title: Concentrations of arsenic and other elements in groundwater of Bangladesh and West Bengal, India: potential cancer risk.
abstract: We investigated the concentrations of 23 elements in groundwater from arsenic (As) contaminated areas of Bangladesh and West Bengal, India to determine the potential human exposure to metals and metalloids. Elevated concentrations of As was found in all five study areas that exceeded the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline value of 10μg/L. The mean As concentrations in groundwater of Noakhali, Jalangi and Domkal, Dasdia Nonaghata, Deganga and Baruipur were 297μg/L, 262μg/L, 115μg/L, 161μg/L and 349μg/L, respectively. Elevated concentrations of Mn were also detected in all areas with mean concentrations were 139μg/L, 807μg/L, 341μg/L, 579μg/L and 584μg/L for Noakhali, Jalangi and Domkal, Dasdia Nonaghata, Deganga and Baruipur, respectively. Daily As intakes from drinking water for adults and the potential cancer risk for all areas was also estimated. Results suggest that mitigation activities such as water treatment should not only be focused on As but must also consider other elements including Mn, B and Ba. The groundwater used for public drinking purposes needs to be tested periodically for As and other elements to ensure the quality of drinking water is within the prescribed national guidelines.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Environmental Risk Assessment and Remediation (CERAR), University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes Campus, SA 5095, Australia; Cooperative Research Centre for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment (CRC-CARE), PO Box 486, Salisbury South, SA 5106, Australia.
authors.forename: Mohammad Mahmudur
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Rahman
authors.affiliation: Centre for Environmental Risk Assessment and Remediation (CERAR), University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes Campus, SA 5095, Australia; Cooperative Research Centre for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment (CRC-CARE), PO Box 486, Salisbury South, SA 5106, Australia.
authors.forename: Zhaomin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: Centre for Environmental Risk Assessment and Remediation (CERAR), University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes Campus, SA 5095, Australia; Cooperative Research Centre for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment (CRC-CARE), PO Box 486, Salisbury South, SA 5106, Australia. Electronic address: ravi.naidu@crccare.com.
authors.forename: Ravi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Naidu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001151:Arsenic / Q000032:analysis*; D001459:Bangladesh; D001895:Boron / Q000032:analysis*; D060766:Drinking Water / Q000032:analysis; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D060587:Groundwater / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000139:chemically induced*; D012306:Risk; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity
chemical_list: D060766:Drinking Water; D019216:Metals, Heavy; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D001151:Arsenic; D001895:Boron
keywords: Arsenic; Cancer risk; Groundwater; Manganese; Tubewell