Global Context of Arsenic Contamination in Groundwater Aquifers
Water Insecurity: A Social Dilemma
ISBN: 978-1-78190-882-2, eISBN: 978-1-78190-883-9
Publication date: 11 August 2014
Abstract
The contamination of groundwater by natural arsenic is currently a worldwide epidemic. Arsenic-contaminated groundwater has been reported in Argentina, Chile, Mexico, China, Hungary, West Bengal in India, Bangladesh, and Vietnam. Of these regions, Bangladesh and West Bengal are the most seriously affected in terms of the size of the population at risk and magnitude of health problems. Hence, chronic exposure to arsenic >50′′μg/L in drinking water can result in serious health problems. Common symptoms of arsenic-related ailments are skin, cardiovascular, renal, hematological, and respiratory disorders. Therefore, this chapter focuses on nature, origin, and extent of groundwater arsenic contamination, probable causes, and its impacts on food, drinking water, and social coverage. It further discloses mitigation approaches proposed and practiced by the different research groups to combat this problem and finally concludes.
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Acknowledgements
Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge the support from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) of Japan in conducting this research.
Citation
Abedin, M.A. and Shaw, R. (2014), "Global Context of Arsenic Contamination in Groundwater Aquifers", Water Insecurity: A Social Dilemma (Community, Environment and Disaster Risk Management, Vol. 13), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 23-49. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2040-7262(2013)0000013008
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2013 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited