Arsenic in Cattle Hair after Forests Are Precommercially Thinned with Organic Arsenical Herbicides

摘要

Arsenic levels were measured in hair taken from cattle grazed in northeast Washington forests. The forests were precommercially thinned with MSMA or cacodylic acid. Cattle from two of three study areas showed an increase in arsenic levels during the grazing season. In an untreated area, arsenic levels in cattle also increased during the grazing season. In all cases the levels of arsenic were within the normal range which indicates that herbicides were handled and applied with sufficient care to prevent appreciable exposure of cattle.