Objective To know the distribution of arsenic and trace elements in drinking water in the endemic arsenism areas in Shanyin County, Shanxi Province. Methods Drinking water samples were collected from the chronic endemic arsenic poisoning areas of Silizhuang and Shanghexi, Shanyin County, Shanxi Province and HPLC-HG-AFS system was used to analyze the arsenic contents, valence and speciation. The trace elements were determined by ICP-MS. The data were analyzed by SPSS13.0 for windows. Results A total of 63 drinking water samples were determined, 39.68% of them exceeded the standard limit of arsenic level, inorganic arsenic was the main arsenical in drinking water, iAs3+/(iAs3++iAs5+) ratio was 56.17% in the water sample (arsenic was higher than 50 ?g/L) . The contents of Fe, Mn, Hg, Se and Pb in part of drinking water samples exceed the standard limits. No significant difference was seen between the arsenic results determined by HPLC-HG-AFS and ICP-MS. Conclusion Arsenic contamination of drinking water in Shanyin County, Shanxi Province is severe. The most frequently seen arsenic valence state in drinking water is iAs3+. Some trace elements in part of drinking water samples exceed the standard limits, this may aggravate arsenic poisoning.

0.05). Conclusion This method is sensitive, accurate, stabile and is applicable to the determination of inorganic arsenic in groundwater samples.

Inorganic arsenic (iAs) is a metalloid element that exists widely in the environment. Chronic iAs exposure may result in various types of cancer and chronic diseases. Although the mechanism of iAs toxicity is complicated, oxidative stress is the most crucial one that has been verified. Accumulating domestic and foreign epidemiological evidence shows that chronic iAs exposure through drinking water is strongly correlated with the prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Mechanistic studies display that iAs exposure causes pancreaticβ-cell dysfunction and insulin resistance. The dynamic balance between reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and antioxidant response is one of the key factors maintaining normal physiological function. ROS plays a significant role in regulating glucose-stimulated insulin secretion and insulin signal transduction. This paper reviews the role of adaptive antioxidant response mediated by nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 ( Nrf2 ) in ROS signaling disorder resulted from chronic iAs exposure, and ROS signaling in the physiological function of pancreatic β-cell.