Environmental arsenic exposure and its contribution to human diseases, toxicity mechanism and management.

A review on the environmental impact of phosphogypsum and potential health impacts through the release of nanoparticles.

The arsenic occurrence in groundwater and the associated health impacts has been a global issue for the last few decades. Chronic exposure to arsenic can cause skin lesions, obstructive pulmonary disease, black-foot disease, etc., and even lead to cancer in various body organs. This paper presents a comprehensive overview of the sources, occurrence, exposure routes, health effects of arsenic, and its removal techniques. The recent research on arsenic removal has been highlighted with a special emphasis on field-scale treatment processes. The global arsenic mapping revealed that regional geological formation in different river basins influences the scattered arsenic distribution worldwide. The treatment methods are extensively explored in research with the development of numerous techniques, such as adsorption, ion-exchange, membrane technology, etc. However, the field scale applicability of these technologies is affected due to their technical feasibility in a large-scale application, sludge management, secondary pollution, and financial constraints. LCA can be used as an effective decision tool for evaluating the applicability and practical solutions for various treatment methods. In this paper, the sustainability framework for various technologies concerning field-scale arsenic removal has been assessed. It was observed that adsorption has shown good sustainability in many aspects, whereas high performance and low financial sustainability is associated with the membrane process. The present review catalyzes the multifaceted aspects of arsenic research and also provide guidelines to the field-based sustainable arsenic removal technologies, which in turn bring forth pragmatic solutions for the policymakers and engineers.

Status and management of arsenic pollution in groundwater: A comprehensive appraisal of recent global scenario, human health impacts, sustainable field-scale treatment technologies

Machine learning in natural and engineered water systems.

Arsenic is present naturally in many geological formations around the world and has been found to be a major source of contamination of groundwater in some countries. This form of contamination represents a serious threat to health, economic and social well-being, particularly in under-developed countries and remote communities. The chemistry of arsenic and the factors that influence the form(s) in which it may be present and its fate when introduced into the environment is discussed briefly in this review. A global overview of arsenic contamination of groundwater around the world is then discussed. As a case study, the identified and established causes of groundwater contamination by arsenic in Bangladesh is highlighted and a perspective is provided on the consequential health, agricultural, social and economic impacts. In addition, the relevant removal strategies that have been developed and can generally be used to remediate arsenic contamination are discussed. Also, the possible influence of groundwater inorganic compositions, particularly iron and phosphate, on the effectiveness of arsenic removal is discussed. Furthermore, some specific examples of the filter systems developed successfully for domestic arsenic removal from groundwater to provide required potable water for human consumption are discussed. Lastly, important considerations for further improving the performance and effectiveness of these filter systems for domestic use are outlined.

Arsenic contamination of groundwater and its implications for drinking water quality and human health in under‐ developed countries and remote communities—a review

More than 2.5 billion people on the globe rely on groundwater for drinking and providing high-quality drinking water has become one of the major challenges of human society. Although groundwater is considered as safe, high concentrations of heavy metals like arsenic (As) can pose potential human health concerns and hazards. In this paper, we present an overview of the current scenario of arsenic contamination of groundwater in various countries across the globe with an emphasis on the Indian Peninsula. With several newly affected regions reported during the last decade, a significant increase has been observed in the global scenario of arsenic contamination. It is estimated that nearly 108 countries are affected by arsenic contamination in groundwater (with concentration beyond maximum permissible limit of 10 ppb recommended by the World Health Organization. The highest among these are from Asia (32) and Europe (31), followed by regions like Africa (20), North America (11), South America (9) and Australia (4). More than 230 million people worldwide, which include 180 million from Asia, are at risk of arsenic poisoning. Southeast Asian countries, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, China, Nepal, Vietnam, Burma, Thailand and Cambodia, are the most affected. In India, 20 states and 4 Union Territories have so far been affected by arsenic contamination in groundwater. An attempt to evaluate the correlation between arsenic poisoning and aquifer type shows that the groundwater extracted from unconsolidated sedimentary aquifers, particularly those which are located within the younger orogenic belts of the world, are the worst affected. More than 90% of arsenic pollution is inferred to be geogenic. We infer that alluvial sediments are the major source for arsenic contamination in groundwater and we postulate a strong relation with plate tectonic processes, mountain building, erosion and sedimentation. Prolonged consumption of arsenic-contaminated groundwater results in severe health issues like skin, lung, kidney and bladder cancer; coronary heart disease; bronchiectasis; hyperkeratosis and arsenicosis. Since the major source of arsenic in groundwater is of geogenic origin, the extend of pollution is complexly linked with aquifer geometry and aquifer properties of a region. Therefore, remedial measures are to be designed based on the source mineral, climatological and hydrogeological scenario of the affected region. The corrective measures available include removing arsenic from groundwater using filters, exploring deeper or alternative aquifers, treatment of the aquifer itself, dilution method by artificial recharge to groundwater, conjunctive use, and installation of nano-filter, among other procedures. The vast majority of people affected by arsenic contamination in the Asian countries are the poor who live in rural areas and are not aware of the arsenic poisoning and treatment protocols. Therefore, creating awareness and providing proper medical care to these people remain as a great challenge. Very few policy actions have been taken at international level over the past decade to reduce arsenic contamination in drinking water, with the goal of preventing toxic impacts on human health. We recommend that that United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and WHO should take stock of the global arsenic poisoning situation and launch a global drive to create awareness among people/medical professionals/health workers/administrators on this global concern.

Arsenic contamination of groundwater: A global synopsis with focus on the Indian Peninsula

The present study was conducted in three villages of district Budgam in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, to find out how farmers differentiate the quality of soils and to determine the level of concurrence between farmers perception and scientific assessment of soil quality. Five fields in each village were selected and ranked on the basis of soil quality indices computed from the minimum data set of indicators, including plant available nutrients N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S, OC, BD, WHC (water holding capacity), CEC (cation exchange capacity) as well as microbial count. The respondents ranked the same 5 selected fields on the bases of their experience and perceptions of soil quality. The study reveals that 58% of farmers ranked the best soils correctly whereas, the percentage of farmers who ranked 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th soils correctly was 40, 30, 40, and 45%, respectively. The study found that a greater number of farmers from the remotest village Dalwash were able to judge the soils properly, thereby indicating more profound knowledge and better cognitive abilities to understand soils in the local context. The results divulged by the current study highlight the remarkable local soil knowledge of the farmers and therefore, linking this knowledge system with scientific concepts would prove valuable for sustained land-use management.

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Comparative Analysis of Soil Quality Assessment and Its Perception by Rice Farmers

It is paramount to assess the social and economic status of the farmers in the adaptation of any agroecosystem. Studies on the impact of socio-economic factors specifically in the agroforestry system adaption are meager in Uttar Pradesh. The present research was carried out in the villages of the three selected districts (Kaushambi, Pratapgarh, and Allahabad) of Eastern Uttar Pradesh with 750 respondents in 2020. The investigation aimed to assess the reasons in the study area to adopt the agroforestry models. A simple random sampling technique was employed to select the respondents and primary, as well as secondary data, were used for qualitative and quantitative analysis by using an appropriate statistical design. Results showed that socio-economic factors, like family size, education, and age of the farmers greatly impacted the adaptation and difference in combinations of agroforestry systems. The land area under Agroforestry in Kaushambi with 54% followed by Pratapgarh (52%) and Allahabad (50%). the majority of the farmers adopted trees on their farmland for traditional purposes in the Kaushambi district (72%) and in Pratapgarh and Allahabad districts 72% and 70% respectively. The adoption of agroforestry systems for commercial purposes was observed highest in Allahabad (18%) followed by Kaushambi (16%) and Pratapgarh (12%). The Agrisilviculture system is practiced in the three districts and there were different combinations recorded in Pratapgarh (Teak+paddy: 96%); Allahabad (Eucalyptus+mustard: 96%) and Kaushambi (Teak+ mustard: 95.6%) districts. Conclusively, this study would be an asset and provide an idea for the policymakers in implementing or promoting agroforestry system practices in Uttar Pradesh.

B.V. Divya

Papers

Arsenic contamination of groundwater: A global synopsis with focus on the Indian Peninsula

Comparative Analysis of Soil Quality Assessment and Its Perception by Rice Farmers

Adaptation Reasons for Agroforestry in the Study Area of Eastern Uttar Pradesh, India