Tips & Warnings. Steam the tamales in a specified steamer basket. If you have a steamer pot or basket that does not use a stove top for heating, you will need to pour boiling water into the base of the pot and cover with a lid for 1 to 2 hours. Make reference to the instruction manual provided for your particular model to verify.
Arsenic is a trace element that occurs naturally in very small amounts in the diet. Its exact functions are not known. The estimated adult daily intake of arsenic from a typical diet is 12-50 mcg. A dietary requirement of 12-25 mcg/day has been suggested.
Pure arsenic is a metal and is rare in the environment; arsenic is usually found combined with one or more other elements, such as oxygen or chlorine. Arsenic is also produced as a by-product from the operation of copper, cobalt, and lead smelters. Abandoned uranium mines may contain arsenic in the soil and water.