Health Risk Assessment Due to Groundwater Arsenic Contamination: Children Are at High Risk

ABSTRACT

Health risk assessment due to groundwater As contamination was conducted in two As-prone panchayats, Rampur Diara (RD) and Haldichapra (HC) of the Maner block of the Patna district, Bihar (India). All 100% of the water samples surveyed were found to be contaminated with As with a mean value of 52 μg/L (n = 10) in RD and 231 μg/L (n = 10) in HC, both exceeding the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline of 10 μg/L and the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) standard of 50 μg/L, respectively. The average calculated per capita consumption of As through drinking water in RD ranged from 120 μg/day for 5–10-year-old children to 320 μg/day for adults older than 41 years, while in HC the average calculated As through consumption ranged from 580 μg/day for 5–10-year-old children to 1470 μg/day for adults older than 41 years. Hazard quotients were calculated to be between 12.1 to 41.6 for the RD population and 58.3 to 192.5 for the HC population, both exceeding the typical toxic risk index 1. In addition, cancer risk of 19 per 1000 was found for RD children and 87 per 1000 for HC children. Visible symptoms of Arsenicosis were also observed in the area.

Key Words:

• arsenic
• contamination
• consumption
• health risk
• Rampur Diara
• Haldichapra
• Maner

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

S. K. Singh gives special thanks to the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund, New Delhi, India, for financial assistance to conduct a Ph.D. dissertation. Similarly, thanks go to Anand, Chandan, Amit, and Rajiv, students in the Department of Environment and Water Management, A. N. College, Patna, India, for their support during the field and lab study. The authors express their heartiest thanks to two anonymous reviewers and HERA editor for their efforts to improve the quality of this article.

Notes

Editor's note: “panchayat raj is a South Asian political system mainly in India, Pakistan, and Nepal. ‘Panchayat’ literally means assembly (ayat) of five (panch) wise and respected elders chosen and accepted by the village community. Traditionally, these assemblies settled disputes between individuals and villages. Modern Indian government has decentralized several administrative functions to the village level, empowering elected gram panchayats” (Wikipedia 2011).

Editor's note: Pulses are peas, beans, lentils, or any leguminous plant.