Inorganic arsenic compounds are found in soils, sediments, and groundwater. Fourth, this paper will discuss the challenges in mitigating and combating arsenic contamination of groundwater in india. Pdf on sep 1, 2018, john m mcarthur published arsenic in groundwater find. Arsenic contamination of groundwater and drinking water in. In humans, arsenic is quickly absorbed after ingestion, while dermal skin exposure to arsenic only results in a small amount of arsenic entering the body. Podgorski and berg used measurements of arsenic in groundwater from.
Due to naturally occurring organic matter in the sediments, the groundwaters are anoxic and rich in iron. Eawag 2015 geogenic contamination handbook addressing arsenic and fluoride in. A 2007 study found that over 7 million people in more. The who says about 150 million people around the world rely on groundwater contaminated with arsenic. Arsenic contamination of groundwater has been identi fied in different parts of the world. In nepal, arsenic as contamination is a major issue of current drinking water supply systems using groundwater and has recently been one of the major environmental health management issues especially in the plain region, i. Arsenic contaminated aquifers are currently estimated to affect 150 million people around the world. Excessive and prolonged exposure of inorganic as with drinking water is. Arsenic is a semimetal element that occurs naturally in the environment, but can also be.
Review article arsenic contamination of groundwater. However, the full extent of the problem remains elusive. Arsenic groundwater contamination 169 level of above 10 mgl, in which more than 6. Arsenic contamination in groundwater affecting holocene. Groundwater concentration of as has been documented. Arsenic in irrigation water, soil and crops foreword natural arsenic contamination of groundwater resources in parts of asia is posing a serious threat to the health of millions of people. They reported the presence of both anthropogenic and naturallyoccurring arsenic 18.
Global overview of groundwater arsenic contamination e contamination of as can be propagated defectively into the groundwater system because as in groundwater and aquifers is mobilized e. Arsenic contamination of natural waters has become an issue of growing concern, particularly in southeast asia, to the extent that the world health organization who declared groundwater contamination on the bengal delta the largest mass poisoning of a population in history. Sustainable remediation of arsenic and chromium in groundwater. Nine districts in west bengal, india, and 42 districts in bangladesh have arsenic levels in groundwater above the world health organization maximum permissible limit of 50 microgl. Bacterial sulfate reduction limits natural arsenic. The usgs studies local and national sources of arsenic to help health officials better manage our water resources. Pdf arsenic groundwater contamination related socio. Elevated levels of arsenic can be found naturally in groundwater in some areas of illinois. Arsenic contamination of groundwater download here. Arsenic contamination in groundwater from the padmameghna plain was first reported in 1995 19,20. Arsenic contamination of irrigation water, soil and crops. The districts of murshidabad, nadia, north 24 parganas, south 24parganas are located to the east of river bhagirathi.
In delaware, little arsenic is found in groundwater or public water. Pdf arsenic contamination of groundwater in west bengal. Groundwater arsenic contamination throughout china science. Industrial and domestic wastes are dumped into water bodies making them unsuitable for human utilization. Arsenic contamination in groundwater bioline international. Known aquifer types and sources of contamination are also included. When groundwater is the transport and exposure medium, we are primarily concerned with ingestion of contaminated water as the route for greatest human exposure to arsenic. Provides a viable reference, describing the stateofknowledge on sources of arsenic contamination in ground water, which affects about 100 million people worldwide. Image caption a map showing the concentrations of arsenic in the water along the indus plain. Abstract groundwater arsenic as contamination is a global public health concern. Arsenic contamination of groundwater wiley online books. Arsenic is a naturally occurring element, but longterm exposure can cause cancer in people. Dinwiddie e and liu xm 2018 examining the geologic link of arsenic contamination in groundwater in orange county, north carolina. Sustainable remediation of arsenic and chromium in.
Arsenic contamination in groundwater of north eastern india. Arsenic groundwater contamination has farreaching consequences including its ingestion through food chain, which are in the form of social disorders, health. Recently, arsenic contamination of the shallow groundwater aquifer has. Groundwater arsenic contamination and sufferings of people have been reported in 20 countries in different parts of the world. Arsenic contamination of groundwater in different parts of the world is an outcome of natural andor anthropogenic sources, leading to adverse effects on human health and ecosystem. The terai inhabitants still use hand tube and dug wells with hand held pumps that are bored at. Arsenic arsenic is a naturally occurring element that is found in combination with either inorganic or organic substances to form many different compounds. Arsenic contamination in groundwater in bangladesh. Arsenic in groundwater igrac international groundwater. Industry, farming and medicine have all used inorganic arsenic compounds.
Arsenic contamination of groundwater emerged unexpectedly as a major health issue in bangladesh in the 1990s, arising from what had been considered a highly successful tubewell boring project advocated for and sponsored in part by unicef. Extensive arsenic contamination in highph unconfined. Arsenic contamination of groundwater by jesshaas issuu. This is also the case in pakistan, where previous studies focused on isolated areas. Five of nine patients, all of whom were ingesting arsenic contaminated water in the study area, exhibited a high concentration of.
Eawag 2015 geogenic contamination handbook addressing arsenic and. Bangladesh, west bengal, india, and sites in china. The solubility of arsenic in groundwater aquifers is controlled by a number of hydrologic and geochemical factors. Water pollution is a major problem faced by modern societies. In an effort to provide a focused assessment of risk to arsenic exposure from groundwater. These attempts have allowed us to understand the various probable causes of arsenic contamination in the environment, and at the same time, have provided a number of possible solutions. Arsenic contamination in groundwater and its proposed remedial. About 200,000 shallow tubewells are installed in the 20 districts that comprise the terai region serving about 11 million people. Arsenic groundwater contamination has farreaching consequences including its ingestion through food chain, which are in the form of social disorders, health hazards and socioeconomic. Arsenic contamination of groundwater is a form of groundwater pollution which is often due to naturally occurring high concentrations of arsenic in deeper levels of groundwater. Using a new data set of nearly 1200 groundwater quality samples throughout pakistan, we have created stateoftheart hazard and risk maps of arsenic. Arsenic is a metallike substance found in small amounts in nature.
It is a highprofile problem due to the use of deep tubewells for water supply in the ganges delta, causing serious arsenic poisoning to large numbers of people. Arsenic contamination of ground water in west bengal. Longterm exposure to arsenic in drinking water is known to increase risks of. Under certain conditions, arsenic can be released into groundwater and enter water wells. Arsenic is a metabolic poison that is present in minute quantities in most rock materials and, under certain natural conditions, can accumulate in aquifers and cause adverse health effects. Alarmingly high levels of arsenic in pakistans ground. Sources of arsenic in groundwater and its health significance a. Arsenic is found in groundwater in all 50 states, mainly in areas with shallow groundwater reserves and large amounts of arsenic in soil and mineral deposits. In drinkingwater supplies, arsenic poses a problem because it is toxic at low levels and is a known carcinogen.
Arsenic contamination of groundwater is a problem that affects millions of people across the world. In the year 1993, the water samples of some tubewells located in the northern bordering area of bangladesh were examined for arsenic contamination and found to contain arsenic in the range of 0. In 2011, researchers at the eawag in switzerland published global risk maps based on a different algorithm. Organic arsenic compounds, which are abundant in seafood, are less harmful to health and are rapidly eliminated by the body. Arsenic in groundwater also may be the result of contamination caused by hazardous waste or industries that make or use arsenic. In rural communities that rely on groundwater for drinking water, the risk from exposure may pose a public health threat, especially when groundwater pumping can increase arsenic solubility.
There has been a substantial amount of research done to address arsenic in groundwater and drinkingwater supplies around the country. Distribution of groundwater with elevated arsenic concentrations 50 ugl and primary source or process resulting in high arsenic concentrations116 figure 4. Arsenic contamination of groundwater in nepalan overview. Pdf the incidence of high concentrations of arsenic in drinkingwater has emerged as a major publichealth problem. However, because of the sheer size of the country, millions of. The issue of contaminated drinkingwater has been taken up by governments and development partners and many efforts are under way to mitigate the problem. Regardless of localized inputs of arsenic, from human activities.
Although the tubewell water was microbiologically pure. Variation in arsenic levels in the mahomet aquifer system, a regional. The remediation of crvi and as contamination in groundwater is mostly done by exsitu methods a costly, lengthy and often ineffective remediation approach. As contamination of groundwater, poses a serious risk to human health. Arsenic is a naturally occurring element found in soil and bedrock throughout wisconsin. Main forms of arsenic in natural waters are arsenate asv and arsenite asiii cas no. Hence, its contamination can a ect a large population of people. Other sources of arsenic include occupational industrial exposure, and traditional medicines. Millions of people from different countries are heavily dependent on groundwater containing elevated level of as for drinking purposes. Arsenic contamination of groundwater in bangladesh was first detected more than a decade ago and the shallow tubewells were reported as. With contributions from worldrenowned experts in the field, this book explores developments in the transport kinetics, detection, measurement, seasonal cycling, accumulation. The magnitude is considered highest in five asian countries and the severity is in order of bangladeshindiamangoliachinataiwan.
This is the first publication on arsenic contamination of the red river alluvial tract in the city of hanoi and in the surrounding rural districts. Groundwater arsenic contamination in the ganga river basin. Groundwater arsenic contamination in india central ground water. The area and population of the 42 districts in bangladesh and the 9 districts in west bengal are 92,106 km2 and 79. Scanlon, principal investigator jeanphilippe nicot robert c. Arsenic also can be released into groundwater as a result of human activities, such as mining, and from its various uses in industry, in animal feed, as a wood preservative, and as a pesticide. Natural arsenic contamination of groundwater, increasingly recognized as a threat to human health worldwide, is characterized by arsenic concentrations that vary sharply over short distances. Regions in south asia, especially in bangladesh, india, cambodia, and vietnam, are reportedly the worst hit, with the rural and remote areas being almost completely deprived of arsenic free water. An overview and analysis of the historical, cultural, economic, and political parameters in the success of various mitigation options thuy m. Arsenic contamination in ground water of west bengal in the range of 0. Geographical extent of areas contaminated with arsenic is shown on. Human exposure to elevated levels of inorganic arsenic occurs mainly through the consumption of groundwater containing naturally high levels of inorganic arsenic, food. These compounds occur either naturally or as a result of mining, ore smelting, and industrial use of arsenic.
Second, the paper will discuss the scope of arsenic contamination in india and how it is screened and identified. Of all inorganic groundwater contaminants, arsenic as and fluoride f clearly. In the ganges plain of northern india and bangladesh severe contamination of groundwater by. Both models predict potential occurrence of arsenic in groundwater and correctly identified areas where arsenic contamination has subsequently been found. Groundwater arsenic as contamination have been reported in many parts of the world such as bangladesh, india, pakistan, nepal, china, hungary, vietnam, thailand, cambodia, taiwan, inner mongolia. Groundwater has long been used to provide drinking water to urban and rural. Groundwater arsenic contamination in bangladesh and west. Provides a viable reference, describing the stateofknowledge on sources of arsenic contamination in ground water. Hence, a global map, showing the areas with high probability of contamination is of great value for civil authorities and aid agencies in preventing the increase in consumption of arsenic contaminated waters. Most of the city dwellers in india draw underground water for domestic. Groundwater is the major drinking water source for the terai population of southern nepal where 47% of total population of 23 million people lives. Arsenic concentrations in groundwater in texas and surrounding states 117 figure 5. Pdf arsenic contamination in indian groundwater dr. Arsenic contamination in the environment springerlink.
Bangladesh natural sources bangladesh is located in the padmameghnabrahmaputra plain. The clays and iron oxides have capacity to remove arsenic from groundwater. Arsenic contamination of groundwater in bangladesh. These scans show that the dominant minerals present at the site are clays illite and kaolinite, iron oxides goethite and hematite, and quartz. Examining the geologic link of arsenic contamination in. Evaluation of arsenic contamination in texas prepared for texas commission on environmental quality austin texas under umbrella contract no. Annette johnson1 arsenic contaminated groundwater used for drinking in china is a health threat that was first recognized in the 1960s. Worldwide occurrences of arsenic contaminated groundwater forms and toxicity. In all these countries, more and more groundwater withdrawal is taking place because of. Arsenic and fluoride have been recognized by the world health organization who as the most serious inorganic contaminants in drinkingwater on a worldwide basis the metalloid arsenic can occur naturally in groundwater, as seen most frequently in asia, including in china, india and bangladesh. Arsenic contamination of groundwater poses a threat to the availability of clean drinking water in various countries around the globe chapter 5. In a preliminary study, we analyzed 52,000 tubewell.
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