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J Water Health 03 (2005) 283-296
Status of groundwater arsenic contamination and human suffering in a Gram Panchayet (cluster of villages) in Murshidabad, one of the nine arsenic affected districts in West Bengal, India
Mohammad Mahmudur Rahman, Mrinal Kumar Sengupta, Sad Ahamed, Uttam Kumar Chowdhury, Dilip Lodh, M. Amir Hossain, Bhaskar Das, Dipankar Chakraborti, Kshitish Chandra Saha, Imrul Kaies and Ajoy Kishore Barua
School of Environmental Studies, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, 700 032, India, Tel.:+91 33 2414-6233, Fax: +91 33 2414-6266, E-mail: dcsoesju@vsnl.com
School of Environmental Studies, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, 700 032, India, Tel.:+91 33 2414-6233, Fax: +91 33 2414-6266, E-mail: dcsoesju@vsnl.com
School of Environmental Studies, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, 700 032, India, Tel.:+91 33 2414-6233, Fax: +91 33 2414-6266, E-mail: dcsoesju@vsnl.com
School of Environmental Studies, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, 700 032, India, Tel.:+91 33 2414-6233, Fax: +91 33 2414-6266, E-mail: dcsoesju@vsnl.com
School of Environmental Studies, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, 700 032, India, Tel.:+91 33 2414-6233, Fax: +91 33 2414-6266, E-mail: dcsoesju@vsnl.com
School of Environmental Studies, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, 700 032, India, Tel.:+91 33 2414-6233, Fax: +91 33 2414-6266, E-mail: dcsoesju@vsnl.com
School of Environmental Studies, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, 700 032, India, Tel.:+91 33 2414-6233, Fax: +91 33 2414-6266, E-mail: dcsoesju@vsnl.com
School of Environmental Studies, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, 700 032, India, Tel.:+91 33 2414-6233, Fax: +91 33 2414-6266, E-mail: dcsoesju@vsnl.com
Retired Professor of Dermatology, School of Tropical Medicine, Kolkata, 700 073, India
Dhaka Community Hospital, Dhaka, 1217, Bangladesh
Dhaka Community Hospital, Dhaka, 1217, Bangladesh
ABSTRACT
A detailed study was carried out in a cluster of villages known as Sagarpara Gram Panchayet (GP), covering an area of 20 km2 and population of 24,419 to determine the status of groundwater arsenic contamination and related health effects. The arsenic analysis of all hand tubewells (n = 565) in working condition showed, 86.2% and 58.8% of them had arsenic above 10, and 50 μg l-1, respectively. The groundwater samples from all 21 villages in Sagarpara GP contained arsenic above 50 μg l-1. In our preliminary clinical survey across the 21 villages, 3,302 villagers were examined and 679 among them (20.6%) were registered with arsenical skin lesions. A total of 850 biological samples (hair, nail and urine) were analysed from the affected villages and, on average, 85% of them contained arsenic above the normal level. Thus, many people of Sagarpara might be sub-clinically affected. Our data was compared with the international one to estimate population in Sagarpara GP at risk from arsenical skin lesions and cancer. Proper watershed management and economical utilization of available surface water resources along with the villagers' participation is urgently required to combat the present arsenic crisis.
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