Arsenic-containing compounds have long been known for their toxicity and risks to human health. However, arsenic is a naturally abundant element used in industrial agriculture worldwide. Sodium arsenite is one such compound that has been used as an herbicide, insecticide, and rodenticide. This compound is a known toxicant via ingestion, inhalation, and skin absorption. Much attention has been drawn to developing remediation methods and understanding the risks associated with the environmental pollution of these compounds. We seek to elucidate the potential mechanisms of environmental degradation of sodium arsenite via density functional calculations. We investigated the oxidation of sodium arsenite using hydroxyl radical. Our results indicate that the oxidation proceeds through two addition reactions whereby sodium arsenite (III) converts to the less toxic sodium arsenate (V) via an arsenic (IV) intermediate.

Investigating the degradation of sodium arsenite via oxidation by hydroxyl radicals

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