What is the source of arsenic contamination of groundwater in Bangladesh?

What is the source of arsenic contamination of groundwater in Bangladesh?

Sources of Arsenic in Groundwater in Bangladesh But it is now widely believed that the high arsenic levels in the groundwater in Bangladesh have a natural geological source which may be due to abstraction water from quaternary confined and semi-confined alluvial or deltaic aquifers.

What is the main source of arsenic to Bangladesh?

Exposure to arsenic and health impacts However, in Bangladesh, groundwater is the main source of arsenic exposure; the population unknowingly receives substantial exposure to arsenic daily through the water they use for drinking and cooking.

What causes arsenic poisoning in Bangladesh?

Bangladesh is grappling with the largest mass poisoning of a population in history because ground- water used for drinking has been contaminated with naturally occurring inorganic arsenic.

What are the causes of arsenic contamination in groundwater?

The main anthropogenic sources for contamination of groundwater with As are mining, burning of fossil fuels, use of arsenical fungicides, herbicides and insecticides in agriculture, and wood preservatives [21]. Burning of coal has profound effect on contamination of As in the environment.

What is the main source of arsenic in groundwater?

The major natural sources include geologic formations (e.g., sedimentary deposits/rocks, volcanic rocks and soils), geothermal activity, coal and volcanic activities. Geothermal water can be a source of inorganic arsenic in surface water and groundwater (Welch et al., 2000).

What do you mean by arsenic contamination?

Arsenic poisoning, or arsenicosis, occurs after the ingestion or inhalation of high levels of arsenic. Arsenic is a type of carcinogen that’s gray, silver, or white in color. Arsenic is extremely poisonous to humans.

How is arsenic treated in groundwater?

Both species of arsenic can be removed from drinking water through adsorption using a granular ferric oxy-hydroxide media. In this process, the media is typically utilized on a single-use basis to treat pre-chlorinated groundwater containing arsenate in the range of 11 to 40 ppb with neutral pH conditions.

What is the short form of arsenic?

Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As and atomic number 33.

What is the formula of arsenic?

It is an arsenic oxoacid which consists of three hydroxy groups and one oxo group….Properties Of Arsenic acid Formula.

What are the sources of arsenic pollution?

Other important sources of arsenic exposure include coal burning in Slovakia, Turkey, and the Guizhou Province of China; use of arsenic as pesticides in Australia, New Zealand, and the US; and consumption of contaminated foodstuffs (China) and exposure to wood preserving arsenicals (Europe and North America).

What are the sources of arsenic?

Inorganic arsenic compounds are in soils, sediments, and groundwater. These compounds occur either naturally, or as a result of mining, ore smelting, or when using arsenic for industrial purposes. Organic arsenic compounds exist mainly in fish and shellfish.

What are sources of arsenic?

How many people are exposed to arsenic in Bangladesh?

Bangladesh’s contaminated well water is considered one of the largest public health crises in the world, and yet it remains relatively unknown outside of scientific circles. An estimated 40 million people — one quarter of the population — are exposed to drinking water contaminated with arsenic.

Where is the worst arsenic problem in the world?

Bangladesh is currently facing a serious threat to public health, with 85 million people at risk from arsenic (As) in drinking water and in food crops. In Bangladesh, the groundwater As contamination problem is the worst in the world.

What kind of contamination is there in Bangladesh?

In 1999, the British Geological Survey (BGS) and DPHE identified that the groundwater of 60 survey districts out of 64 was contaminated with As, which had also high levels of uranium, manganese, boron, sulphur, fluoride, molybdenum, barium and phosphate. Four districts—Khagrachari, Rangamati, Banderban and Cox’s Bazar have not been surveyed yet.

How much arsenic is in the water in Araihazar?

About half of the wells in their study area of 35,000 people in the region of Araihazar contain arsenic at more than 50 parts per billion, five times the World Health Organization standard of 10. “I know this water is not good for my health, but there is nothing to do,” says Uddin.