Groundwater arsenic contamination in the Sahibganj district of Jharkhand state, India in the middle Ganga plain and adverse health effects

A detailed study in the Sahibganj district of Jharkhand state in the middle Ganga plain was carried out to determine the severity of groundwater arsenic contamination and related adverse health effects due to chronic arsenic exposure. Arsenic was analyzed by flow injection hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry (FI-HG-AAS) in water and biological samples in both contaminated and noncontaminated areas. Health effects in three villages where tubewells (n = 178) were highly contaminated (91, 79.8, and 42% above 10, 50, and 300 µg L−1) were determined. Analyses of a total of 367 biological samples (nail, hair, and urine) from affected villages revealed that an average 88% of samples contained arsenic above normal level. Out of 522 people screened from these three villages, 71 were registered with arsenical skin lesions. A case involving arsenical skin lesions resulting in cancer was noted during the study. A representative histopathological picture of skin biopsy was presented. Out of 40 children e...