Arsenic contamination of groundwater in low-lying Bhagarathi–Ganga deltaic plain is known for more than two decades. The problem was recognized in 1984 (ref. 1) in West Bengal, when 16 patients from a village of 24 Parganas district reported arsenicosis. Subsequent investigations revealed extensive arsenic contamination in groundwater in the Bengal Basin affecting the eastern part of West Benga...

Project Well has developed a pilot self-supporting community-based mitigation program to provide arsenic-safe water to the villagers of North 24 Parganas, West Bengal, India. Shallow concrete dugwells, less than 25 feet deep, that tap into an unconfined aquifer are constructed following stipulated guidelines. The design differs from the traditional dugwell in two major ways: (i) there is a laye...

Arsenic contamination of tubewell water is a major public-health problem in Bangladesh. In the recent years, the use of shallow and deep tubewell water for irrigation and the use of excess amount of cheap fertilizers and pesticides containing cadmium pose a serious threat of contamination of arsenic and cadmium in food. In an exploratory study, arsenic and cadmium were measured in foods from Ma...

Arsenic is a great hazard to the environment since it is a major source of soil and water contamination leading to phytotoxicity. Arsenic caused reduction in seed germination and growth of plants including mung bean (Vigna radiata) causing loss of crop productivity. This investigation evaluates effect of arsenic toxicity in mung bean with an attempt to ameliorate it by the application of curcum...

Arsenic compounds have been applied at the land surface as pesticides in agricultural areas globally. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the fate of anthropogenic arsenic applications related to agriculture, using arsenic applications on cotton in the southern High Plains (SHP), Texas, as a case study and examining possible linkages with contamination of the underlying Ogallala aquifer i...

The problem of water pollution is now a problem of commons, round the globe [1], but the problem of arsenic contamination in the groundwater is not too old. Arsenic (As) is a metalloid and it belongs to Nitrogen Group [Va] of the periodic table. The atomic number of Arsenic is 33 and atomic mass is 74.922. Arsenic is found as one stable isotope, 75As which is non-radioactive. Arsenic appears in...

This paper investigates the effect of drinking arsenic contaminated water on mental health. Drinking water with an unsafe arsenic level for a prolonged period can lead to arsenicosis and associated illness. Based on rich and newly collected household survey data from Bangladesh, we construct several measures for arsenic contamination that include the actual arsenic level in the respondent’s tub...

Arsenate [As(V)]-respiring bacteria affect the speciation and mobilization of arsenic in the environment. This can lead to arsenic contamination of drinking water supplies and deleterious consequences for human health. Using molecular genetics, we show that the functional gene for As(V) respiration, arrA, is highly conserved; that it is required for As(V) reduction to arsenite when arsenic is s...