Arsenic Toxicity in Water-Soil-Plant System An Alarming Scenario and Possibility of Bioremediation

Abstract

Arsenic (As) contamination in groundwater and its subsequent entry in the food-chain in different parts of the world has become a serious environmental issue in last few decades. Severe arsenic contamination in Ganga-Brahmaputra riverine plain in Eastern and North-Eastern India and adjacent Padma-Meghna riverine plain in Bangladesh has affected millions of people and is considered as one of the greatest natural disaster derived from groundwater contamination. Apart from India and Bangladesh, several millions of people are living with the risk of arsenic exposure in 107 countries and arsenic contamination has now became a global epidemic, which is frequently illustrated as ‘mass poisoning’. Chronic intake of arsenic through drinking water and food can result in serious health problems, which ultimately lead to cancer. Arsenic toxicity and bioavailability depend on its forms and chemistry in water-soil system. Considering this, several techniques have been developed to either exclude arsenic from drinking water or convert it to less toxic forms. Bioremediation techniques using plants and microbes have emerged as the potential, low-cost and eco-friendly technology, which involves plants and microorganisms to detoxify arsenic. The present chapter overviews the source and distribution of arsenic, its entry in the food chain and possible bioremediation options to remove arsenic from the environment.