Arsenic-affected Areas Research Articles

Environmental contamination of arsenic: pathway analysis through water-soil-feed-livestock in Nadia District (India) and potential human health risk.

This study investigated arsenic (As) concentrations in diverse environmental components and their potential impact on the health risks faced by residents of the arsenic (As)-contaminated Nadia district in West Bengal, India. A random selection of 182 cattle and 255 goats from 40 livestock farmers in the district revealed that both animals and humans were naturally exposed to elevated arsenic levels through contaminated drinking water, foods, grasses, concentrate feeds, various fodder tree leaves, and other food/feed resources. The mean As concentration in roughages (483.18µg/kg DM) was significantly higher (p < 0.001) than in tree leaves (391.53µg/kg DM), and concentrate feed/ingredients (186.66µg/kg DM). Pond water exhibited higher arsenic levels (106.11µg/L) compared to shallow tube well water (47.96µg/L) and deep tube well water/tap water (10.64µg/L and 10.04µg/L, respectively). The mean arsenic concentration in soils DM of fodder fields, crop fields, and grassland was 10.25, 10.58, and 10.20mg/kg, respectively. It was observed that protein-rich feeds had lower levels of arsenic accumulation (p < 0.048), while fiber-rich feeds containing more cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin had higher arsenic levels (p < 0.017). Goats consumed 73.46% more arsenic per kg body weight compared to dairy cows. Although chronic and sub-chronic arsenic exposure in the district did not typically manifest symptoms or visible signs in ruminant animals, concentrations in the hair and feces of both cattle and goats exceeded normal values. Cattle feces had significantly higher arsenic (410.43µg/kg DM) levels (p < 0.001) than goat feces (227.00µg/kg DM), and arsenic concentration in cattle hair (1917.74µg/kg DM) was also significantly greater (p < 0.001) than goat hair (1435.74µg/kg DM). Arsenic levels in milk samples from both species were below 10µg/kg. Liver (356.02µg/kg DM) and kidney (317.22µg/kg DM) contained significantly higher (p < 0.001) levels of arsenic compared to muscle (204.23µg/kg DM), and bone (161.98µg/kg DM) in local meat-type adult male goats. The skin accumulated the highest amount of arsenic (576.24µg/kg DM) among the non-edible parts of the goat carcass. The cumulative cancer risk value for adults was 4.96 × 10-3, exceeding the threshold value (1 × 10-6). This suggests a significant risk of cancer development for the population in arsenic-affected areas. Non-cancer risks (hazard indexes) were estimated at 11.01 for adults. Our observations revealed that the highest bioaccumulation of arsenic occurred in the hair of cows, and goats in the examined localities. The biotransformation factor (BTF) for hair was much higher compared to other excreted samples from both species. The calculated BTF followed the order: hair > feces > milk for cows and goats. Livestock farmers in Nadia district are advised to carefully select feed resources, prioritizing those high in crude protein and low in neutral detergent fiber, and they should provide drinking water from deep aquifers to ensure the safety of milk and meat for human consumption.

Genotoxic Effects of Arsenic in Food-Crops: A Need for Transgenerational Studies

Groundwater arsenic contamination has impacted millions of lives in over 100 countries; India and Bangladesh are the foremost victims. Arsenic contamination of food materials, especially rice, the staple food, is the biggest concern in these regions. Arsenic-tolerant rice varieties can help protect millions of impoverished people in arsenic-affected areas. However, transgenerational studies on the impact of arsenic on rice varieties over generations are highly neglected. This article highlights the need for transgenerational studies in arsenic-contaminated areas. A few rice varieties have shown tolerance to arsenic that could be explored to investigate whether these varieties can be sufficiently tolerant if they continue to be grown in an arsenic environment for a few consecutive generations. Transgenerational or epigenetics studies, therefore, are vital in protecting millions of human lives

Effects of chronic exposure to arsenic on the fecal carriage of antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli among people in rural Bangladesh.

Antibiotic resistance is a leading cause of hospitalization and death worldwide. Heavy metals such as arsenic have been shown to drive co-selection of antibiotic resistance, suggesting arsenic-contaminated drinking water is a risk factor for antibiotic resistance carriage. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and abundance of antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli (AR-Ec) among people and drinking water in high (Hajiganj, >100 μg/L) and low arsenic-contaminated (Matlab, <20 μg/L) areas in Bangladesh. Drinking water and stool from mothers and their children (<1 year) were collected from 50 households per area. AR-Ec was detected via selective culture plating and isolates were tested for antibiotic resistance, arsenic resistance, and diarrheagenic genes by PCR. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) analysis was done for 30 E. coli isolates from 10 households. Prevalence of AR-Ec was significantly higher in water in Hajiganj (48%) compared to water in Matlab (22%, p <0.05) and among children in Hajiganj (94%) compared to children in Matlab (76%, p <0.05), but not among mothers. A significantly higher proportion of E. coli isolates from Hajiganj were multidrug-resistant (83%) compared to isolates from Matlab (71%, p <0.05). Co-resistance to arsenic and multiple antibiotics (MAR index >0.2) was observed in a higher proportion of water (78%) and child stool (100%) isolates in Hajiganj than in water (57%) and children (89%) in Matlab (p <0.05). The odds of arsenic-resistant bacteria being resistant to third-generation cephalosporin antibiotics were higher compared to arsenic-sensitive bacteria (odds ratios, OR 1.2-7.0, p <0.01). WGS-based phylogenetic analysis of E. coli isolates did not reveal any clustering based on arsenic exposure and no significant difference in resistome was found among the isolates between the two areas. The positive association detected between arsenic exposure and antibiotic resistance carriage among children in arsenic-affected areas in Bangladesh is an important public health concern that warrants redoubling efforts to reduce arsenic exposure.

Assessment of cause-specific mortality and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) induced by exposure to inorganic arsenic through drinking water and foodstuffs in Iran

The health risk and burden of disease induced by exposure to inorganic arsenic (iAs) through drinking water and foodstuffs in Iran were assessed. The iAs levels in drinking water and foodstuffs (15 food groups) in the country were determined through systematic review of three international databases (PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science) and meta-analysis. Based on the results of the systematic review and meta-analysis, the average iAs levels in drinking water and all the food groups at the national level were lower than the maximum permissible levels. The total average non-carcinogenic risk of dietary exposure to iAs in terms of hazard index (HI) was 3.4. The average incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) values of dietary exposure to iAs were determined to be 1.5 × 10−3 for skin cancer, 1.0 × 10−3 for lung cancer, and 4.0 × 10−4 for bladder cancer. Over two-thirds of the non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risk of dietary exposure to iAs was attributed to bread and cereals, drinking water, and rice. The total annual cancer incidence, deaths, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), death rate, and DALY rate (per 100,000 people) were assessed to be 3347 (95 % uncertainty interval: 1791 to 5999), 1302 (697 to 2336), 72,606 (38,833 to 130,228), 1.6 (0.87 to 2.9), and 91 (49 to 160). The contribution of mortality in the attributable burden of disease was 95.1 %. The contributions of the causes in the attributable burden of disease were 72 % for lung cancer, 16 % for bladder cancer, and 12 % for skin cancer. Due to the significant attributable burden of disease, national and subnational action plans consisting of multi-disciplinary approaches for risk management of dietary exposure to iAs, especially for the higher arsenic-affected areas and high-risk population groups in the country are recommended.

Perinatal arsenic exposure-induced sustained microglial activation leads to impaired cognitive response in BALB/c mice

Arsenic is infamous for its adverse health effects worldwide. It is known to induce cognitive impairment in experimental model animals and children in the arsenic-affected area. Although the effect of arsenic on neuronal health is well studied, but the involvement of the brain immune component, microglia, has not been well explored. The present study is focused on examining the role of microglia in arsenic-induced cognitive impairment. We have used balb/c mice for the study. Pregnant dams were gavaged with sodium arsenite (0.38 mg/kg body weight) from gestational day 5 (GD5) till postnatal day 22 (PND22). Mice were sacrificed on PND 7, 14, 22 and isolated brains were used for various assays. The study reveals that perinatal arsenic exposure keeps the microglia activated and skews them towards the M1 phenotype. Increased microglial proliferation, ROS, NO, higher levels of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines were observed in the arsenic exposed group. Enhanced phagocytosis and phagocytic receptor TREM2, along with decreased expression of SNAP25 and PSD95, were correlated for enhanced neuronal pruning leading to impaired learning and memory response. Taken together, the study reveals an association between arsenic exposure and altered cognitive response where enhanced neuronal pruning by arsenic-activated microglia plays an important role in developing mice.

Influence of mass-awareness campaign on community behavior pattern changes for safe drinking water availability in a groundwater arsenic-affected area of South Asia

Environmental pollution of drinking water and it's mitigation policies spose one of the most significant global sustainability challenges. The remediation of pollutants from drinking water depends on technological efficacy, whereas its implementation on the target population requires social acceptance besides economic resources. In this context, mass awareness of the benefits of community safe water supply scheme and people's willingness to use the treated water may improvise the effective implementation of the project. The present research demonstrated the effectiveness of a field-scale mass awareness experiment on the management of arsenic (As) pollution through the implementation of piped community water supply project, in areas with profuse As contaminated tubewell-based water use. Extensive baseline and end-line surveys were conducted to assess the public awareness of the As issues, identification of the captive population, which delineates the impact of the campaign program and the associated change in behavior of the studied population. Lorenz curve was employed to estimate the awareness of arsenic contamination in different population clusters and it was observed that a cumulative awareness share of 96.9% was achieved in 97.5% of households. Hotspot analysis was conducted to identify the spatial distribution of As incidences and unresponsive captive population to awareness program. A neural network-based prediction model was developed, integrating the baseline and end-line survey data to assess the impact of the awareness program on public behavioral change on shifting to community piped water supply sources from contaminated groundwater. The high value of R2 (0.986) and F statistics (3721.6) signify the effective application of the model

Assessing a Medicinally Important Common Indian Weed Growing in the Arsenic-Affected Areas of West Bengal, India, Considering Its Impact on Human Health.

Euphorbia hirta is used traditionally for medicinal purposes. A vast stretch of land in West Bengal is arsenic affected, where agricultural activities present the hazard of arsenic entering the food chain putting the entire community at health risk. The present work tried to study if these areas could be safely utilized to grow this medicinal plant. In this study, the medicinal plant Euphorbia hirta and a known hyperaccumulator Brassica juncea were exposed to a high level of arsenic, and after a certain span of time, arsenic translocation in both the plants was checked. The data revealed that Euphorbia hirta is not a hyperaccumulator and does not translocate high levels of arsenic to the aerial parts of the plant as compared to Brassica juncea. It was also found that the biochemical and genetic effects of arsenic stress were enhanced significantly more in Brassica juncea than in Euphorbia hirta. Thus, the present study points to the growth potential of the common medicinal weed Euphorbia hirta in the arsenic-affected areas without being a cause of human health concern.

Neural Network and Random Forest-Based Analyses of the Performance of Community Drinking Water Arsenic Treatment Plants

A plethora of technologies has been developed over decades of extensive research on arsenic remediation, although the technical and financial perspective of arsenic removal plants in the field requires critical evaluation. In the present study, focusing on some of the pronounced arsenic-affected areas in West Bengal, India, we assessed the implementation and operation of different arsenic removal technologies using a dataset of 4000 spatio-temporal data collected from an in-depth field survey of 136 arsenic removal plants engaged in the public water supply. Our statistical analysis of this dataset indicates a 120% rise in the average cumulative capacity of the plants during 2014–2021. The majorities of the plants are based on the activated alumina with FeCl3 technology and serve about 49% of the population in the study area. The average cost of water production for the activated alumina with FeCl3 technology was found to be ₹7.56/m3 (USD $1 ≈ INR ₹70), while the lowest was ₹0.39/m3 for granular ferric hydroxide technology. A machine learning-based framework was employed to analyze the impact of water quality and treatment plant parameters on the removal efficiency, capital, and operational cost of the plants. The artificial neural network model exhibited adequate statistical significance, with a high F-value and R2 of 5830.94 and 0.72 for the capital cost model, 136,954, and 0.98 for the operational cost model, respectively. The relative importance of the process variables was identified through random forest models. The models indicated that flow rate, media, and chemicals are the predominant costs, while contaminant loading in influent water and a coagulating agent was important for removal efficiency. The established framework may be instrumental as a decision-making tool for water providers to assess the expected performance and financial involvement for proposed or ongoing arsenic removal plants concerning various design and quality parameters.

Rare, Protein-Altering Variants in AS3MT and Arsenic Metabolism Efficiency: A Multi-Population Association Study.

Background:Common genetic variation in the arsenic methyltransferase (AS3MT) gene region is known to be associated with arsenic metabolism efficiency (AME), measured as the percentage of dimethylarsinic acid (DMA%) in the urine. Rare, protein-altering variants in AS3MT could have even larger effects on AME, but their contribution to AME has not been investigated.Objectives:We estimated the impact of rare, protein-coding variation in AS3MT on AME using a multi-population approach to facilitate the discovery of population-specific and shared causal rare variants.Methods:We generated targeted DNA sequencing data for the coding regions of AS3MT for three arsenic-exposed cohorts with existing data on arsenic species measured in urine: Health Effects of Arsenic Longitudinal Study (HEALS, ), Strong Heart Study (SHS, ), and New Hampshire Skin Cancer Study (NHSCS, ). We assessed the collective effects of rare (allele frequency ), protein-altering AS3MT variants on DMA%, using multiple approaches, including a test of the association between rare allele carrier status (yes/no) and DMA% using linear regression (adjusted for common variants in 10q24.32 region, age, sex, and population structure).Results:We identified 23 carriers of rare-protein-altering AS3MT variant across all cohorts (13 in HEALS and 5 in both SHS and NHSCS), including 6 carriers of predicted loss-of-function variants. DMA% was 6–10% lower in carriers compared with noncarriers in HEALS [ (95% CI: , )], SHS [ (95% CI: , )], and NHSCS [ (95% CI: , )]. In meta-analyses across cohorts, DMA% was 8.7% lower in carriers [ (95% CI: , )].Discussion:Rare, protein-altering variants in AS3MT were associated with lower mean DMA%, an indicator of reduced AME. Although a small percentage of the population (0.5–0.7%) carry these variants, they are associated with a 6–10% decrease in DMA% that is consistent across multiple ancestral and environmental backgrounds. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP8152

Living with arsenic in the environment: An examination of current awareness of farmers in the Bengal basin using hybrid feature selection and machine learning

High levels of arsenic in drinking water and food materials continue to pose a global health challenge. Over 127 million people alone in Bangladesh (BD) and West Bengal (WB) state of India are exposed to elevated levels of arsenic in drinking water. Despite decades of research and outreach, arsenic awareness in communities continue to be low. Specifically, very few studies reported arsenic awareness among low-income farming communities. A comprehensive approach to assess arsenic awareness is a key step in identifying research and development priorities so that appropriate stakeholder engagement may be designed to tackle arsenic menace. In this study, we developed a comprehensive arsenic awareness index (CAAI) and identified key awareness drivers (KADs) of arsenic to help evaluate farmers’ preferences in dealing with arsenic in the environment. The CAAI and KADs were developed using a questionnaire survey in conjunction with ten machine learning (ML) models coupled with a hybrid feature selection approach. Two questionnaire surveys comprising of 73 questions covering health, water and community, and food were conducted in arsenic-affected areas of WB and BD. Comparison of CAAIs showed that the BD farmers were generally more arsenic-aware (CAAI = 7.7) than WB farmers (CAAI = 6.8). Interestingly, the reverse was true for the awareness linked to arsenic in the food chain. Application of hybrid feature selection identified 15 KADs, which included factors related to stakeholder interventions and cropping practices instead of commonly perceived factors such as age, gender and income. Among ML algorithms, classification and regression trees and single C5.0 tree could estimate CAAIs with an average accuracy of 84%. Both communities agreed on policy changes on water testing and clean water supply. The CAAI and KADs combination revealed a contrasting arsenic awareness between the two farming communities, albeit their cultural similarities. Specifically, our study shows the need for increasing awareness of risks through the food chain in BD, whereas awareness campaigns should be strengthened to raise overall awareness in WB possibly through media channels as deemed effective in BD.

Kinetic Behavior and Mechanism of Arsenate Adsorption by Loam and Sandy Loam Soil

ABSTRACT In the present work, the arsenate [As(V)] adsorption by loam and sandy loam soil was carried out as a function of initial As(V) concentration, pH, contact time, and adsorbent dose to ensure As adsorption and its mobilization in the soil of arsenic-affected areas. The As(V) adsorption with varying time and initial As(V) concentrations were analyzed using the linear and nonlinear forms of the adsorption isotherms and kinetic models. Based on the comparison of R2 values and calculated qe values, the linear pseudo-second order and non-linear pseudo-first order and second-order kinetics showed better applicability of S1 (loam) than S2 (sandy loam) soil samples for arsenate adsorption. The loam soil (S1) also exhibited maximum adsorption capacity and low As(V) mobility due to the presence of soil organic matter and low phosphorus content. The FTIR results showed that soil surface functional groups (─COOH, O─H and Fe─O group) were predominantly involved in As(V) binding via surface complexation or coordination. Results derived from equilibrium adsorption isotherms showed that the data fitted well to both the linear and non-linear Langmuir adsorption isotherms. The monolayer surface adsorption (qmax) in S1 sample (29.41 µg/g) was better than that in the S2 soil (27.39 µg/g), indicating strong surface affinity of S1 toward As(V) than S2 soil sample. This observation was also supported by the separation factor (RL values). Results on thermodynamic parameters (ΔH°, ΔS° and ΔG°) showed spontaneous and endothermic nature of adsorption. The activation energy (Ea) calculated for the surface binding of As(V) onto S1 (4.56 kJ mol–1) and S2 soil (7.15 kJ mol–1) indicated that the surface binding of As(V) by both the soils was an energetically favorable physico-chemisorption. The results on adsorption characteristics of both soil samples indicated that adsorption efficiency and retention ability of loam soil (S1) was better than sandy loam (S2) soil.

Association of arsenic-induced cardiovascular disease susceptibility with genetic polymorphisms

Inorganic arsenic (iAs) exposure has been reported to have an impact on cardiovascular diseases (CVD). However, there is not much known about the cardiac tissue injury of CVD patients in relation to iAs exposure and potential role of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of genes related to iAs metabolism, oxidative stress, endothelial dysfunction and inflammation which may play important roles in such CVD cases. In this dual center cross-sectional study, based on the exclusion and inclusion criteria, we have recruited 50 patients out of 270, who came from known arsenic-affected and- unaffected areas of mainly Chittagong, Dhaka and Rajshahi divisions of Bangladesh and underwent open-heart surgery at the selected centers during July 2017 to June 2018. We found that the patients from arsenic affected areas contained significantly higher average iAs concentrations in their urine (6.72 ± 0.54 ppb, P = 0.028), nail (529.29 ± 38.76 ppb, P < 0.05) and cardiac tissue (4.83 ± 0.50 ppb, P < 0.05) samples. Patients’ age, sex, BMI, hypertension and diabetes status adjusted analysis showed that patients from arsenic-affected areas had significantly higher iAs concentration in cardiac tissue (2.854, 95%CI 1.017–8.012, P = 0.046) reflecting higher cardiac tissue injury among them (1.831, 95%CI 1.032–3.249, P = 0.039), which in turn allowed the analysis to assume that the iAs exposure have played a vital role in patients’ disease condition. Adjusted analysis showed significant association between urinary iAs concentration with AA (P = 0.012) and AG (P = 0.034) genotypes and cardiac iAs concentration with AA (P = 0.017) genotype of AS3MT rs10748835. The AG genotype of AS3MT rs10748835 (13.333 95%CI 1.280–138.845, P = 0.013), AA genotype of NOS3 rs3918181 (25.333 95%CI 2.065–310.757, P = 0.002), GG genotype of ICAM1 rs281432 (12.000 95%CI 1.325–108.674, P = 0.010) and AA genotype of SOD2 rs2758331 (13.333 95%CI 1.280–138.845, P = 0.013) were found significantly associated with CVD patients from arsenic-affected areas. Again, adjusted analysis showed significant association of AA genotype of AS3MT rs10748835 with CVD patients from arsenic affected areas. In comparison to the reference genotypes of the selected SNPs, AA of AS3MT 10748835, AG of NOS3 rs3918181 and AC of rs3918188, GG of ICAM1 rs281432, TT of VCAM1 rs3176867, AA of SOD2 rs2758331 and GT of APOE rs405509 significantly increased odds of cardiac tissue injury of CVD patients from arsenic affected areas. The results showed that the selected SNPs played a susceptibility role towards cardiac tissue iAs concentration and injury among CVD patients from iAs affected areas.

Evaluation of hemato-biochemical indices and oxidative stress in goats: a potential risk towards arsenic toxicity in contaminated zone of West Bengal, India

Arsenic is one of the widely dispersed elements in the Earth’s crust and exists in the environment due to natural and anthropogenic sources. The toxin is greatly expanded through intensive application of groundwater in agriculture in the region within the Green Revolution framework. It is an environmental chemical element of high concern for human and animal health. Agricultural land is constantly contaminated with arsenic due to application of groundwater for irrigation purposes. Animals, being exposed to arsenic through contaminated drinking water, exhibit major abnormalities in the blood and tissues of animals prior to the excretion in the urine and feces. This present study was conducted to evaluate the hemato-biochemical indices and blood oxidative stress in thirty Black Bengal goats irrespective of age, sex, breeding system of Ghetugachi village of Nadia district of West Bengal, India, and control Akna village of Polba block of Hoogli district of West Bengal, India. There was a significant reduction in hemoglobin, red blood cells and white blood cells, packed cell volume, and total serum protein with a significant elevation of aspartate aminotransaminase, alanine aminotransaminase, blood urea nitrogen, and creatinine. Elevated corpuscular osmotic fragility depicted an altered mechanism associated with the deviation of the normal functioning of erythrocytes. Goats harboring in the grazing arsenic endemic zone also showed a significantly higher arsenic burden in blood. The affected goats further exhibited declined superoxide dismutase and catalase activities of erythrocytes and plasma nitrite levels with increased lipid peroxidation and protein carbonyl level. Our investigation concluded that goats of the arsenic-affected areas are suffering from a subclinical form of arsenic toxicity, which is proved through the altered hemato-biochemical and oxidative stress indices with a higher arsenic concentration in the blood.

Microbial mobilization of arsenic from iron-bearing clay mineral through iron, arsenate, and simultaneous iron-arsenate reduction pathways

Clay minerals are an important host for arsenic in many arsenic-affected areas. The role of bioreduction of structural Fe(III) in clay minerals in the mobilization of arsenic from clay minerals, however, still remains unclear. In this study, Fe(III) reducing bacterium, As(V) reducing bacterium, and Fe(III)-As(V) reducing bacterium were employed to investigate the possible bioreduction pathways for arsenic release from Nontronite NAu-2. Results demonstrated that microbial reduction controlled arsenic mobilization from NAu-2 through Fe(III), As(V), and simultaneous Fe(III)-As(V) reduction pathways. Although the bioreduction of structural Fe(III) led to a negligible dissolution of NAu-2, it triggered a significant release of arsenic from NAu-2. The bioreduction of tetrahedral Fe(III) initiated the release of As(V), and the further bioreduction of octahedral Fe(III) induced the release of As(III) in NAu-2. In addition, bioreduction of As(V) resulted in the desorption and transformation of As(V) from NAu-2. Simultaneous bioreduction of Fe(III) and As(V) led to an almost complete release of As(V) from NAu-2. These findings suggest that simultaneous Fe(III)-As(V) reduction was the dominant pathway governing As(V) release from NAu-2, while structural Fe(III) reduction controlled As(III) release from NAu-2. Therefore, the bioreduction of iron-bearing clay minerals has a great potential for arsenic mobilization in the subsurface environment.

Seasonal variation of arsenic concentrations in tubewells in west Bengal, India.

This study was conducted to monitor the changes in arsenic concentration during different seasons in a one-year period during 2002-2003 in selected tubewells in an arsenic-affected area in the district of South 24 Parganas in West Bengal, India, and to map the location of the wells. Seasonal variations in concentrations of arsenic in water were measured from 74 selected tubewells, ranging in depth from 40 to 500 feet. Water samples were collected from these wells during winter, summer, monsoon, and the following winter in 2002-2003. A global positioning system was used for locating the tubewells, and a geographic information system was used for mapping. There was evidence of seasonal variation in concentrations of arsenic in water (p=0.02) with the minimum average concentration occurring in the summer season (694 microg/L) and the maximum in the monsoon season (906 microg/L). From the winter of 2002 to the winter of 2003, arsenic concentrations increased, irrespective of the depth of the tubewells, from an average of 464 microg/L to 820 microg/L (p<0.001). This extent of variation in arsenic concentration, if confirmed, has important implications for both epidemiological research and mitigation programmes.

Take a Retrospective Glance at My Studies: Study for Colorimetric and Fluorometric Determination of Corticoids, Effect of Surfactants on Several Biological Membranes and Urinary Arsenic Species in Arsenic-Affected Area of West Bengal, India

Take a Retrospective Glance at My Studies: Study for Colorimetric and Fluorometric Determination of Corticoids, Effect of Surfactants on Several Biological Membranes and Urinary Arsenic Species in Arsenic-Affected Area of West Bengal, India

Valuing health damages due to groundwater arsenic contamination in Bihar, India

This paper estimates the health damages due to arsenicosis among people residing in two districts of Bihar, India. A primary survey of 388 households’ comprises 3469 individuals from two arsenic-contaminated districts namely Patna and Bhojpur from Bihar was conducted to collect the data. Arsenic field test kits was used to test the arsenic level in drinking water of the sample households. The water test results indicate that 18.3% of the sample contained 50 ppb of arsenic, and 5.12% of the sample contained the arsenic between 300 and 500 ppb. Water source, doctor visits, work loss, and arsenic concentration levels are significant and positively related to arsenicosis, and awareness is significant but negatively related to arsenicosis. The incidence rate of arsenicosis was found to be more among females than males and children. Per-capita income, sanitation, awareness, and depth of water sources are significant and positively related to defensive activities, i.e., water purification. The annual wage loss, cost of treatment, and cost of illness for sample households are estimated as INR 2437.92 ($45.83), INR 5942.40 ($111.72) and INR 8380.32 ($157.55), respectively. The annual cost of illness for the society is estimated as INR 265.97 million ($5 million). Finally, the paper suggests policy implications of providing safe drinking water in the arsenic-affected areas in the State of Bihar, India, which can help reduce arsenicosis in sustainable manner, improve well-being and potential productivity.

Social innovation and SONO filter for drinking water

PurposeBangladesh is facing an alarming situation with the drinking water in its most areas, as groundwater used for drinking has been contaminated with naturally occurring inorganic arsenic. Many entrepreneurs along with the government are trying to cope up with this problem. SONO filter is one of them that is based on the social innovation concept. Social innovation is defined as innovative products/services motivated by the goal of meeting a social need, with the opportunity to create new social collaborations. This paper aims to examine the concepts of social innovation, which advocates enhancing values to society and the social benefit to all the stakeholders.Design/methodology/approachThis is an exploratory study and presents the evolution, the development of the social business model and its implementation. Abul Hussam initiated the social business concept through SONO filter that is commercialized through the Manob Sakti Unnayan Kendro. The study has been conducted entirely on the basis of documentary information and data available in the public domain.FindingsThe findings show a hopeful contribution toward enhancing social benefits to society especially in arsenic-affected areas. SONO filter helps to mitigate the water-borne diseases and make people clean and safe, as well as healthy, by providing pure drinking water. Even by drinking pure water, people with arsenic-related diseases are getting better day by day through this social initiative.Originality/valueBusiness based on social innovation is a new and really a good working concept. It has faced many hurdles in its journey to meet social objectives. Many researchers, entrepreneurs, non-profit organizations, national planners and society leaders will surely be benefited by its solution.

Biomarkers of arsenic exposure in arsenic-affected areas of the Hetao Basin, Inner Mongolia

Seventy saliva samples, seventy urine samples, seventy nail samples, seventy hair samples, eight drinking water samples and ninety-three crop samples were collected from four villages of the Hetao Basin in Inner Mongolia to determine arsenic (As) exposure biomarkers and evaluate relationship between As uptake and human health risk. Trivalent As (As(III)), pentavalent As (As(V)), dimethylarsinic acid (DMA), arsenobetaine (AsB) and monomethylarsonic acid (MMA) were found in all urine samples. Only As(III) and As(V) were detected in saliva samples. In nail and hair samples, DMA, MMA, As(III) and As(V) were observed. Based on total As contents in crops and drinking water, the local residents' daily intake of total arsenic (TDIAs), the hazard quotient (HQ), and the cancer risk (R) were assessed. Male, older and cases of skin lesion participants generally had higher As contents in saliva, urine, nail and hair samples in relative to others. Salivary, urinary, nail and hair As were not significantly affected by body mass index (BMI) and smoking. Good correlations were observed between TDIAs and salivary, urinary, nail and hair As, showing that saliva, urine, nail and hair samples can be used as biomarkers of As exposure. Individually, levels of arsenicosis were positively correlated with TDIAs. The relationship between TDIAs and prevalence of arsenicosis concluded that, although As levels in crops and drinking water did not exceed national standards, they still pose a potential threat to human health. It was suggested that the maximum permissible levels of crop As and drinking water As should be re-evaluated for protecting human health.

Arsenic toxicity to Chlorella pyrenoidosa and its phycoremediation

Provision of clean drinking water remains a global requirement, so for arsenic-affected areas where various physico-chemical methods are used. These methods require regeneration of media requiring non-stop arsenic checking and it requires skilled operation. Otherwise arsenic contaminated water has to be discarded into the environment. This study examined the probability of using living microalgae Chlorella pyrenoidosa for phycoremediation of arsenic contaminated water (either As(III) or As(V). DO and pH cycles in presence of arsenic (either As(III) or As(V)) ions in the culture did not significantly differ from the control (pure media) indicating that the algae were still growing and photosynthesizing in presence of arsenic ions. As(V) was more noxious than As(III), particularly at pH7.0, but it was opposite at pH9.0. Phycoremediation efficiency of As(V) at pH9.0 by algal cells was greater than that As(III). Monod model has been employed for demonstrating growth kinetics of microalgae in pure media containing various concentrations of nitrate ions. Maximum specific growth rate and saturation constant have been found to be 0.146 d−1 and 8.29E–4g/L, respectively. With the increase in concentration of phosphate in growth medium the growth of microalgae increased. Media with 1.0g/L NaCl indicated the highest algal growth. Addition of NaHCO3 (1g/L) resulted in higher maximum biomass concentration.