title: Status of groundwater arsenic contamination and human suffering in a Gram Panchayet (cluster of villages) in Murshidabad, one of the nine arsenic affected districts in West Bengal, India.
abstract: A detailed study was carried out in a cluster of villages known as Sagarpara Gram Panchayet (GP), covering an area of 20 km2 and population of 24,419 to determine the status of groundwater arsenic contamination and related health effects. The arsenic analysis of all hand tubewells (n = 565) in working condition showed, 86.2% and 58.8% of them had arsenic above 10, and 50 microgl(-1), respectively. The groundwater samples from all 21 villages in Sagarpara GP contained arsenic above 50 microgl(-1). In our preliminary clinical survey across the 21 villages, 3,302 villagers were examined and 679 among them (20.6%) were registered with arsenical skin lesions. A total of 850 biological samples (hair, nail and urine) were analysed from the affected villages and, on average, 85% of them contained arsenic above the normal level. Thus, many people of Sagarpara might be sub-clinically affected. Our data was compared with the international one to estimate population in Sagarpara GP at risk from arsenical skin lesions and cancer. Proper watershed management and economical utilization of available surface water resources along with the villagers' participation is urgently required to combat the present arsenic crisis.
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental Studies, Jadavpur University, Kolkata 700 032, India.
authors.forename: Mohammad Mahmudur
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Rahman
authors.forename: Mrinal Kumar
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Sengupta
authors.forename: Sad
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ahamed
authors.forename: Uttam Kumar
authors.initials: UK
authors.lastname: Chowdhury
authors.forename: Dilip
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lodh
authors.forename: M Amir
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Hossain
authors.forename: Bhaskar
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Das
authors.forename: Kshitish Chandra
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Saha
authors.forename: Imrul
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kaies
authors.forename: Ajoy Kishore
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Barua
authors.forename: Dipankar
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chakraborti
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001151:Arsenic / Q000032:analysis* / Q000652:urine; D020261:Arsenic Poisoning / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006197:Hair / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009262:Nails / Q000737:chemistry; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology; D012424:Rural Population; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D014871:Water Microbiology; D014881:Water Supply / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D001151:Arsenic