Arsenic in groundwater of West Bengal, India: A review of human health risks and assessment of possible intervention options.
TL;DR: Comparing and contrast the similarities and differences in arsenic occurrence in West Bengal with those of other parts of the world and assess the unique socio-cultural factors that determine the risks of exposure to arsenic in local groundwater are compared.
About: This article is published in Science of The Total Environment.The article was published on 2018-01-15. It has received 191 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Arsenic contamination of groundwater & Population.
Citations
More filters
TL;DR: In this paper, an overview of the current scenario of arsenic contamination of groundwater in various countries across the globe with an emphasis on the Indian Peninsula is presented and 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.
Abstract: 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.
337 citations
01 Jan 2005
TL;DR: In this paper, a cross-sectional study assessed the association between arsenic in drinking water and spontaneous abortion, stillbirth, and neonatal death, and found that chronic exposure to arsenic through drinking water has the potential to cause adverse pregnancy outcomes, although the association has not been demonstrated conclusively.
Abstract: Background: Chronic exposure to arsenic through drinking water has the potential to cause adverse pregnancy outcomes, although the association has not been demonstrated conclusively. This cross-sectional study assessed the association between arsenic in drinking water and spontaneous abortion, stillbirth, and neonatal death. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 533 women were interviewed. Information on sociodemographic characteristics, drinking water use, and adverse pregnancy outcomes was obtained through a structured pretested interviewer-administered questionnaire. The respondents reported use of a total of 223 tube wells; for 208 wells, water samples were measured using an ultraviolet/visible spectrophotometry method, whereas 15 were measured by flow-injection hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry (FIHG-AAS). Results: Excess risks for spontaneous abortion and stillbirth were observed among the participants chronically exposed to higher concentrations of arsenic in drinking water after adjusting for participant's height, history of hypertension and diabetes, and (for neonatal death only) age at first pregnancy. Comparing exposure to arsenic concentration of greater than 50 μg/L with 50 μg/L or less, the odds ratios were 2.5 (95% confidence interval = 1.5–4.3) for spontaneous abortion, 2.5 (1.3–4.9) for stillbirth, and 1.8 (0.9–3.6) for neonatal death. Conclusions: These study findings suggest that chronic arsenic exposure may increase the risk of fetal and infant death.
245 citations
TL;DR: This review paper presents progress of adsorption technologies for remediation of As contaminated water using chemically modified natural materials.
213 citations
TL;DR: Considering the toxic effect of some elements, including Pb and As, in the chronic exposure of consumers, it is suggested a continuous evaluation and monitoring of drinking water resources.
Abstract: The present work reports the As, Cr, Cu, Pb, Zn, and Fe concentrations of drinking water samples in Neyshabur Plain, Iran. This study aimed also to ascertain the potential consumers’ health risk of heavy metal intake. Heavy metal concentrations were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry. The highest and lowest average values in the analyzed water samples were observed for Fe (9.78 ± 5.61 μg/L) and As (1.30 ± 2.99 μg/L), respectively. These values were well below the limits recommended by the World Health Organization and the Iranian national standard. Heavy metal pollution index and heavy metal evaluation index were used to evaluate drinking water quality. The risk index was calculated by chronic daily intake and hazard quotient according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency approach. Heavy metal pollution index in all the samples was less than 100, indicating that it is a low-level heavy metal. The total risk of all heavy metals in the urban environment varied from 40.164 × 10−7 to 174.8 × 10−7. In this research, the maximum average of risk belonged to lead and copper with the respective values of 60.10 × 10−7and 33.99 × 10−7 from the selected wells. However, considering the toxic effect of some elements, including Pb and As, in the chronic exposure of consumers, we suggest a continuous evaluation and monitoring of drinking water resources.
165 citations
TL;DR: The results show that 8.81 million people are exposed to arsenic above the limit of 10 μg/L, and an additional 13,070 lifetime cases of cancer are expected from this arsenic exposure alone, which is concentrated in the arid states of north-central Mexico.
117 citations
References
More filters
TL;DR: The scale of the problem in terms of population exposed to high As concentrations is greatest in the Bengal Basin with more than 40 million people drinking water containing ‘excessive’ As as mentioned in this paper.
6,741 citations
TL;DR: This review deals with environmental origin, occurrence, episodes, and impact on human health of arsenic, a metalloid occurs naturally, being the 20th most abundant element in the earth's crust.
3,166 citations
01 Jan 2009
TL;DR: Arsenic in drinking water: not just a problem for Bangladesh D. van Halem, S. A. Bakker, G. L. Amy, and J. C. van Dijk Delft University of Technology.
Abstract: Arsenic in drinking water: not just a problem for Bangladesh D. van Halem, S. A. Bakker, G. L. Amy, and J. C. van Dijk Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Stevinweg 1, 2628 CN Delft, The Netherlands UNESCO-IHE, Westvest 7, 2611 AX Delft, The Netherlands Received: 11 December 2008 – Accepted: 15 February 2009 – Published: 26 February 2009 Correspondence to: D. van Halem (d.vanhalem@tudelft.nl) Published by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the Delft University of Technology.
1,696 citations
TL;DR: Sedimentological study of the Ganges alluvial sediments shows that the arsenic derives from the reductive dissolution of arsenic-rich iron oxyhydroxides, which in turn are derived from weathering of base-metal sulphides.
Abstract: In Bangladesh and West Bengal, alluvial Ganges aquifers used for public water supply are polluted with naturally occurring arsenic, which adversely affects the health of millions of people. Here we show that the arsenic derives from the reductive dissolution of arsenic-rich iron oxyhydroxides, which in turn are derived from weathering of base-metal sulphides. This finding means it should now be possible, by sedimentological study of the Ganges alluvial sediments, to guide the placement of new water wells so they will be free of arsenic.
1,454 citations
TL;DR: In some areas of Bangladesh and West Bengal, concentrations of As in groundwater exceed guide concentrations, set internationally and nationally at 10 to 50 m gl ˇ1 and may reach levels in the mg l ˆ 1 range.
1,188 citations