Additional danger of arsenic exposure through inhalation from burning of cow dung cakes laced with arsenic as a fuel in arsenic affected villages in Ganga-Meghna-Brahmaputra plain.
In arsenic contaminated areas of the Ganga-Meghna-Brahmaputra (GMB) plain (area 569,749 sq. km; population over 500 million) where traditionally cow dung cake is used as a fuel in unventilated ovens for cooking purposes, people are simply exposed to 1859.2 ng arsenic per day through direct inhalation, of which 464.8 ng could be absorbed in respiratory tract.
Pal
Arup
A
School of Environmental Studies, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India. dcsoesju@vsnl.com
Nayak
Bishwajit
B
Das
Bhaskar
B
Hossain
M Amir
MA
Ahamed
Sad
S
Chakraborti
Dipankar
D
D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000032:analysis; D000818:Animals; D001151:Arsenic / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000032:analysis*; D020261:Arsenic Poisoning / Q000453:epidemiology; D002417:Cattle; D003296:Cooking; D004736:Energy-Generating Resources; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000032:analysis*; D005243:Feces / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D019570:Inhalation Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000032:analysis*; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D012423:Rural Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
D000393:Air Pollutants; D052638:Particulate Matter; D001151:Arsenic