Study of Groundwater Arsenic in Terai Belt of Eastern Uttar Pradesh, India

The present study investigates the groundwater solute chemistry, hydrogeochemical behavior of arsenic As and the assessment of health risks through ingestion and dermal contact pathways to the adults and children of the Bahraich district, falling under the middle Gangetic plain, Ghaghara river sub basin, Terai region of India. A Monte Carlo simulation and a sensitivity analysis were also performed to quantify the uncertainties and impact of various input variables in risk calculations, respectively. Concentrations major ions Ca2 , Mg2 , Na , K , SO42 , PO43 NO3 , HCO3 , F and Cl , dissolved organic carbon DOC , and trace metals As, Fe, and Mn as well as physical parameters EC, pH, and Eh were measured on the collected groundwater and river water samples. The concentration of As in the groundwater samples was found in range between 0.64 µg L to 104 µg L and ~37 of the samples had As 10 µg L WHO and BIS acceptable limit of 10 µg L for drinking water . River water samples also displayed high As concentrations mean of 14 µg L with ~73 of samples having As 10 µg L, which could be attributed to infiltration from As enriched sallow groundwater of the nearby regions. The groundwater of the study area was predominantly of Ca2 Mg2 HCO3 type. Bivariate weathering plots showed groundwater was influenced by silicate weathering and carbonate dissolution, along with the ion exchange and reverse ion exchange processes, with a minor contribution from evaporate dissolution. Most of the groundwater samples n = 57 were anoxic and had low SO42 and NO3 , and high Mn, Fe and DOC concentrations. The observed values and correlations between various measured parameters, including groundwater As concentrations and saturation indices calculations, indicated the reductive dissolution of iron oxyhydroxide as the major process for As mobilization in the study area. The results of total non carcinogenic risk HI estimated by the deterministic and probabilistic techniques were nearly identical for both adults and children, but an overestimation was observed in the case of carcinogenic risk calculated by the deterministic approach. Health risk results also showed that children were more susceptible to non carcinogenic risk, whereas adults were at a higher risk of cancer in the study area. Sensitivity analysis indicated that the concentration of As in groundwater and exposure duration ED were the most effective variables for non carcinogenic HI and carcinogenic TILCR risk estimation in both adults and children. Anil K Dwivedi "Study of Groundwater Arsenic in Terai Belt of Eastern Uttar Pradesh, India" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-6 | Issue-6 , October 2022, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd51840.pdf Paper URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/biological-science/botany/51840/study-of-groundwater-arsenic-in-terai-belt-of-eastern-uttar-pradesh-india/anil-k-dwivedi