Arsenic calamity in the Indian subcontinent What lessons have been learned?

Groundwater arsenic (As) contamination in West Bengal (WB, India) was first reported in December 1983, when 63 people from three villages of two districts were identified by health officials as suffering from As toxicity. As of October 2001, the authors from the School of Environmental Studies (SOES) have analyzed >105 000 water samples, >25 000 urine/hair/nail/skin-scale samples, screened approximately 86 000 people in WB. The results show that more than 6 million people in 2700 villages from nine affected districts (total population approximately 42 million) of 18 total districts are drinking water containing >/=50 mug l(-1) As and >300 000 people may have visible arsenical skin lesions.

Murshidabad--one of the nine groundwater arsenic-affected districts of West Bengal, India. Part II: dermatological, neurological, and obstetric findings.

Introduction: To understand the severity of related health effects of chronic arsenic exposure in West Bengal, a detailed 3-year study was carried out in Murshidabad, one of the nine arsenic-affected districts in West Bengal.

Methods: We screened 25,274 people from 139 arsenic-affected villages in Murshidabad to identify patients suffering from chronic arsenic toxicity for evidence of multisystemic features and collected biological samples such as head hair, nail, and spot urine from the patients along with the tubewell water they were consuming.

Results: Out of 25,274 people screened, 4813 (19%) were registered with arsenical skin lesions.

Murshidabad--one of the nine groundwater arsenic-affected districts of West Bengal, India. Part I: magnitude of contamination and population at risk.

Introduction: To understand the severity of the arsenic crisis in West Bengal, India, a detailed, 3-year study was undertaken in Murshidabad, one of the nine arsenic-affected districts in West Bengal. The district covers an area of 5324 km2 with a population of 5.3 million.

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.

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.

The magnitude of arsenic contamination in groundwater and its health effects to the inhabitants of the Jalangi--one of the 85 arsenic affected blocks in West Bengal, India.

To better understand the magnitude of arsenic contamination in groundwater and its effects on human beings, a detailed study was carried out in Jalangi, one of the 85 arsenic affected blocks in West Bengal, India. Jalangi block is approximately 122 km2 in size and has a population of 215538. Of the 1916 water samples analyzed (about 31% of the total hand tubewells) from the Jalangi block, 77.

Arsenic contamination of groundwater and its health impact on residents in a village in West Bengal, India.

An in-depth study was carried out in Rajapur, an arsenic-affected village in West Bengal, India, to determine the degree of groundwater contamination with arsenic and the impact of this contamination on residents. The flow injection hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry (FI-HG-AAS) method was used to measure arsenic concentrations in water and biological samples. Dermatologists recorded the dermatological features of arsenicosis.

Diagnosis of arsenicosis.

Arsenicosis is chronic subclinical or clinical toxicity due to high level of arsenic in body. Diagnosis of arsenicosis was derived by chronological establishment of facts: (a) arsenic as the cause of malady, (b) drinking water (tubewell water) as the vehicle of arsenic, (c) soil as the source of arsenic, (d) mechanism of leaching of arsenic from soil, and (e) cause of prevalence in particular areas of the country. Arsenicosis has been classified by the author into 4 stages, 7 grades and 20 subgrades.

Neuropathy in arsenic toxicity from groundwater arsenic contamination in West Bengal, India.

Large number of people from 9 out of 18 districts of West Bengal, India are endemically exposed to arsenic contaminated groundwater due to drinking of tubewell water containing arsenic level above World Health Organization's maximum permissible limit of 50 microg/L. From our ongoing studies on neurological involvement in patients of arsenicosis from different districts of West Bengal, we report our findings in a total of 451 patients of three districts (Murshidabad, Nadia, and Burdwan), comprising 267 males and 184 females with age ranging from 11 to 79 years. They all had arsenical skin lesions, positive biomarkers and identified source of arsenic contaminated water drinking.

Arsenic groundwater contamination and sufferings of people in North 24-Parganas, one of the nine arsenic affected districts of West Bengal, India.

To understand the magnitude of the arsenic calamity in West Bengal, a detailed study spanning 7 years was made in North 24-Parganas, one of the nine arsenic affected districts. Area and population of North 24-Parganas district are 4093.82 sq.