Arsenic Contamination in Groundwater in the Middle Gangetic Plain, India: Its Relations to Fluvial Geomorphology and Quaternary Stratigraphy

Abstract

Pollution of groundwater by naturally occurring arsenic (As) is found in sedimentary aquifers worldwide and health problems associated with groundwater As have been documented in many parts of the world such as Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal, China, Hungary, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Taiwan, Inner Mongolia, Ghana, Egypt, Japan, Argentina, Mexico, USA and Chile (Mandal BK, Suzuki KT, Talanta 58:201–235, 2002; Mukherjee A, Sengupta MK, Hossain MA, Ahmed S, Das B, Nayak B, Lodh D, Rahman MM, Chakraborti D, J Health Popul Nutr 24:142–163, 2006; Ravenscroft P, Brammer H, Richards K, Arsenic pollution: a global synthesis. Wiley Blackwell, Chichester, 2009). Long-term intake of As-contaminated groundwater above 50 μg/L has caused skin diseases (pigmentation, dermal hyperkeratosis, skin cancer), cardiovascular, neurological, hematological, renal and respiratory diseases, as well as lung, bladder, liver, kidney and prostate cancers (Smith AH, Hopenhayn-Rich C, Bates MN, Goeden HM, Hertz-Picciotto I, Duggan HM, Wood R, Kosnett MJ, Smith MT, Environ Health Perspect 97:259–267, 1992, Smith AH, Goycolea M, Haque R, Biggs ML, Am J Epidemiol 147:660–669, 1998). The mode of occurrence, origin and mobility of As in sedimentary aquifers are influenced by local geology, geomorphology, hydrogeology and geochemistry of sediments (Bhattacharya P, Chatterjee D, Jacks G, Water Resour Dev 3:79–92, 1997; Nickson R, McArthur JM, Burgess W, Ahmed KM, Ravenscroft P, Rahman M, Nature 395:338, 1998; Acharyya SK, Lahiri S, Raymahashay BC, Bhowmik A, Environ Geol 39:1127–1137, 2000; Kinniburgh DG, Smedley PL, Arsenic contamination of groundwater in Bangladesh, Report, WC/00/19. British Geological Survey, Dhaka, 2001). The upper permissible limit of As in drinking water is 10 µg/L as per WHO guideline (WHO, Guideline for drinking water quality. Recommendations. Geneva, 1993), which has been endorsed by Bureau of Indian Standards (Indian standard: drinking water. Specification (first revision), Amendment no. 2, New Delhi, 2003). India is the second most populated country in the world, where a large percentage of world’s population (17.5 %) is living on limited land area (2.4 %). The Gangetic plain is one of the vast Quaternary alluvium track in Asia, and many cities, towns, villages, and hamlets are located on the bank of the Ganga and Ghaghara rivers. The Ghaghara river has originated from Matsatung glacier in the Himalayas and travelled a distance of about 1,080 km in NW–SE direction, to join the Ganga River. The topography of the Gangetic plains are heterogeneous, varying between upland surfaces, plain areas and low lying small natural bodies, viz., swamp and ponds. Recently, groundwater As contamination has been reported in the states of Uttar Pradesh (UP), Bihar and Jharkhand (Chakraborti D, Mukherjee SC, Pati S, Sengupta MK, Rahman MM, Chowdhury UK, Lodh D, Chanda CR, Chakraborty AK, Environ Health Perspect 111:1194–1200, 2003; Acharyya SK, Shah BA, Environ Health Perspect 112:A19–A20, 2004; Bhattacharjee S, Chakravarty S, Maity S, Dureja V, Gupta KK Chemosphere 58:1203–1217, 2005; Ahamed S, Sengupta MK, Mukherjee A, Hossain A, Das B, Nayak B, Pal A, Mukherjee SC, Pati S, Dutta RN, Chatterjee G, Mukherjee A, Srivastava R, Chakraborti D, Sci Total Environ 370:310-322, 2006; Shah BA, Environ Geol 53:1553–1561, 2008). In this study, a survey on arsenic content in groundwater was carried out in Mirzapur, Varanasi, Ghazipur, Ballia, Buxar, Bhojpur, Patna, Vaishali, Faizabad, Gonda and Basti districts of UP and Bihar in the Gangetic plain (Fig. 3.1).