Advances in migration and transformation of thiolated arsenic and its health risks in soil-water environment and plant system

Thiolated arsenic is a new type of arsenic compounds in which <inline-graphic xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="graphic/631F47A6-F074-4db9-AF33-73FBD9FFCD1C-F503c.jpg"/>O, —OH or —CH₃ are replaced by <inline-graphic xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="graphic/631F47A6-F074-4db9-AF33-73FBD9FFCD1C-F504c.jpg"/>S or —SH in the structure of arsenic material. It has been found to be ubiquitous in flooded sulfur-containing soils, threatening soil health and food safety. With the advancement of analytical methods, new progress has been made in the study of the distribution and environmental behaviors of thiolated arsenic in soil-water environment and plant system. This paper reviewed the related research progress in recent years from the following four aspects: 1) chemical species and analytical methods of thiolated arsenic; 2) biogeochemical behaviors of thiolated arsenic in soil-water environment; 3) migration, transformation, and accumulation of thiolated arsenic in soil-water environment and plant system; 4) accumulation and health risks of thiolated arsenic in rice grains. This review emphasized the changes in the species and content of thiolated arsenic during environmental processes. Furthermore, the development trend of thiolated arsenic was prospected.