Identification of Arsenic Hazard Locations and Impact on Children—A Case Study on Baruipur Block, South 24 Parganas, West Bengal

Abstract

Arsenic contamination in groundwater is the most hazardous event in the world affecting the human civilization in last 40 years. The presence of arsenic in drinking water is carcinogenic, and the main exposure path is through ingestion of arsenic-contaminated water and food. Parts of the state of West Bengal in India are under arsenic contamination for quite some time. The arsenic concentration in groundwater of West Bengal varies from 0.001 to 3.70 mg/l, at many places which is in large excess over the World Health Organization (WHO) drinking water permissible limit of 0.01 mg/L. West Bengal noticed inconsistently dispersed arsenic-rich pockets in sub-urban and rural south Bengal. A large number of primary and secondary schools situated in the arsenic-contaminated areas which depend on groundwater as their major water resource are badly hit by the excess arsenic concentration. As a social outreach initiative, the school-going children in India are provided with midday meal in the school aiming at enhancing their nutritional level. But in arsenic-infested areas, the raw water used for cooking such is also arsenic-contaminated, thus turning a positive initiative into hidden health hazard as the children become strongly exposed to possible arsenic contamination through water and food. Extended exposure of contaminated water may develop lifelong reduction of memory, intelligence quotient (IQ), and these can guide to expand school failure, lessened financial success and increased probability of social deterioration offence. This problem is now leading towards a social catastrophe. This study has used GIS platform to develop a hazard-level map of arsenic-affected areas by taking the arsenic concentration at village-level water sources and their geographical location as input. One block, named Baruipur, of the district of South 24 Parganas of the state of West Bengal, India, which is among the gravest arsenic-infected areas, was considered for this study.