Problem, perspective and challenges of arsenic contamination in the groundwater of brahmaputra flood plains and barak valley regions of assam, india

Abstract

The problem of naturally occurring As pollution in groundwater is a burning issue which has now been recognised as one of the greatest environmental hazards, threatening the lives of the millions across the globe (Nickson R, McArthur JM, Burgess W, Ahmed KM, Ravenscroft P, Rahman M, Nature 395:338, 1998, Nickson RT, McArthur JM, Ravenscroft P, Burgess WG, Ahmed KM, Appl Geochem 15(4):403-413, 2000; Smith AH, Lingas EO, Rahman M, Bull World Health Organ 78(9):1093-1103, 2000; Berg M, Tran HC, Nguyen TC, Pham HV, Schertenlrib R, Giger W (2001), Environ Sci Technol 35:2621-2626, 2001; Anawar HM, Akai J, Mostofa KMG, Safiullah S, Tareq SM, Environ Int 27:597-604, 2002; Smedley PL, Kinniburgh DG, Appl Geochem 17(5):517-568, 2002; Guo HM, Wang YX, Shpeizer GM, Yan SL, J Toxicol Environ Health Part A, Environ Sci Eng Toxic Hazard Subst Control 38:2565-2580, 2003; Ravenscroft P, Burgess GW, Ahmed KM, Burren M, Perrin J, Hydrogeol J 13:727-751, 2003; Smedley PL, Zhang M, Zhang G, Luo Z, Appl Geochem 18(9):1453-1477, 2003; Li J, Wang Z, Cheng X, Wang S, Jia Q, Han L et al, Chin J Endem 24:183-185, 2005; Polya DA, Gault AG, Diebe N, Feldman P, Rosenboom JW, Gilligan E et al, Mineral Mag 69:807-823, 2005; Anawar HM, Akai J, Yoshioka T, Konohira E, Lee JY, Fukuhara H, Tari Kul Alam M, Garcia Sanchez A, Environ Geochem Health 28:553-565, 2006; Enmark G, Nordborg D, Arsenic in the groundwater of the Brahmaputra floodplains, Assam, India - Source, distribution and release mechanisms. Committee of Tropical Ecology ISSN 1653-5634 minor field study 131. Uppsala University, Sweden, 2001; Nriagu et al. Arsenic in soil and groundwater: an introduction. In: Bhattacharya P, Mukherjee AB, Bundschuh J, Zevenhoven R, Loeppert RH (eds), Arsenic in soil and groundwater environment: biogeochemical interactions, health effects and remediation, trace metals and other contaminants in the environment, vol 9, (Ser ed Nriagu JO). Elsevier, Amsterdam, 2007; Kumar M, Kumar P, Ramanathan AL, Bhattacharya P, Thunvik R, Singh UK, Tsujimura M, Sracek O, J Geochem Explor 105:83-94, 2010a, Kumar P, Kumar M, Ramanathan AL, Tsujimura M, Environ Geochem Health 32:129-146, 2010b; Bundschuh J, Litter MI, Parvez F, Román-Ross G, Nicolli Hugo B, Jean J-S, Liu C-W, María Dina L, Armienta A, Guilherme Luiz RG, Cuevas AG, Cornejo L, Cumbal L, Toujaguez R, One century of arsenic exposure in Latin America: a review of history and occurrence from 14 countries, 429:2-35, 2012). Long-term ingestion of drinking water having As concentration beyond the permissible limit of 50 μg/L leads to detrimental effects on human health. Epidemiological studies have shown that inorganic As is a serious toxicant and can cause a variety of adverse health effects, such as dermal changes, respiratory, pulmonary, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, haematological, hepatic, renal, neurological, developmental, reproductive, immunologic lead to cancer and other degenerative effects of the circulatory and nervous system (Golub MS, Macintosh MS, Baumrind N, J Toxicol Environ Health Part B 1(3):199-241, 1998; Lin T-H, Huang Y-L, Wang M-Y, J Toxicol Environ Health 53:85-93, 1998; NRC 2001; Ahamed S, Kumar Sengupta M, Mukherjee A, Amir HM, Das B, Nayak B, Pal A, Mukherjee CS, Pati S, Nath DR, Chatterjee G, Mukherjee A, Srivastava R, Chakraborti D, Sci Total Environ 370(2-3):310-322, 2006). In view of the above perspective WHO in 1993 has lowered its earlier permissible limit of 50 μg/L in drinking water to 10 μg/L. The BIS has also endorsed 10 μg/L as the permissible limit for As in drinking water.