Arsenic contamination of groundwater is a form of groundwater pollution which is often due to naturally occurring high concentrations of arsenic in deeper levels of groundwater. It is a high-profile problem due to the use of deep tube wells for water supply in the Ganges Delta, causing serious arsenic poisoning to large numbers of people. A 2007 study found that over 137 million people in more than 70 countries are probably affected by arsenic poisoning of drinking water. The problem became a serious health concern after mass poisoning of water in Bangladesh.[1] Arsenic contamination of ground water is found in many countries throughout the world, including the US.[2]
The World Health Organization recommends limiting arsenic concentrations in water to 10 μg/L, although this is often an unattainable goal for many problem areas due to the difficult nature of removing arsenic from water sources.[3]
Approximately 20 major incidents of groundwater arsenic contamination have been reported.[4] Of these, four major incidents occurred in Asia—in Bangladesh; West Bengal, India; Inner Mongolia, China; and Taiwan.[5] Locations of potentially hazardous wells have been mapped in China.[6]
- ^ See:
- "Arsenic in drinking water seen as threat," USAToday.com, 30 August 2007.
- See page 6 of: Peter Ravenscroft, "Predicting the global distribution of arsenic pollution in groundwater." Paper presented at: "Arsenic – The Geography of a Global Problem," Royal Geographic Society Arsenic Conference held at: Royal Geographic Society, London, England, August 29, 2007. This conference is part of The Cambridge Arsenic Project.
- ^ Smedley, PL; Kinniburgh, DG (2002). "A review of the source, behaviour and distribution of arsenic in natural waters" (PDF). Applied Geochemistry. 17 (5): 517–568. Bibcode:2002ApGC...17..517S. doi:10.1016/S0883-2927(02)00018-5. S2CID 55596829.
- ^ "Arsenic". www.who.int. Retrieved 2020-11-28.
- ^ Mukherjee A.; Sengupta M. K.; Hossain M. A. (2006). "Arsenic contamination in groundwater: A global perspective with emphasis on the Asian scenario". Journal of Health, Population, and Nutrition. 24 (2): 142–163. JSTOR 23499353. PMID 17195556.
- ^ Chowdhury U. K.; Biswas B. K.; Chowdhury T. R. (2000). "Groundwater arsenic contamination in Bangladesh and West Bengal, India". Environmental Health Perspectives. 108 (4): 393–397. doi:10.2307/3454378. JSTOR 3454378. PMC 1638054. PMID 10811564.
- ^ Rodríguez-Lado L.; Sun G.; Berg M.; Zhang Q.; Xue H.; Zheng Q.; Johnson C.A. (2013). "Groundwater arsenic contamination throughout China". Science. 341 (6148): 866–868. Bibcode:2013Sci...341..866R. doi:10.1126/science.1237484. PMID 23970694. S2CID 206548777.