1 = Holleman |last2 = Wiberg |first2 = Egon |last3 = Wiberg |first3 = Nils |year = 1985 |chapter = Arsen |trans-chapter = Arsenic |title = Lehrbuch der Anorganischen Chemie |trans-title=Textbook of Inorganic Chemistry |edition = 91–100te |pages = 675–681 |language = de |publisher = Walter de Gruyter |isbn = 978-3-11-007511-3 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last =Haller |first =John S. |year=1975 |title=Therapeutic mule: The use of arsenic in the nineteenth century ''Materia Medica'' |journal=Pharmacy in History |volume=17 |issue=3 |pages=87–100 |jstor=41108920 |pmid=11610136 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Parascandola |first=John |year=2011 |chapter=Chapter&nbsp;5: What kills can cure – arsenic in medicine |title=King of Poisons: A history of arsenic |isbn=978-1-59797-809-5 |oclc=817901966 |pages=145–172 |chapter-url=https://muse.jhu.edu/chapter/1650011 |via=[[Project MUSE]] |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/book/42297 |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |language=en |publication-place=[[Lincoln, Nebraska|Lincoln]], NB }}</ref> this use was especially prevalent for sport animals such as [[race horses]] or [[work dog]]s and continued into the 20th century.<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1016/B978-0-12-420227-6.00014-1 |chapter=Metalloids |title=Veterinary Toxicology for Australia and New Zealand |date=2017 |last1=Cope |first1=Rhian |pages=255–277 |isbn=978-0-12-420227-6 }}</ref>
A 2006 study of the remains of the Australian racehorse [[Phar Lap]] determined that its 1932 death was caused by a massive overdose of arsenic. Sydney veterinarian Percy Sykes stated,
: "In those days, arsenic was quite a common tonic, usually given in the form of a solution ([[Fowler's Solution]]) ... It was so common that I'd reckon 90&nbsp;per cent of the horses had arsenic in their system."<ref>{{cite news |title=Phar Lap arsenic claims premature: Expert |date=2006-10-23 |publisher=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]] |place=Australia |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2006-10-23/phar-lap-arsenic-claims-premature-expert/1292814 |via=abc.net.au |access-date=2016-06-14}}</ref>