Debashis Chatterjee

University of Kalyani · Department of Chemistry

Arsenic (As) contamination of groundwater is a common problem in BDP. The alkaline pH of the groundwater provides favourable condition for geomicrobiochemical processes, where organic matter also plays an important role in mobilization of As. The total arsenic content (AsT) of the groundwater is in the range of 69-178 µgL-1 with mean value of 118.5...

In Bengal Delta Plain (West Bengal and Bangladesh), shallow aquifer (<50 m) groundwa- ter is often used in irrigation for paddy cultivation. The present study highlights the role of anthropogenic activities on natural process and focuses on arsenic mobilization in the shallow irrigation well water of rural Bengal. The major focus is to examine th...

Inappropriate e-waste processing in the informal sector is a serious issue in developing countries. Field investigations in microscale informal recycling sites have been performed to study the impact of hazardous metal(loid)s (released from e-waste dismantling) on the environment (water and soil). Eight hazardous metal(loid)s (Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn, As, H...

In this investigation, metals of environmental concern, Cd, Cr, Co, Pb and Cu, are identified in the feed coal of thermal power plant from eastern India. The concentrations (0.56–10.3 µg/g) of these metals are enriched (one- to twofold) in fly and bottom ash during combustion. Additionally, a noticeable presence of Cd, Cr, Co, Pb, and Cu was also o...

Arsenic is a well-known carcinogen with emerging reports showing a range of health outcomes even for low to moderate levels of exposure. This study deals with arsenic exposure and associated increased lifetime cancer risk for populations in arsenic-endemic regions of rural Bengal, where arsenic-safe drinking water is being supplied at present. We f...

Inappropriate e-waste processing in the informal sector is a serious issue in developing countries. Field investigations in microscale informal recycling sites have been performed to study the impact of hazardous metal(loid)s (released from e-waste dismantling) on the environment (water and soil). Eight hazardous metal(loid)s (Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn, As, H...

The present study depicts the geospatial relation between basinal geomorphology and heterogeneous arsenic (As) distribution in the Bengal Delta Plain (BDP). The distribution pattern largely varies throughout the study area (higher: Karimpur-II AsT average 214.73 μgL⁻¹; lower: Tehatta AsT average 27.84 μgL⁻¹). Both safe (low As) and unsafe (high As)...

In Bengal Delta Plain (BDP), shallow aquifer (<50 m) is often contaminated with Arsenic (As). The phenomenon is wide spread in nature thought the BDP notable in Nadia district of west Bengal. The present study highlights a primary screening of As, Fe, MPN and FC in monitored shallow wells. The study designed for two different sites (site-A, High As...

Antimony (Sb) is a redox-sensitive toxic trace metalloid that occurs just below arsenic (As) in Group 15 of the periodic table. These two elements share many geochemical and toxicological similarities. Antimony contamination is a global problem of emerging concern, particularly around mining and smelting areas where the element is actively mined an...

In the present study, we investigated the possibilities and drawbacks of hollow fiber liquid phase microextraction (HF-LPME) combined with total reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF) spectrometry for the determination of low amounts of inorganic arsenic (As) species in water samples. The obtained results showed that a three-phase HF-LPME system was...

The bituminous-to-sub-bituminous quality feed coals of thermal power plants contain several environmental-concern trace elements (As, Se, Ni, Cr, Zn, Pb, Cu, Cd, Co and Mn). During combustion, these elements are enriched or depleted in the major coal combustion residues (CCR, fly and bottom ash). The analyzed elements are classified into three diff...

The biogeochemical cycling of phosphorus (P) in South and Southeast Asian floodplain and delta aquifers has received insufficient attention in research studies, even though dissolved orthophosphate (PO4³⁻) in this region is closely linked with the widespread contamination of groundwater with toxic arsenic (As). The overarching aim of this study was...

This study evaluated the concentration of arsenic in paired raw and cooked rice prepared by individual households in arsenic-endemic rural area of West Bengal. The aim was to investigate how the cooking habits of rural villagers of West Bengal might influence the arsenic content of rice meals. It was found that the use of arsenic-rich groundwater f...

Uncertainty persists regarding the vulnerability of deep groundwater across Asia's megadeltas. In the coastal Bengal Basin aquifer system, shallow groundwater (<100 m) commonly features high salinity or arsenic concentrations, and deep, better-quality, groundwater supplies drinking water to >80 million people. Here we report new radiocarbon evidenc...

Groundwater in Bengal Delta Plain (BDP; West Bengal and Bangladesh) is contaminated with geogenic arsenic (As). Shallow aquifers (<50 m) are largely affected with high arsenic which frequently exceed WHO guideline value (10 µg L⁻¹). This large-scale “natural” arsenic groundwater contamination has generally been associated with strong to moderately...

Regular monitoring of arsenic (As) in groundwater is crucial from public health perspectives as millions of people are suffering due to use of contaminated aquifer water for drinking purposes. The routine analyses, especially in developing nations, are mostly done in localised government/non-government laboratories with limited resources, having th...

Coal samples of Samaleswari open cast coal block (S-OCB) are high ash (Aad, mean value 35.43%) and low sulphur content (St, on dry basis, mean value 0.91% < 1%) in quality. The stratigraphic variation of volatile matter and fixed carbon (dry ash-free) reflect a progress of coal metamorphism with depth that accordance to the coal rank variation from...

The presence of arsenic (As) in groundwater is a wide-spread problem in south-east Asia, especially West Bengal (India) and Bangladesh. Water quality and chemistry of the groundwater have been investigated by a systematic screening operation of tube wells in a locality in West Bengal (India). Groundwater is predominantly of Ca-HCO3⁻ type and is occ...

h i g h l i g h t s " Various conventional treatment technologies for removal of As are critically reviewed. " Hybrid or integrated systems may adjust the limitations of conventional processes. " Reduction of As to metallic As by ZVI may prevent secondary environmental pollution. " Directions for future research in mitigation of As are given.

This paper reviews how active research in West Bengal has unmasked the endemic arsenism that has detrimental effects on the health of millions of people and their offspring. It documents how the pathways of exposure to this toxin/poison have been greatly expanded through intensive application of groundwater in agriculture in the region within the G...

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Coal samples from a borehole in the Samaleswari open cast coal block (S-OCB) have been collected. A chemical data set (n = 17) (proximate parameters, sulfur contents, mineral composition, trace and major element oxide concentrations) has been generated to evaluate the origin of trace elements in a vertical sequence through the stratigraphic column...

The consumption of water contaminated with fluoride (>1.5 mg L−1) causes serious problems to public health and ultimately leads to skeletal fluorosis. Thus, the development of more efficient fluoride scavenging materials for designing water filters is an immediate task for researchers. β-Cyclodextrin (β-CD) amended hydrous iron–zirconium hybrid oxi...

The present study examines the groundwater and surface water geochemistry of two different geomorphic domains within the Chakdaha Block, West Bengal, in an attempt to decipher potential influences of groundwater abstraction on the hydrochemical evolution of the aquifer, the effect of different water inputs (monsoon rain, irrigation and downward per...

The consumption of water contaminated with fluoride (>1.5 mg L⁻¹) causes serious problems to public health and ultimately leads to skeletal fluorosis. Thus, the development of more efficient fluoride scavenging materials for designing water filters is an immediate task for researchers. β-Cyclodextrin (β-CD) amended hydrous iron-zirconium hybrid oxi...

Communities in many parts of the world are unintentionally exposed to arsenic (As) and other toxic metals through ingestion of local drinking water and foods. The concentrations of individual toxic metals often exceed their guidelines in drinking water but the health risks associated with such multiple-metal exposures have yet to receive much atten...

Naturally occurring, carcinogenic, arsenic (As) is omnipresent in hydrological systems, and is considered as the most serious abiotic contaminant of groundwater in several parts of the world (Smedley and Kinniburgh, Appl Geochem 17:517–56, 2002; Chatterjee et al., Environ Geol 49:188–206, 2005; Charlet et al., Appl Geochem 22:1273–1292, 2007; Mukhe...

A detailed understanding of the geochemical processes that regulate the spatial, temporal and vertical variation of dissolved arsenic (As) in shallow aquifers (< 50 m) is a prerequisite for sustainable drinking water management in the Bengal Basin. The present study conducted at Chakdaha Block of the Nadia District, West Bengal, India, combined a h...

Recently, high As ground waters have been significantly recognized from vast alluvium of Bengal Delta Plain (BDP) and arsenicosis has emerged as an issue of great concern during the past decade due to rise in number of cancer cases. In BDP, arsenic removal plants (ARP) are often malfunctioning and field experience reveals that ARP needs serious att...

To delineate arsenic (As) safe aquifer(s) within shallow depth, the present study has investigated the shallow hydrostratigraphic framework over an area of 100 km2 at Chakdaha Block of Nadia District, West Bengal. Drilling of 29 boreholes and subsequent hydrostratigraphic modeling has identified three types of aquifer within 50 m below ground level...

This study investigates the adsorption of As(III) on b-cyclodextrin modified hydrous ferric oxide (HCC). This is characterized by XRD, FESEM, AFM, XPS, BET, surface site concentration and FTIR. The modification of hydrous ferric oxide (HFO) surface by b-cyclodextrin provides ample –OH groups which in turn increase As(III) adsorption on HCC compared...

Saliva, an easily accessible biofluid is validated as biomarker of arsenic (As) exposure in several villages of West Bengal, India. Pentavalent arsenic [As(V)] was found to be the predominant species in saliva, with the amount of inorganic As [As(V) and trivalent form, As(III)] being more than half of the total As in the samples. Significant associ...

Montmorillonite-supported nanoscale zero-valent iron (Mt-nZVI) has been synthesized to remove inorganic arsenic (As) from aqueous solutions. BET, SEM, EDX, XRD and XPS were used to characterize the clay-supported material which consists mainly of core shell Fe(0) structure with an outer oxide/hydroxide shell. The dispersion of nZVI onto montmorillo...

This study assesses the role of competing ions in the mobilization of arsenic (As) by surface complexation modeling of the temporal variability of As in groundwater. The potential use of two different surface complexation models (SCMs), developed for ferrihydrite and goethite, has been explored to account for the temporal variation of As(III) and A...

The exact circumstances that cause the widespread enrichment of Mn and As in groundwater of the Bengal Delta Plain (BDP) and many other Asian delta areas still remain a matter of debate in the scientific community. We conducted an in situ field experiment in the central BDP region to investigate the influence of organic matter on the mobility of Fe...

The water quality and chemistry of the groundwater of the fluvial Bengal plains have been investigated. It has been found that shallow aquifers (< 50 m bgl) are contaminated in a few pockets, surrounded by areas with low arsenic (As)/As-free groundwater, while the deeper aquifer (> 100 m bgl) is generally free from As (< 10 μg/L). It also reveals t...

A comparative hydrogeochemical study was carried out in West Bengal, India covering three physiographic regions, Debagram and Chakdaha located in the Bhagirathi-Hooghly alluvial plain and Baruipur in the delta front, to demonstrate the control of geogenic and anthropogenic influences on groundwater arsenic (As) mobilization. Groundwater samples (n...

Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and Fe mineral phases are known to influence the mobility of arsenic (As) in groundwater. Arsenic can be associated with colloidal particles containing organic matter and Fe. Currently, no data is available on the dissolved phase/colloidal association of As in groundwater of alluvial aquifers in West Bengal, India. Th...

The purpose of this study is to examine the sedimentation history of the central floodplain area of the Bengal Delta Plain in West Bengal, India. Sediments from two boreholes were analyzed regarding lithology, geochemistry and the stable isotopic composition of embedded organic matter. Different lithofacies were distinguished that reflect frequent...

Elevated arsenic (As) in groundwater is a well-known phenomenon in the Bengal delta plain (BDP). It has been found that mobilization of As can be influenced by the presence of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and other mineral phases (specially Fe). In this study, groundwater samples were filtered through varying pore size membrane filters to investi...

Saliva is a biological fluid that has not been used extensively as a biomonitoring tool in epidemiological studies. This study presents the arsenic (As) concentrations in saliva and urine samples collected from populations of West Bengal, India who had been previously exposed to high As levels in their drinking water. We found a significant (p < 0....

Arsenic contaminations of groundwater in several parts of the world are the results of natural and/or anthropogenic sources, and have a large impact on human health. Millions of people from different countries rely on groundwater containing As for drinking purposes. This paper reviews removal technologies (oxidation, coagulation flocculation, adsor...

The above paper has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (http://www.elsevier.com/locate/withdrawalpolicy). This article has been retracted at the request of the Editors-in-Chief. Despite the inclusion of interesting original data in this paper, serious concerns have been raised about the manner of their interpretation i...

Here we report temporal changes of As concentrations in shallow groundwater of the Bengal Delta Plain (BDP). Observed fluctuations are primarily induced by seasonally occurring groundwater movement, but can also be connected to anthropogenic groundwater extraction. Between December 2009 and July 2010, pronounced variations in the groundwater hydroc...

Nano-materials have gained special attention in water pollution mitigation researches since last decade. Two vital properties make nanoparticles highly lucrative as sorbents. On a mass basis, they have much larger surface areas compared to macro particles. They can also be enhanced with various reactor groups to increase their chemical affinity tow...

This study investigates the risk of arsenic (As) exposure to the communities in rural Bengal, even when they have been supplied with As safe drinking water. The estimates of exposure via dietary and drinking water routes show that when people are consuming water with As concentration <10 µg L-1, the total daily intake of inorganic As (TDI-iAs) exce...

Solar Oxidation and Removal of Arsenic (SORAS) is a low-cost non-hazardous technique for the removal of arsenic (As) from groundwater. In this study, we tested the efficiency of natural citric acid sources extracted from tomato, lemon and lime to promote SORAS for As removal at the household level. The experiment was conducted in the laboratory usi...

Arsenic contamination of groundwater poses a serious threat to the population in low-lying Gangetic plain of Bihar where arsenic in groundwater occurs in a wide range from Below Detection Limit (BDL) up to more than 600 μg/L. Pilot-scale trials on arsenic removal were conducted at two locations employing an energy efficient small-scale Reverse O...

Delineation of safe aquifer(s) that can be targeted by cheap drilling technology for tubewell (TW) installation becomes highly imperative to ensure access to safe and sustainable drinking water sources for the arsenic (As) affected population in Bengal Basin. This study investigates the potentiality of brown sand aquifers (BSA) as a safe drinking w...

Although suppression of E-cadherin gene (CDH1) expression and exposure to arsenic have separately been associated with skin lesions, the combined effects of this "gene-environment" interaction have not been explored previously. A population-based cross-sectional survey. This study involved 100 cases with skin lesions and 100 controls who were famil...

This study assesses the arsenic (As) accumulation in different varieties of rice grain, that people in rural Bengal mostly prefer for daily consumption, to estimate the potential risk of dietary As exposure through rice intake. The rice samples have been classified according to their average length (L) and L to breadth (B) ratio into four categorie...

Groundwater contaminated with arsenic (As), when extensively used for irrigation, causes potentially long-term detrimental effects to surface soils. Such contamination can also directly affect human health when irrigated crops, such as rice, vegetable and fruits, are used for human consumption. Therefore, an understanding of the leaching behavior o...

This study investigated the efficiency, cost-effectiveness and affordability to remove arsenic (As) from drinking water using Solar Radiation and Removal of Arsenic (SORAS) technique. Tomato was observed to be the most efficient and cost-effective natural citrate source in removal of As from both synthetic (removal efficiency: 78-98%) and natural (...

A low-cost rapid screening tool for arsenic (As) and manganese (Mn) in groundwater is urgently needed to formulate mitigation policies for sustainable drinking water supply. This study attempts to make statistical comparison between tubewell (TW) platform color and the level of As and Mn concentration in groundwater extracted from the respective TW...

Arsenic (As) enrichment in groundwater has become a major global environmental disaster. Groundwater samples were collected from 64 sites located in the districts of 24-Parganas (S), and Nadia in West Bengal, India (Bhagirathi sub-basin), and 51 sites located in the districts of Comilla, Noakhali, Magura, Brahman baria, Laxmipur, Munshiganj, Faridp...

Patchy occurrences of elevated As are often encountered in groundwater from the shallow aquifers (

Groundwater contaminated with arsenic (As), when extensively used for irrigation, causes potentially long term detrimental effects to surface soils. Such contamination can also directly affect human health when irrigated crops, such as rice, vegetable and fruits, are used for human consumption. Therefore, an understanding of the sorption and desorp...

Major ion and trace element analyses were performed on groundwater samples collected from the Bengal Delta (Chakdaha municipality, West Bengal and Manikgonj town, Bangladesh) and Chianan Plains (SW Taiwan) to compare geochemical characteristics. Results showed that concentrations of Na, K, Mg, Cl and SO4 were generally higher in Chianan Plain (CNP)...

Arsenic (As) induced identifiable health outcomes are now spreading across Indian subcontinent with continuous discovery of high As concentrations in groundwater. This study deals with groundwater hydrochemistry vis-à-vis As exposure assessment among rural population in Chakdaha block, West Bengal, India. The water quality survey reveals that 96% o...

High arsenic (As) groundwater is a global issue and notably in south-east Asia. Asystematic screening (sampling) operation has been conducted for hydrogeochemical investigation of groundwaters in rural parts of West Bengal, India. The groundwaters are dominantly Ca-HCO 3--type usually occurring in the study area; however, NaCl-enriched samples are...

This study deals with groundwater quality and As mobilization behavior in the shallow (up to -50 m) and deeper (below -100 m) aquifer levels in Bengal Delta Plain. The groundwaters from shallow aquifer levels are enriched with redox sensitive species, HCO 3-, DOC, PO 4-3 and NH 4+, whereas the deeper aquifer level contains relatively low As, PO 4-3...

Bengal Delta region is currently confronted with largest groundwater arsenic calamity in history of human kind (BGS-DPHE, 2001; Mukherjee and Bhattacharya, 2001; Bhattacharya et al., 2002a; McArthur et al., 2001; Smedley and Kinniburgh, 2002; Mukherjee et al., 2006; Nath et al., 2005, 2007, 2008). Concentrations of arsenic in drinking water wells i...

This study deals with groundwater quality and As mobilization behavior in the shallow (up to ∼50 m) and deeper (below ∼100 m) aquifer levels in Bengal Delta Plain. The groundwaters from shallow aquifer levels are enriched with redox sensitive species, HCO3⁻, DOC, PO4⁻³ and NH4⁺, whereas the deeper aquifer level contains relatively low As, PO4⁻³, DO...

This study aims at finding out possible relation between lithology and spatial pattern of dissolved arsenic (As) in groundwater around Chakdaha municipality, West Bengal, India. Satellite image, coupled with electrical resistivity survey and borehole drilling helps to delineate surface and sub-surface lithological framework of the As affected alluv...

Groundwater and aquifer materials have been characterized geochemically at a field site located in the Chakdaha municipality of West Bengal, India. Sorption experiments were also carried out on a sandy aquifer material to understand the mobility of arsenic (As) in the sub-surface environments. The result shows that the areas associated with high gr...

The present study demonstrates the importance of hydrogeochemical characteristics (groundwater flow and recharge) of an aquifer in the release of As to groundwater. The study area (∼20 km2) is located in Chakdaha block, Nadia district, West Bengal, which hosts groundwaters of variable As content. The spatial distribution pattern of As is patchy wit...