Lead hydrogen arsenate

<h2 id="production-and-structure">Production and structure</h2>
It is usually produced using the following reaction, which leads to formation of the desired product as a solid precipitate:

Pb(NO3)2 + H3AsO4 → PbHAsO4 +2 HNO3
It has the same structure as the hydrogen phosphate PbHPO4. Like lead sulfate PbSO4, these salts are poorly soluble.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4">4</a>

<h2 id="uses">Uses</h2>
As an insecticide, it was introduced in 1898 used against the <a href="/facts/Gypsy_moth/qcxPEdAI">gypsy moth</a> in <a href="/facts/Massachusetts/9uumCbFI">Massachusetts</a>. It represented a less soluble and less toxic alternative to then-used <a href="/facts/Paris_Green/VXU3U44V">Paris Green</a>, which is about 10x more toxic.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5">5</a> It also adhered better to the surface of the plants, further enhancing and prolonging its insecticidal effect.
Lead arsenate was widely used in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, US, England, France, North Africa, and many other areas, principally against the <a href="/facts/Codling_moth/Myc8Lxc5">codling moth</a> and snow-white linden moth.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6">6</a> It was used mainly on <a href="/facts/Apple/SF1WND0v">apples</a>, but also on other fruit trees, garden crops, turfgrasses, and against <a href="/facts/Mosquito/u8hTMTfc">mosquitoes</a>. In combination with <a href="/facts/Ammonium_sulfate/9vtbmLww">ammonium sulfate</a>, it was used in southern <a href="/facts/California/zLW2vdQJ">California</a> as a winter treatment on lawns to kill <a href="/facts/Crab_grass/p8fPKsuU">crab grass</a> seed.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7">7</a>
The search for a substitute was commenced in 1919, when it was found that its residues remain in the products despite washing their surfaces. Alternatives were found to be less effective or more toxic to plants and animals, until 1947 when <a href="/facts/DDT/RfYXlCuF">DDT</a> was found. US EPA banned use of lead arsenate on food crops in 1988.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8">8</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9">9</a>

<h2 id="safety">Safety</h2>
<a href="/facts/LD50/PSTer8Wv">LD50</a> is 1050 mg/kg (rat, oral).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10">10</a>
<a href="/facts/Morchella/4AccCGdR">Morel mushrooms</a> growing in old <a href="/facts/Apple/SF1WND0v">apple</a> <a href="/facts/Orchard/N7jv0Wrz">orchards</a> that had been treated with lead arsenate may <a href="/facts/Bioaccumulation/KaHzFKnL">accumulate</a> levels of toxic <a href="/facts/Lead/EYljasJN">lead</a> and <a href="/facts/Arsenic/k1c4f44D">arsenic</a> that are unhealthy for human consumption.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11">11</a>
Lead arsenate was used as an insecticide in deciduous fruit trees from 1892<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12">12</a> until around 1947 in Washington. Peryea et al. studied the distribution of Pb and As in these soils, concluding that these levels were above maximum tolerance levels. This indicates that these levels could be of environmental concern and potentially could be contaminating the groundwater in the area.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13">13</a>

<h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>
<ul><li><a href="/facts/Calcium_arsenate/AtdX6e5l">Calcium arsenate</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>
<ul><li><a href="https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/csem.html">Case Studies in Environmental Medicine - Arsenic Toxicity</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/csem.html">Case Studies in Environmental Medicine - Lead Toxicity</a></li>
<li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080111154608/http://www.npi.gov.au/database/substance-info/profiles/50.html">National Pollutant Inventory - Lead and Lead Compounds Fact Sheet</a></li>
<li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081207174027/http://soils.tfrec.wsu.edu/leadhistory.htm">Lead arsenate history</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1">Hertfordshire, University of. "Lead arsenate". sitem.herts.ac.uk. Retrieved 2024-12-30. <a href="https://sitem.herts.ac.uk/aeru/ppdb/en/Reports/2553.htm" target="_blank">https://sitem.herts.ac.uk/aeru/ppdb/en/Reports/2553.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:2">Peryea F.J. 1998. Historical use of lead arsenate insecticides, resulting in soil contamination and implications for soil remediation. Proceedings, 16th World Congress of Soil Science, Montpellier, France. 20-26. Aug. Available online: http://soils.tfrec.wsu.edu/leadhistory.htm Archived 2008-12-07 at the Wayback Machine <a href="/wiki/Soil_contamination" target="_blank">/wiki/Soil_contamination</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:3">Peryea F.J. 1998. Historical use of lead arsenate insecticides, resulting in soil contamination and implications for soil remediation. Proceedings, 16th World Congress of Soil Science, Montpellier, France. 20-26. Aug. Available online: http://soils.tfrec.wsu.edu/leadhistory.htm Archived 2008-12-07 at the Wayback Machine <a href="/wiki/Soil_contamination" target="_blank">/wiki/Soil_contamination</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:4">Wilson, C. C.; Cox, P. J.; Stewart, N. S. (1991). "Structure and disorder in schultenite, lead hydrogen arsenate". Journal of Crystallographic and Spectroscopic Research. 21 (5): 589–593. doi:10.1007/BF01161081. S2CID 95449522. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Doi_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:5">Metcalf Deceased, Robert L.; Horowitz, Abraham Rami (2014). "Insect Control, 2. Individual Insecticides". Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH. doi:10.1002/14356007.s14_s01. ISBN 9783527306732. <a href="9783527306732" target="_blank">9783527306732</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:6">Herrick, Glenn Washington (1910). "The Snow-white Linden Moth". <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=sUYiAQAAMAAJ&q=snow+white+linden+moth+information&pg=PA52" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=sUYiAQAAMAAJ&q=snow+white+linden+moth+information&pg=PA52</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:7">Sunset Western Garden Book (1954), p.69 <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:8">Historic Arsenical Pesticide Research (PDF) (Report). US Environmental Protection Agency Office of Pesticide Programs. 2004. Retrieved 22 January 2020. EPA banned use of lead arsenate on food crops in 1988. <a href="https://semspub.epa.gov/work/05/259803.pdf" target="_blank">https://semspub.epa.gov/work/05/259803.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:9">Inorganic Arsenicals; Intent to Cancel Registrations for Pesticide Products Registered for Non-Wood Preservative Use; Conclusion of Special Review. Federal Register: 53: 126 (Report). United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). June 1988. pp. 24787–24796. <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:10">Metcalf Deceased, Robert L.; Horowitz, Abraham Rami (2014). "Insect Control, 2. Individual Insecticides". Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH. doi:10.1002/14356007.s14_s01. ISBN 9783527306732. <a href="9783527306732" target="_blank">9783527306732</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:11">Shavit, Elinoar; Shavit, Efrat (Spring 2010). "Lead and Arsenic in Morchella esculenta Fruitbodies Collected in Lead Arsenate Contaminated Apple Orchards in the Northeastern United States: A Preliminary Study" (PDF). Fungi Magazine. 3 (2): 11–18. <a href="http://www.fungimag.com/winter-2010-articles/shavit-morels.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.fungimag.com/winter-2010-articles/shavit-morels.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:12">Sherwin-Williams Co. v. Calif. Spray Chemical, Opinion No. 5880, Appeal from the District Court of the United States for the Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Division; John M. Killits, Judge, October 14, 1932. <a href="https://casetext.com/case/sherwin-williams-co-v-calif-spray-chemical" target="_blank">https://casetext.com/case/sherwin-williams-co-v-calif-spray-chemical</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:13">Peryea, F. J.; Creger, T. L. (1994-12-01). "Vertical distribution of lead and arsenic in soils contaminated with lead arsenate pesticide residues". Water, Air, and Soil Pollution. 78 (3): 297–306. doi:10.1007/BF00483038. ISSN 1573-2932. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00483038" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00483038</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
</ol>

Lead hydrogen arsenate open-in-new

Lead hydrogen arsenate