The Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Creationism (2018)

Hutchison, A.R., and Bortel, C.F. 2018. The fate of arsenic in Noah’s Flood. 2018. In Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Creationism , ed. J.H. Whitmore, pp. 229–237. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Creation Science Fellowship. THE FATE OFARSENIC IN NOAH’S FLOOD Aaron R. Hutchison , Cedarville University, 251 N. Main St., Cedarville, Ohio 45314 ahutchison@cedarville.edu Campbell F. Bortel , Cedarville University, 251 N. Main St., Cedarville, Ohio 45314 cfbortel@cedarville.edu ABSTRACT One potential consequence of Noah’s Flood would be the mobilization of toxic elements such as arsenic (As), a group 15 metalloid with a significant solubility and redox chemistry in water and a high toxicity to human beings. This paper discusses the likely chemistry of arsenic during the Flood. The Flood would have released arsenic through hydrothermal activity, volcanic eruptions, and weathering of crustal rock. Arsenic in hydrothermal fluid would likely be rapidly precipitated by sulfides. Likewise, much of the arsenic in volcanoes would actually be deposited sub- surface as sulfides. In the presence of oxygen-rich waters, these sulfide minerals can undergo oxidative dissolution, releasing the arsenic back into the water to join that liberated by the weathering of the surface. Iron oxyhydroxides would form in such an environment, however, and these will sorb and remove arsenic from the water once again. In waters rich in organic-carbon, reducing conditions can return periodically. This would lead to reductive dissolution to liberate the arsenic from the iron oxyhydroxides. However, these conditions can also reduce sulfates to sulfides and thus reprecipitate the arsenic sulfide minerals. Furthermore, the extremely rapid formation of sedimentary rock during the Flood would likely bury both the original sulfide minerals and the arsenic-sorbed iron oxyhydroxides before they could be significantly dissolved. The modern distribution of arsenic gives evidence of this; the element is often concentrated in large sedimentary basins adjacent to orogenic belts. It appears that arsenic sulfides (formed during the Flood) were in some cases subject to uplift during orogenesis associated with the Flood and underwent oxidation, resulting in the arsenic being sorbed to iron minerals and clays. These eroded into the foreland basins and were buried before the arsenic could leach into local waters to a major degree. In modern times, however, reductive dissolutions of these deposits has resulted in arsenic poisoning. While arsenic does not threaten the Flood model (rather the Flood explains the modern distribution of arsenic), modern arsenic contamination is an ongoing result of the judgement of the Flood. KEY WORDS Arsenic, Genesis Flood, toxic elements Copyright 2018 Creation Science Fellowship, Inc., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA www.creationicc.org 229 INTRODUCTION Noah’s Flood was the greatest catastrophe in world history, causing massive geochemical upheaval across the planet. Much of the sedimentary rock in existence today was laid down by the Flood. The sediments these rocks were formed from were primarily igneous crust rocks that were crushed and redeposited by the Flood waters (Snelling 2009). This would potentially result in dissolving and mobilizing many elements found within those rocks, including a number of toxic elements. In fact, the potential of the Flood to release mercury into the environment has been raised as an objection to the Flood model (Morton 1998). While this objection does not hold up under examination (Hutchison 2009), mercury is not the only toxic element that might be mobilized by the Flood. An element of particular concern would be arsenic. While to the best of the authors’ knowledge, no anticreationists have cited arsenic release as an objection to the Flood, it would be a reasonable issue to raise and one no Young Earth creationists appears to have addressed yet. Arsenic is a highly toxic metalloid. In water, it is mostly found in the +3 or +5 oxidation state, generally as the oxoanions arsenite (As 3+ , AsO 3 3- with 0, 1, or 2 H + ions attached) and arsenate (As 5+ , AsO 4 3- with 0, 1, or 2 H + ions attached) (Henke and Hutchison 2009). Acute arsenic poisoning (involving doses in the mg per kg body weight range) results in extreme gastrointestinal illness that can lead to fatal dehydration and shock, damage to the heart, and a burning sensation or loss of feeling in the hands and feet. Chronic poisoning is more common and also very serious. It has been associated with cardiovascular disease, including Blackfoot Disease in Taiwan, which is characterized by numbness in the extremities, followed by formation of black, scaly lesions on the skin and gangrene. Chronic arsenic exposure is also clearly linked with the development of lesions on the liver and, perhaps most seriously, skin and bladder cancer (Hughes et al. 2009). While the mechanism behind arsenic poisoning is not well understood, it is believed to primarily involve two chemical processes. As 5+ can replace P 5+ in phosphates, which hinders the production and function of ATP. As 3+ can strongly bind to –SH groups in enzymes, hindering the enzymes’ activity. It is also possible that arsenic redox reactions in the body could lead to oxidative stress and free radical production (O’Day 2006, Hughes et al. 2009). In general, As 3+ is considered to be more toxic that As 5+ , but both valence states are quite dangerous. Dissolved arsenic in groundwater is a serious issue in today’s world. The World Health Organization recommends drinking water contain no more than 10 ppb As (Bowell et al. 2014). Studies have found arsenic levels elevated above this in ground and surface waters on every continent but Antarctica and there have been major episodes of poisoning in Southeast Asia and the Americas. The problem is especially acute in the Bengal Basin of