Public health consequences of arsenical antimicrobial drugs used in industrial poultry production

Arsenical drugs used in poultry production and found in PHW raise concerns for potential human exposures to arsenic that may arise from both use of pelletized waste fertilizers and consumption of chicken products. Since the 1950s, domestic production of poultry has grown substantially, and poultry producing farms have decreased in number, increased in size, and become more localized to particular geographic regions. The traditional strategy for management of poultry house waste (PHW) is application to agricultural land. Eutrophication of nearby surface waters resulting from transfer of nitrogen and phosphorus from nutrient-saturated farmland has pushed producers of poultry to look to other ways to manage PHW, such as waste pelletization. The presence of arsenic in PHW as a result of its use as a feed additive complicates waste management. Arsenic is a known human carcinogen, and chronic exposures to the metalloid have been associated with cardiovascular, skin and neurological effects, as well as diabetes. The presented research includes a discussion of various environmental media impacted by use of arsenical feed additives, an analysis of arsenic concentrations in pelletized PHW, and a multipathway probabilistic assessment of risks to evaluate human exposures to arsenic resulting from the use of pelletized PHW. Based on risk estimations, interventions to reduce or eliminate arsenic exposures are examined and policy recommendations are suggested.