Health Risk Assessment Due to Groundwater Arsenic

This article was downloaded by: [Sushant Kumar Singh] On: 14 July 2012, At: 23:27 Publisher: Taylor & Francis Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

Human and Ecological Risk Assessment: An International Journal Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/bher20

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

Sushant Kumar Singh & Ashok Kumar Ghosh

a

a

Department of Environment & Water Management, A. N. College, Patna, Magadh University, Bihar, India Accepted author version posted online: 09 May 2012. Version of record first published: 12 Jul 2012

To cite this article: Sushant Kumar Singh & Ashok Kumar Ghosh (2012): Health Risk Assessment Due to Groundwater Arsenic Contamination: Children Are at High Risk, Human and Ecological Risk Assessment: An International Journal, 18:4, 751-766 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10807039.2012.688700

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae, and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand, or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.

Human and Ecological Risk Assessment, 18: 751–766, 2012 Copyright C Taylor & Francis Group, LLC ISSN: 1080-7039 print / 1549-7860 online DOI: 10.1080/10807039.2012.688700

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

Downloaded by [Sushant Kumar Singh] at 23:27 14 July 2012

Sushant Kumar Singh and Ashok Kumar Ghosh Department of Environment & Water Management, A. N. College, Patna, Magadh University, Bihar, India 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.

INTRODUCTION Groundwater As contamination and chronic toxicity associated with it has been well documented in most of the Southeast Asian countries. More than 100 million people are affected by widespread As poisoning through drinking As-contaminated underground water in Bangladesh and West Bengal, India (Sarkar 2010). Moreover, the continuous consumption of As through drinking water and food sources may lead to As poisoning known as arsenicosis. The development of visual arsenicosis Received 8 February 2011; revised manuscript accepted 1 May 2011. Address correspondence to Sushant Kumar Singh, Department of Earth and Environmental Studies, Montclair State University, 1 Normal Ave, Montclaire, NJ 07405 or H/O K. P. Singh, Retd. Dy. S.P., 2nd Floor, H.No.-6, Road No.-23, S. K. Nagar, Patna 800001, India. E-mail: [email protected] 751


S. K. Singh and A. K. Ghosh

symptoms has been generally assumed to follow 8–10 years of consumption of Ascontaminated water than exceeds unsafe levels. However, new cases discovered in Cambodia have followed exposure times as short as 3 years due to extremely elevated As levels (3500 µg/L), socioeconomic status, and malnutrition (Phan et al. 2010). The domain of As toxicity is spreading day by day and making the toxicity profile of As more dynamic. Recently, Islam et al. (2007) has reported respiratory complications such as breathing problems, chest sounds, asthma, bronchitis, cough, and so on, in arsenicosis patients of Bangladesh exposed to As-contaminated drinking water having a mean value of 216 µg/L for more than 7 years (Islam and Rahman 2007). In addition, several recent and previous studies have also established links between As-contaminated drinking water and adverse effects on the pulmonary system (Mazumder et al. 2000; Mandal and Suzuki 2002), cardiovascular system (Wang et al. 2007 and Chen et al. 2007), hematological system, hepatic system (Mazumdar et al. 1988), renal system (Mandal and Suzuki 2002; Wang et al. 2008), and neurological system (Basu et al. 1996). Moreover, linkage of exposure to As has also been reported for spontaneous abortion, unprompted abortion, stillbirths, perinatal and neonatal mortality, reduction in birth weight, and so on (Ascengrau et al. 1989; Rudnai and Gulyas 1998; Ahmad et al. 2001; Concha et al. 1998; Hopenhayn Rich et al. 2000, 2003 and Yang et al. 2003). However, the new domain added with As toxicities are diabetes (Gonz´alez et al. 2007) at As concentrations between 20 to 400 µg/L and immunological system effects (Islam and Rahman 2007) at a mean value of 216 µg/L of As in drinking water. But the most important fact about As toxicity is its carcinogenicity and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) has classified inorganic As as a group A human carcinogen. Astolfi et al. (1981) observed that a regular intake of drinking water with As > 100 µg/L can cause identifiable types of As toxicity and eventually in some cases leads to skin cancer. Long-term As exposure can also cause cancer of various organs or tissues such as skin, liver, lung, and bladder (Khan et al. 2009). In India, West Bengal has been explored often as a worst-case affected area due to groundwater As contamination. However, very little is known about the status of groundwater As contamination and its health impact in the eastern state of India Bihar. In June 2002 the groundwater As contamination was first reported in the Semaria Ojha Patti village of Sahapur in the Bhojpur district of Bihar, India (Chakraborti et al. 2003). Nickson et al. (2007) later reported groundwater As contamination in the 50 blocks of 11 districts of a total 36 districts of Bihar. Out of 66,623 total sources tested, 12,097 were found contaminated with As between 10–50 µg/L and 7164 sources had As > 50 µg/L. The highest As concentration (1861 µg/L) was detected in the Bhojpur district itself (Ghosh et al. 2007, 2009; Nickson et al. 2007). Recently Saha (2009) reported As contamination in 15 districts of Bihar (Figure 1). The As concentration profile was prepared after testing about 82,000 samples in 57 blocks in 15 districts. As per the findings Patna, Bhojpur, and Buxur were the most As-affected districts. Arsenic concentrations ranged between 1000 µg/L. However, a series of obstetric outcomes was also documented for women exposed to As-contaminated groundwater and 60 persons with arsenical skin lesions were also reported in Bihar in 2003 (Chakraborti et al. 2003).

752

Hum. Ecol. Risk Assess. Vol. 18, No. 4, 2012


Health Risk Assessment Due to Groundwater Arsenic Contamination

Figure 1.

Arsenic concentration (mg/L) profile of groundwater of Bihar (India). Adapted from Saha (2009). The districts on the left side of the line are on the southern bank of River Ganga and remaining districts are from the northern plain. (Color figure available online.)

In Bihar the most important source of drinking and irrigation water is groundwater rather than surface water. Here, groundwater is also used for irrigation purposes, posing a significant risk of As accumulation in the soil and consequently entering into the food-chain through plant uptake and consumption by animals and humans. The As contamination in the groundwater of Maner was first reported in 2007 (Ghosh et al. 2007) and by Singh and Ghosh (2011). The present article is an extension of our previous work and has used As contamination data for analysis in this article (Singh and Ghosh 2011; Singh 2011). Therefore, the overall aim of this study was to do health risk assessment of the exposed population due to the consumption of As-contaminated water used for drinking and cooking in two panchayats,1 Rampur Diara (RD) and Haldichapra (HC) of the Maner block of Patna.

METHODS AND MATERIALS Collection of Water Samples Water samples were collected from the tube wells (used for mainly drinking, cooking, and irrigation purposes by the communities) from both panchayats. The 1

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).


753


water samples were stored in polyethylene bottles, prewashed with concentrated hydrochloric acid (1:1) and after collection it was added as a preservative. All the samples were tested on an UV-spectrophotometer by a standard silverdiethyledithiocarbamate (SDDC) method (Islam and Rahman 2001; Laizu 2007; Nickson et al. 2007). Detailed methodology is described elsewhere (Singh and Ghosh 2011). Study Population


Two panchayats (RD and HC) in the Maner block of Patna, with populations (n = 264; 222, respectively) were stratified as children (age 5–10 years old), youth (11–20), adults (21–39), and the elderly (40+) were covered in this study. The total population of both panchayats was about 5093 (RD = 3437 and HC = 1556). The population of HC was the representative population of Mangarpal as the actual panchayat HC was not updated on the block level map. Per Capita Consumption of Water and Food A survey was conducted in both panchayats to assess the average intake of drinking water, water consumed through cooked food, and per capita consumption of food materials. Specific questions were asked and verified twice and thrice to get the actual answer. Questions asked to learn the consumption of drinking water were: How much water do you drink per day?; Do you use a specific vessel to drink water?; What is the volume of the vessel you use to drink water?; Do you always use a full glass/jug of water?; What is the minimum and maximum number of times you drink water everyday? For food consumption, questions were asked of women: How much rice/pulses2/vegetables do you cook per day?; What utensils do you use to weigh rice and pulses?; How do you calculate amounts consumed by kids, youth, adults, and older persons?; and so on. A calibrated glass of 500 mL volume was used to measure the correct volume of consumption of water and cereals. The said volume by the respondents was later confirmed with our calibrated glass. Village people usually use a glass or a big jar (lota) to drink water. The volume of the glass or jar varies between 100 mL to 500 mL and 500 mL to 1500 mL, respectively. Women usually use their palms to weigh the quantity of rice and pulses. They grab as much as they can in their palm and put it into the cooking vessels. Therefore, the quantity of rice and pulses was calculated by the number of palm counts. They also use glasses or other containers to weigh rice and pulses to cook. Our goal was to know the approximate average per capita consumption of water and food in the study area. The amount of water used to cook rice, pulses, and vegetables varies with family to family and community to community. Village people prepare “curries.” Poor people use more water in curry to make it more voluminous in order to feed all their family members. Following the similar questionnaire format mentioned above the actual amount of water used to cook rice, pulses, and vegetables during normal days was calculated. However, the amount of water used to cook food significantly varies when foods are prepared for visitors, guests, and relatives. The amount of water used to cook food on normal days was considered for this study. 2

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

754



Health Risk Assessment and Problems An open- and closed-ended questionnaire method was adopted to survey the visible health symptoms, including diarrhea, gastric problems, body itching, and pigmentation on the body as health indicators and initial symptoms of arsenicosis. Personal interview was also conducted. Health risk assessment was done by calculating average total dose (ATD), chronic daily intake (CDI), cancer risk (CR), and hazard quotient (HQ) (Muhammad et al. 2010; Phan et al. 2010; Liu et al. 2009).

RESULTS


Groundwater Arsenic Contamination in Maner A total of 20 water samples were collected (10 samples from each panchayat) from the areas’ hand tube wells (HTW). Samples were representative of the households surveyed for the health risk analysis. Samples were analyzed for As, pH, and phosphate (P) concentration (Table 1). Depth of the installed hand pumps was noted on the basis of information given by the majority of the communities and local trained mesons. Depth ranged from 80 feet to 155 feet with a mean value of 108.5 ft (n = 20). The groundwater of RD and HC was found highly contaminated with As, ranging between 8 µg/L of As (RD) to 498 µg/L (HC). The average As concentration in HC (231 µg/L) was 4.4 times that in RD (52 µg/L). These two panchayats represent the majority of the As-affected area of the Maner block. Therefore, the overall mean value of As in the groundwater of this area was 141 µg/L, which exceeds the permissible limit of the BIS and the WHO guideline of 50 µg/L and 10 µg/L As, respectively, in drinking water in both areas and the Food and Table 1.

Statistical expressions of the groundwater data in both panchayats were calculated as shown. Depth

pH

Phosphate (µg/L)

As (µg/L)

Rampur Diara Count Mean St. Dev Median Min Max CoV

10 113.5 26.3 112.5 80 155 23%

10 6.6 0.4 6.5 6 7.5 6%

10 32.6 12.2 33 19 47 37%

10 52.1 31.5 61.5 8 103 60%

Haldichapra Count Mean St. Dev Median Min Max CoV

10 103.5 16.2 107.5 80 125 16%

10 6.6 0.5 6.5 6 7.5 7%

10 27.5 18.8 24 5 71 68%

10 231 110.7 213 106 498 48%


755


Table 2.

Per capita consumption of water and foods in Maner block of Patna.


Panchayat Rampur Diara Haldichapra Rampur Diara Haldichapra Rampur Diara Haldichapra Rampur Diara Haldichapra Rampur Diara Haldichapra Ratio

Age group

Ages

Count

Drink (L)

Rice (gm)

Pulses (gm)

Veg. (gm)

Children Children Youth Youth Adults Adults Elderly Elderly All ages All ages All ages

5–10 5–10 11–20 11–20 21–40 21–40 40+ 40+ 5–40+ 5–40+ 5–40+

55 40 60 63 80 75 69 44 264 222 486

2.4 2.5 4.9 5.3 5.8 5.85 6.1 6.36 5.0 5.2 1.05

99 105 213 201 190 228 135 144 161.9 181.5 1.12

24 26 44 44 41 42 37 41 37.1 39.5 1.06

19 85 46 158 40 140 26 170 33.3 141.1 4.23

Agriculture Organization’s (FAO’s) standard of 100 µg/L for irrigation in only one case in RD and in all the cases in HC (Figure 2). Per Capita Consumption of Water and Food A total of 486 people were surveyed in 45 households (RD = 27 and HC = 18) in both the panchayats with a mean value of per capita water consumption of 5.0 L in RD and 5.2 L in HC (Table 2). The per capita consumption of drinking water was recorded to be 2.4 L, 4.9 L, 5.8 L, and 6.1 L by children, youth, adults, and elderly in RD, respectively, and 2.5 L, 5.3 L, 5.8 L, and 6.4 L by children, youth, adults, and elderly in HC, respectively. However, average per capita consumption of raw rice, pulses, and vegetables was 159.2 g, 36.5 g, and 32.7 g in RD and 169.5 g, 38.2 g, and 138.2 g in HC, respectively (Table 2). The age group specific consumption of water, rice, and pulses did not differ between the two panchayats but the consumption of

Figure 2.

756

Arsenic in the groundwater of Maner, Patna. (Color figure available online.) Hum. Ecol. Risk Assess. Vol. 18, No. 4, 2012


vegetables is markedly lower in RD than in HC. The population-weighted average daily consumption of vegetables (141 gm/day) in HC was more than four times greater than that in RD (33 gm/day). The HC area is flood affected and people mostly cultivate vegetables because of the less cost involved in the cultivation and harvesting processes. The reason for the higher consumption of vegetables in HC may be because of greater vegetable cultivation and their availability in the area or because of the different food habits, as the HC area is very far from the urban market where other options (e.g ., eggs, fish, chicken, meat) for vegetables are not available at affordable prices as is the situation for the RD community as they are very close to the urban market.


Per Capita Consumption of As through Different Sources On the basis of mean value of As in water and per capita consumption of water; per capita consumption of As through different sources was calculated. Per capita consumption of As through only the drinking water route was found to be 124 µg/day, 254 µg/day, 301 µg/day, and 317 µg/day by children, youth, adults, and the elderly in RD, respectively, and 577 µg/day, 1224 µg/day, 1351 µg/day, and 1469 µg/day by children, youth, adults, and the elderly in HC, respectively (Table 3). However, considering consumption of water through both drinking and cooking, the total As consumption by the communities was more. Therefore, the communities were consuming As from potable water more than the permissible limit. They were also consuming As from cooked food (as boiling of water never affects the concentration of As in water) through water used for cooking, which is extremely toxic for them; especially for children and pregnant women. Health Risk Assessment A health risk analysis was done by following USEPA (1989) guidelines. The purpose was to know the susceptibility to getting cancer among all the inhabitants exposed to the As-contaminated drinking water sources, especially for children. The surveyed population was categorized into four groups: children (5–10 years), youth (11–20 years), adults (21–40 years), and the elderly (41+ years). Although study participants’ actual bodyweight was noted during the survey, our risk analysis was performed by following USEPA (1986) standards for bodyweights of 10 kg for children and 70 kg for youth, adults, and the elderly. The modified recent data on average bodyweights are available but for this study the previous data best represented the studied population. Average total dose (ATD), chronic daily dose (CDD), risk, and hazard quotient (HQ) were calculated (Muhammad et al. 2010; Phan et al. 2009; Liu et al. 2009). Average total dose: Average total dose is the product of contaminant concentration in mg/L and intake rate of water in L: Average total dose (mg) = AsW × IR where; Asw = Arsenic concentration of water (mg/L), IR = Water ingestion rate (L/day). Hum. Ecol. Risk Assess. Vol. 18, No. 4, 2012

757

758 Ages 5–10 5–10 11–20 21–40 40+ 5–10 11–20 21–40 40+

Children (n = 55) Youth (n = 60) Adults (n = 80) Elderly (n = 69)

Children (n = 40) Youth (n = 63) Adults (n = 75) Elderly(n = 44)

Rampur Diara

Haldichapra

Research area

2.5 5.3 5.8 6.4

2.4 4.9 5.8 6.1

Drinking water

2.8 5.9 6.5 6.9

2.7 5.5 6.3 6.5

Total consumption of water

Per capita consumption (in L)

231 231 231 231

52 52 52 52

Mean value of As in water (µg/L)

Per capita consumption of total As through water used for drinking and cooking.

People surveyed Children (n = 55)

Table 3.


577 1224 1351 1469

124 254 301 317

Per capita consumption of total As(µg/day)


Chronic daily intake (CDI): Chronic daily intake is derived by dividing total dose by body weight of a person by using the formula: CDI (mg/kg day) = Total Dose (mg)/Bodyweight (kg) Cancer risk: Lifetime cancer risk assessment through oral ingestion of As was estimated by the following equation: Cancer Risk = CDI × Potency Factor (PF)


where; PF (oral route) for As is 1.5 (mg/kg/day)−1 (established by USEPA’s Integrated Risk Information System-IRIS). Hazard quotient (HQ or HI): Hazard quotient or hazard index is the index of non-carcinogenic toxicity of a substance, in this case As in drinking water (unit less). It can be calculated by the following formula: HI = CDI/RfD where; RfD is the reference dose for As (mg/kg d), i.e., 3 × 10−4. A HQ less than 1 is considered to infer no significant risk of non-carcinogenic effects, and if the value of cancer risk is between 10−4 and 10−6, it is believed that the carcinogenic risk is acceptable. Health risk analysis was done in two different ways; one by considering consumption of As through drinking water only and second by considering total consumption of water through different sources including drinking water and water also used for cooking. Results showed that because of the consumption of only As-contaminated drinking water, the residents in the RD and HC areas had HQs ranging from 12.1 to 41.6 (n = 264) and 58.3 and 192.5 (n = 222), respectively (Table 4). The lower and upper end of the ranges for both areas exceeded 1, suggesting that the residents in the RD and HC areas might confront more significant adverse non-carcinogenic health impacts. Moreover, when considering total consumption of As-contaminated water used for drinking and cooking, both the exposed populations had HQs between13.6 to 46.4 and 65.5 to 219.5 in RD and HC, respectively (Table 5). In addition, cancer risk indices found in the RD and HC areas ranged from 6 to 21 in 1000 and 29 to 99 in 1000, respectively, due to the consumption of As-contaminated water used both for cooking and drinking. Further, the ATD, HQ, and CR in the study areas were greater than corresponding values for Pakistan, Cambodia, and China (Muhammad et al. 2010; Phan et al. 2009; Liu et al. 2009). The safe standards for cancer risks are in the range of 1 in 10,000 to 1 in 1,000,000, therefore, most of the residents in our study areas may be exposed to drinking water with As concentrations that could contribute to development of cancer. Health Survey Health interviews and examinations yielded symptoms of diarrhea, gastric problems, body itching, and pigmentation on the body. Out of the total surveyed population (n = 264) 1.1% of the population were found suffering from diarrhea, 5.6% from different gastric problems, 2.6% had body itching, and only 0.4% population Hum. Ecol. Risk Assess. Vol. 18, No. 4, 2012

759

760 5–10 11–20 21–40 40+ 5–10 11–20 21–40 40+



Rampur Diara

Haldichapra

TD = Total Dose.

Ages

People surveyed

231 231 231 231

52 52 52 52

As in water (µg/L)

2.5 5.3 5.8 6.4

2.4 4.9 5.8 6.1

Consumption of drinking water (In L)

0.58 1.22 1.35 1.47

0.12 0.26 0.30 0.32

TD (mg/day)

0.058 0.017 0.019 0.021

0.012 0.004 0.004 0.005

CDI (mg/kgday)

0.087 0.026 0.029 0.031

0.019 0.005 0.006 0.007

Cancer risk

192.5 58.3 64.3 70.0

41.6 12.1 14.4 15.1

HQ

87 26 29 31

19 5 6 7

Susceptibility to getting cancer in 1000

Average total dose, chronic daily intake cancer risk, and hazard quotient of respondents in survey area due to drinking water only.

Project area

Table 4.


761

5–10 11–20 21–40 40+ 5–10 11–20 21–40 40+



Rampur Diara

Haldichapra

TD = Total Dose.

Ages

People surveyed

231 231 231 231

52 52 52 52

As in water (µg /L)

2.8 5.9 6.5 6.9

2.7 5.5 6.3 6.5 0.66 1.37 1.50 1.59

0.14 0.28 0.33 0.34

Total consumption TD of water (In L) (mg/day)

0.066 0.020 0.022 0.023

0.014 0.004 0.005 0.005

CDI (mg/kgday)

0.099 0.029 0.032 0.034

0.021 0.006 0.007 0.007

Cancer risk

219.4 65.4 71.7 75.9

46.4 13.6 15.7 16.1

HQ

99 29 32t 34

21 6 7 7

Susceptibility to getting cancer in 1000

Average total dose, chronic daily intake cancer risk, and hazard quotient of respondents in survey area due to total consumption of water.

Project area

Table 5.




had pigmentation on their body in RD. However, in HC, 0.9%, 5.8%, 4%, and 2.3% of the population were suffering from diarrhea, gastric problem, body itching, and pigmentation on their body, respectively. The only health difference observed between the two panchayats was a six-fold greater prevalence of pigmentation (p < .10) in the residents of the HC area where the average As concentration was 231 µg/L compared to that in RD where the average As concentration was 52 µg/L. The data indicate that the two panchayats differ in that compared to RD the residents of HC have more than four-fold higher As concentrations in their drinking water (231 µg/L vs. 52 µg/L), four-fold greater consumption of vegetables (141 gm/day vs. 33 gm/day), and six-fold higher prevalence of pigmentation (2.3% vs. 0.4%). The present findings were consistent with the previous findings of Ghosh et al. (2007, 2009), except that they reported a case of keratosis in one of the patients in the area. In this study we did not find any such symptoms in the surveyed populations.

DISCUSSION Initiatives Taken On the basis of the above discussed problems and personal visit to the affected areas a proactive step was taken. A request letter mentioning the current status of the As contamination in the area and severity of the problem was submitted by the first-named author of this article to the District Magistrate (DM) of Patna district (Bihar) and Executive Engineer, Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) Patna, Government of Bihar. PHED is the responsible government agency to provide safe drinking water in the state. After some time the then Additional District Magistrate (ADM) replied (letter no. 362 dated February 28, 2008) and gave instructions to the concerning authority to provide safe and As-free drinking water. However, no significant steps were taken. Although many open wells were renovated and constructed and some rain water harvesting units were also installed in this area, almost all the units were non-functional at the time of our survey. Operation and maintenance of the units and lack of ownership were identified as the main hurdles responsible for the failure of the As mitigation program in this area. Arsenic Free Pipe Water Supply System On the basis of our survey done in this area, per capita total requirement of water was calculated (Table 6). Census 2001 of India was referred to for the population data. We estimate that 18,390 L of safe water is required for drinking and cooking purposes in the RD area, and 24,083 L of safe water is required in HC. Therefore, a required capacity of pipe water supply system can be installed in such a way that it can sustain for a long time. Recently, multi-village water supply projects have been given the green signal in 200 As-affected villages in three districts of Bihar. The government of Bihar has launched a multivillage water supply projects in 130 As-affected villages of Simri block in Buxar district, 45 villages of Bidupur block in Vaishali district, and 25 villages of the Maner block in the Patna district of Bihar. Therefore, the data for per capita requirement of water used for drinking and cooking can be used to design appropriate capacities of pipe water supply systems. 762


763

2.40 4.90 5.85 6.14 2.50 5.38 5.85 6.36

Children (n = 55) Youth (n = 60) Adult (n = 80) Elderly (n = 69)

Children (n = 40 Youth (n = 63) Adult (n = 75) Elderly (n = 44)

RD

HC

0.32

0.29

Rice

0.15

0.15

Pulses

RD = Rampur Diara; HC = Haldichapra; DW = Drinking Water.

DW

Family members

Per capita consumption of water for drinking and cooking (in L)

Per capita requirement of safe water in Maner, Patna.

Area

Table 6.

0.12

0.09

Vegetables

5.80

5.35

Per capita total requirement of safe water for drinking and cooking (L)


24,083

18,390

Per day

8,790,326

6,712,529

Yearly

Total requirement of safe water from drinking and cooking in the area (L)


Table 7.

Per capita requirement of food materials in Maner, Patna. Per capita consumption of food (in gm)


Area

Total requirement of food per capita/day (kg)

Family members

Rice

Pulses

Vegetables

Rice

Pulses

Vegetables

RD


99.1 213.3 190.6 135.5

24.9 44.5 41.6 37.7

62.2 166.5 131.6 108.5

2194

511

1611

HC


105.5 201.6 228.9 144.3

26.9 44.1 42.9 41.4

79.4 170.6 169.3 125.0

2823

644

2259

Arsenic-Free Food Supply System Apart from the drinking water, soil and food materials were also found to be contaminated with As in the RD area (Singh and Ghosh 2011). However, the levels of As in soil and food materials were within the permissible limit but, the cumulative effect can significantly affect the exposed communities. Therefore, per capita requirement of rice, pulses, and vegetables were also calculated. A total 2195 kg of As-free rice, 511 kg of pulses, and 1611 kg of vegetables in RD and 2823 kg of rice, 644 kg of pulses, and 2259 kg of vegetables will be required in HC (Table 7). As-free food materials can be provided to the people below the poverty line (BPL) at subsidized rates through the Public Distribution System. This can be implemented effectively with the active and sincere involvement of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs). People above the poverty line (APL) can pay the actual price for food.

CONCLUSION The groundwater of RD and HC panchayats of Maner block, Patna, was highly contaminated with As. The average As concentration in HC was 4.4 times that in RD. The residents were using similar contaminated groundwater sources for drinking and cooking purposes, so the cooked food with As-contaminated water is now another source of As intake in the body of this area. Health risk analysis suggests that the cancer risk and HI were higher than the acceptable minimum and maximum ranges, therefore, the people are susceptible to developing cancer and non-carcinogenic illnesses. Children are at the greatest health risk among all in both areas. Therefore, the issue should be dealt with by providing various feasible mitigation options and by ameliorating the nutritional status of the population. Arsenic-free water pipe supply systems and As-free food supply systems can be adopted as one of the most important As mitigation options. Moreover, socioeconomically feasible mitigation techniques are also required for a sustainable As mitigation in this area. In addition, clinical investigation is required to identify arsenicosis patients for proper medical referral and treatment. Moreover, all the As affected areas of Bihar should be given similar 764



priority and attention as was given to West Bengal and Bangladesh while addressing As problems at national and international platforms.

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.

REFERENCES Ahmad SA, Sayed MHSU, and Barua S. 2001. Arsenic in drinking water and pregnancy outcomes. Environ Health Perspect 109:629–31 Aschengrau A, Zeiler S, and Cohen A. 1989. Quality of community drinking water and the occurrence of spontaneous abortion. Arch Environ Health 44:283–9 Astolfi E, Maccagno A, and Fernandez JCG. 1981. Relation between arsenic in drinking water and skin cancer. Biological Trace Element Res 3:133–43 Basu D, Dasgupta J, and Mukherjee A. 1996. Chronic neuropathy due to arsenic intoxication from geo-chemical source—A five year follow up. JANEI 1:45–7 Chakraborti D, Mukherjee SC, Pati S, et al. 2003. Arsenic groundwater contamination in Middle Ganga Plain, Bihar, India: A future danger. Environ Health Perspect 111:1194–201 Chen CJ, Wang SL, and Chiou JM. 2007. Arsenic and diabetes and hypertension in human populations: A review. Toxicol Applied Pharmacol 222:298–304 Concha G, Vogler G, and Lezcano D. 1998. Exposure to inorganic arsenic metabolites during early human development. Toxicological Sci 44:185–90 Ghosh AK, Singh SK, Bose N, et al. 2007. Study of Arsenic Contamination in Ground Water of Bihar (India) along the River Ganges. International Workshop on Arsenic Sourcing and Mobilization in Holocene Deltas. Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, on December 12–13, 83–87, Kolkata, India Ghosh AK, Singh SK, Bose N, et al. 2009. Arsenic hot spots detected in the state of Bihar (India) a serious health hazards for estimated human population of 5.5 Lakh. In: Ramanathan AL, Bhattacharya P, Keshari AK, et al (eds), Assessment of Ground Water Resources and Management, pp 62–70. I. K. International Publishing House Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, India Gonz´alez JAC, Razo LMD, Vargas GG, et al. 2007. Inorganic arsenic exposure and type 2 diabetes mellitus in Mexico. Environ Res 104:383–9 Hopenhayn Rich C, Browning SR, and Hertz-Picciotto I. 2000. Chronic arsenic exposure and risk of infant mortality in two areas of Chile. Environ Health Perspect 108:667–73 Hopenhayn Rich C, Ferreccio C, and Browning SR. 2003. Arsenic exposure from drinking water and birth weight. Epidemiology 14:593–602 Islam MF and Rahman MM. 2002. In “Leaching of Arsenic from Iron Oxide Impregnated Brick Sands (Shapla Filter Media) Using Common Chemicals and Water.” Fate of Arsenic in the Environment, Ahmed MF, Ali MA, and Adeel Z (ed). Published by International Hum. Ecol. Risk Assess. Vol. 18, No. 4, 2012

765


S. K. Singh and A. K. Ghosh Training Network—Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, and Environment and Sustainable Development (ESD) Programme—The United Nations University (UNU), Tokyo, Japan. ISBN 984-32-0507-3 Islam LN, Nabi AHMN, and Rahman MM. 2007. Association of respiratory complications and elevated serum immunoglobulins with drinking water arsenic toxicity in human. J Environ Sci Health 42:1807–14 Khan NI, Owens G, Bruce D, et al. 2009. Human arsenic exposure and risk assessment at the landscape level: A review. Environ Geochem Health 31:143–66 Laizu J. 2007. Speciation of arsenic in vegetables and their correlation with inorganic phosphate level. Bangladesh J Pharmacol 2:88–94 Liu Y, Zheng B, Fu Q, et al. 2009. Risk assessment and management of arsenic in source water in China. J Hazardous Materials 170:729–34 Mandal BK and Suzuki KT. 2002. Arsenic round the world: A review. Talanta 58:201–35 Mazumdar G, Chakraborty DN, and Ghosh AK. 1988. Chronic arsenic toxicity from drinking tube well water in rural West Bengal. Bull World Health Organization 66:499–506 Mazumder DNG, Haque H, Ghosh N, et al. 2000. Arsenic in drinking water and the prevalence of respiratory effects in West Bengal, India. Internat J Epidemiol 29(6):1047–52 Muhammad S, Shah MT, and Khan S. 2010. Arsenic health risk assessment in drinking water and source apportionment using multivariate statistical techniques in Kohistan region, northern Pakistan. Food and Chemical Toxicol 48:2855–64 Nickson R, Sengupta C, Mitra P, et al. 2007. Current knowledge on the distribution of arsenic in groundwater in five states of India. Journal of environmental science and health. Part A, Toxic/Hazardous Substances & Environ Engineer 42(12):1707–18 Phan K, Sthiannopkao S, Woong KK, et al. 2010. Health risk assessment of inorganic arsenic intake of Cambodia residents through groundwater drinking pathway. Water Res 44(19):5777–88. doi:10.1016/j.watres.2010.06.021 Rudnai P and Gulyas E. 1998. Adverse effects of drinking water related arsenic exposure on some pregnancy outcomes in Karcag, Hungary. In: Book of Abstracts, 3rd International Conference on Arsenic Exposure and Health Effects, July 12–15, San Diego, CA, USA Saha D. 2009. Arsenic groundwater contamination in parts of middle Ganga plain, Bihar. Current Science 97(6):753–5 Sarkar A. 2010. Sustainable arsenic mitigation in remote Indian villages: Community based approach. Proceedings of 2-day Workshop on Arsenic Contamination in Groundwater— Source, Migration and Mitigation: Future Research Needs, July 23–24. Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management, Kolkata, India Singh SK. 2011. Arsenic Contamination in Water, Soil, and Food Materials in Bihar. Lambert Academic Publishing, Germany. Singh SK and Ghosh AK 2011. Entry of arsenic into food material—A case study. World Appl Sci J 13 (2): 385–90, 2011 ISSN USEPA (US Environmental Protection Agency). 1989. Available at http://www.epa.gov/ oswer/riskassessment/ragsa/index.htm and http://www.epa.gov/oswer/riskassessment/ human health exposure.htm Wang CH, Hsiao CK, and Chen CL. 2007. A review of the epidemiologic literature on the role of environmental arsenic exposure and cardiovascular diseases. Toxicol App Pharmacol 222:315–26 Wang JP, Wang SL, and Lin Q. 2008. Association of arsenic and kidney dysfunction in people with diabetes and validation of its effects in rats. Environ Internat 35(3):507–11. doi:10.1016/j.envint.2008.07.015 Yang CH, Chang CC, and Tsai SS. 2003. Arsenic in drinking water and adverse pregnancy outcome in an Arsenicosis-endemic area in northeastern Taiwan. Environ Res 91:29–34.

766
