Budding Challenges of Arsenic Contamination in Bengal Fan in the Anthropocene Epoch

Abstract

Arsenic toxicity has deteriorated human health status in West Bengal, India, in the past after detection in 1983. The area-specific pollution is increasing: sub-soil explorations, over-extraction of potable water, lift irrigation and mining activities. A hydro-geo-epidemiological assessment of the negative impact of arsenic toxicity on human health residing in the sensitive areas in the Bengal basin is viewed with meagre data and a vast anastomosed drainage system. To address data unavailability, the limitations are inconsistent sampling, comprehensive monitoring, groundwater level variation in aquifers and potential bias in the report. The search uses previous works, site surveys, geographic information systems, and conceptual maps of the geology and petrology of the area. The chemistry of arsenic compounds, their upshot on the human body, and technologies used to decontaminate arsenic in potable water in West Bengal are studied. The key findings are due to the geological lithological formation of the Himalayas. The change in drinking water sources from water bodies to shallow tube wells and mining in the Bengal basin has altered the geochemistry of groundwater with the surge in arsenic contamination from the pre-Holocene to the present.  Aquifers below the Bengal Basin and flood plains are non-point geogenic sources of arsenic. Lift water is the primary contamination source in West Bengal that contributes to the rising trend of arsenic toxicity and health hazards. All concerned should cooperate to decontaminate the arsenic concentration and save West Bengal people from Arsenic exposure by adopting new technologies that comply with SDG 2, SDG 3 and SDG 11 requirements.