A comprehensive review of human health risks of arsenic and fluoride contamination of groundwater in the South Asia region

Abstract

The present study found that ∼80 million people in India, ∼60 million people in Pakistan, ∼70 million people in Bangladesh, and ∼3 million people in Nepal are exposed to arsenic groundwater contamination above 10 μg/L, while Sri Lanka remains moderately affected. In the case of fluoride contamination, ∼120 million in India, >2 million in Pakistan, and ∼0.5 million in Sri Lanka are exposed to the risk of fluoride above 1.5 mg/L, while Bangladesh and Nepal are mildly affected. The hazard quotient (HQ) for arsenic varied from 0 to 822 in India, 0 to 33 in Pakistan, 0 to 1,051 in Bangladesh, 0 to 582 in Nepal, and 0 to 89 in Sri Lanka. The cancer risk of arsenic varied from 0 to 1.64 × 1−1 in India, 0 to 1.07 × 10−1 in Pakistan, 0 to 2.10 × 10−1 in Bangladesh, 0 to 1.16 × 10−1 in Nepal, and 0 to 1.78 × 10−2 in Sri Lanka. In the case of fluoride, the HQ ranged from 0 to 21 in India, 0 to 33 in Pakistan, 0 to 18 in Bangladesh, 0 to 10 in Nepal, and 0 to 10 in Sri Lanka. Arsenic and fluoride have adverse effects on animals, resulting in chemical poisoning and skeletal fluorosis. Adsorption and membrane filtration have demonstrated outstanding treatment outcomes. HIGHLIGHTS India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal are severely affected by As contamination.; India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka are severely affected by F− contamination.; Arsenic is found to cause DNA damage and promotes diabetes and obesity.; Genetic background of person is found to increase or decrease the fluorosis risk; There is a lack of adequate information on the hydro-geochemistry of pollutants.;

Keywords

• arsenic
• fluoride
• groundwater contamination
• health risk
• south asia