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Hydrogeochemical investigation of arsenic in drinking water of schools and age dependent risk assessment in Vehari District, Punjab Pakistan: a multivariate analysis

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Behzad Murtaza at COMSATS University Islamabad
Behzad Murtaza
Humaira Nazeer
Humaira Nazeer
Humaira Nazeer
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Natasha Natasha at COMSATS University Islamabad
Natasha Natasha
Muhammad Imran at BUIC
Muhammad Imran
  • BUIC
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Globally, a large number of school-aged children is suffering from water-borne diseases, particularly in low-income countries. Arsenic (As) is a hazardous and potentially carcinogenic metal(loid) in drinking water. Nowadays, alarming levels of As have been reported in the groundwater of Vehari District, Punjab Pakistan. In this study, drinking water supplies for high and higher secondary schools were examined in Vehari District. A total of 164 water samples were collected from schools and subjected to heavy metal(loid) analysis (As) and basic water physicochemical parameters. The results were analyzed with respect to sampling area, school type, school education level, sources of sample collection, and the depth of the source. The results revealed that As concentration of water samples in boys’ and girls’ schools was 12.8 μg/L and 9.2 μg/L, respectively. However, when the As concentration in drinking water was evaluated at the school education level, a notable higher concentration of As was observed in the higher secondary schools than the high schools with an average of 19.5 and 9.7 μg/L, respectively. The risk assessment indices were calculated based on education level and different age groups of the children (primary, elementary, high, and higher secondary). High carcinogenic (cancer risk = 0.001) and non-carcinogenic (hazard quotient = 2.0) risks were noted for the children in higher secondary school. The current findings anticipated that the drinking water of schools in Vehari District did not meet the requirement of the World Health Organization (WHO) drinking water quality guidelines. Safe drinking water is crucial for the development and growth of children. Therefore, it is important for educational authorities to take steps for provision of As free safe drinking water to students and local inhabitants.
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Hydrogeochemical investigation of arsenic in drinking water
of schools and age dependent risk assessment in Vehari District,
Punjab Pakistan: a multivariate analysis
Behzad Murtaza
1
&Humaira Nazeer
1
&Natasha
1
&Muhammad Amjad
2
&Muhammad Imran
1
&Muhammad Shahid
1
&
Noor S. Shah
1
&Abu Bakr Umer Farooq
1
&Muhammad Amjad
1
&Ghulam Murtaza
3
Received: 10 February 2020 /Accepted: 14 May 2020
#Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract
Globally, a large number of school-aged children is suffering from water-borne diseases, particularly in low-income countries.
Arsenic (As) is a hazardous and potentially carcinogenic metal(loid) in drinking water. Nowadays, alarming levels of As have
been reported in the groundwater of Vehari District, Punjab Pakistan. In this study, drinking water supplies for high and higher
secondary schools were examined in Vehari District. A total of 164 water samples were collected from schools and subjected to
heavy metal(loid) analysis (As) and basic water physicochemical parameters. The results were analyzed with respect to sampling
area, school type, school education level, sources of sample collection, and the depth of the source. The results revealed that As
concentration of water samples in boys’and girls’schools was 12.8 μg/L and 9.2 μg/L, respectively. However, when the As
concentration in drinking water was evaluated atthe school education level, a notable higher concentration of As was observed in
the higher secondary schools than the high schools with an average of 19.5 and 9.7 μg/L, respectively. The risk assessment
indices were calculated based on education level and different age groups of the children (primary, elementary, high, and higher
secondary). High carcinogenic (cancer risk = 0.001) and non-carcinogenic (hazard quotient = 2.0) risks were noted for the
children in higher secondary school. The current findings anticipated that the drinking water of schools in Vehari District did
not meet the requirement of the World Health Organization (WHO) drinking water quality guidelines. Safe drinking water is
crucial for the development and growth of children. Therefore, it is important for educational authorities to take steps for
provision of As free safe drinking water to students and local inhabitants.
Keywords Arsenic .Drinking water .Schools .Children .Health risk .Vehari .Pakistan
Introduction
Arsenic (As), a naturally occurringelement, is well-known for
its high toxicity and carcinogenicity (Altundoğan et al. 2000;
Asmel et al. 2017; Zhang et al. 2013). Groundwater contam-
ination by As is a global concern and threatens the health and
life of millions of people, particularly in the densely populated
areas (Fakhri et al. 2018). More than 100 million people
worldwide ingest an excessive amount of As through contam-
inated water from natural resources (Natasha et al. 2020). In
Asia, millions of people consume As-contaminated ground-
water and use it for irrigation as well as for domestic purposes
(Mondal et al. 2013; Shahid et al. 2018b; Shakoor et al. 2015).
Some countries have lower As level in groundwater (<
10 μg/L), but many countries such as Bangladesh (Islam
et al. 2019), China (Zhang et al. 2019), Egypt (Embaby and
Redwan 2019), India (Bhattacharya et al. 2007), Indonesia
Responsible Editor: Lotfi Aleya
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article
(https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-09334-7) contains supplementary
material, which is available to authorized users.
*Behzad Murtaza
behzadmurtaza@cuivehari.edu.pk
*Ghulam Murtaza
gmurtazauaf@gmail.com
1
Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS University
Islamabad, Vehari 61100, Pakistan
2
District Water Testing Laboratory, Public Health Engineering
Department, Vehari 61100, Pakistan
3
Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of
Agriculture Faisalabad, Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-09334-7
/ Published online: 28 May 2020
Environmental Science and Pollution Research (2020) 27:30530–30541
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
... In Bangladesh, arsenic contamination of tube well waters, which serves as the primary source of drinking water, has long been recognized as a serious public health issue [24,25]. For example, in the Punjab province of Pakistan over 20% of the total population are exposed to As pollution and there are many areas, i.e., Muzaffargarh [26], Rahim Yar Khan [27,28], Vehari [29], Mailsi [30], Bahawalpur [31], Lahore and adjacent areas [32] and Multan [33] in both the lower and upper Punjab, where As is much higher than the recommended WHO value [34]. Since the extent of this As-contamination issue is likely to extend well beyond the boundaries of the Punjab, there is an urgent need to analyze As concentrations in adjacent areas and assess the consequential possible human health risks. ...
... Globally arsenic poisoning due to dietary intake of As polluted water has been well documented [11,27,29]. Here, three health risk assessment parameters (ADD, HQ and CR) for people in Lodhran District exposed to As rich groundwater were calculated as mentioned in the Table 1. ...
Assessment of Arsenic Contamination in Groundwater and Associated Human Health Risk
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Drinking water contamination by arsenic (As) is of significant concern due to its potential cause of cancer and arsenicosis. In this study, out of the 200 samples (n = 200), the mean As concentrations ranged from below detection limit (BDL) to 3.30, 4.81, 4.42 and 3.85 �g L􀀀1 in small residential, roadside, industrial and household areas, respectively. From 200 total samples, 9% of the groundwater samples showed As levels higher than the WHO safe guideline limit of 10 �g L􀀀1. Human health risk was assessed using average daily intake (ADD), hazard quotient (HQ) and cancer risk (CR) values which were found to be greater than the recommended values by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (1.0 and 10􀀀6) for health risk assessment. The CR were ranged from 0–5.7 � 10􀀀1, 4.0 � 10􀀀1, 2.0 � 10􀀀1 and 1.0 � 10􀀀1 in small residential areas for children, adolescents, males and females, respectively. In roadside areas, the values ranged from 0–2.8 � 10􀀀1, 4.0 � 10􀀀1, 2.0 � 10􀀀1 and 2.8 � 10􀀀1 for children, adolescents, males and females, while 0–5.9 � 10􀀀1, 4.1 � 10􀀀1, 2.1 � 10􀀀1 and 1.6 � 10􀀀1 in industrial areas and 0–8.0 � 10􀀀1, 2.91 � 10􀀀1, 2.6 � 10􀀀1 and 3.9 � 10􀀀1 were calculated in household sites. All the CR values were found to be exceeding the US-EPA limit (10􀀀6) recommending that the people in the study area are more prone to carcinogenic risk. Overall, it was concluded that due to presence of As in drinking water, these areas tend to be at higher cancer risks. To provide safe drinking water for the people living in these As-affected areas, urgent remedial and management steps are required.
View
... In Bangladesh, arsenic contamination of tube well waters, which serves as the primary source of drinking water, has long been recognized as a serious public health issue [24,25]. For example, in the Punjab province of Pakistan over 20% of the total population are exposed to As pollution and there are many areas, i.e., Muzaffargarh [26], Rahim Yar Khan [27,28], Vehari [29], Mailsi [30], Bahawalpur [31], Lahore and adjacent areas [32] and Multan [33] in both the lower and upper Punjab, where As is much higher than the recommended WHO value [34]. Since the extent of this As-contamination issue is likely to extend well beyond the boundaries of the Punjab, there is an urgent need to analyze As concentrations in adjacent areas and assess the consequential possible human health risks. ...
... Globally arsenic poisoning due to dietary intake of As polluted water has been well documented [11,27,29]. Here, three health risk assessment parameters (ADD, HQ and CR) for people in Lodhran District exposed to As rich groundwater were calculated as mentioned in the Table 1. ...
Assessment of Arsenic Contamination in Groundwater and Associated Human Health Risk
Article
Full-text available
  • Sep 2022
Drinking water contamination by arsenic (As) is of significant concern due to its potential cause of cancer and arsenicosis. In this study, out of the 200 samples (n = 200), the mean As concentrations ranged from below detection limit (BDL) to 3.30, 4.81, 4.42 and 3.85 µg L−1 in small residential, roadside, industrial and household areas, respectively. From 200 total samples, 9% of the groundwater samples showed As levels higher than the WHO safe guideline limit of 10 μg L−1. Human health risk was assessed using average daily intake (ADD), hazard quotient (HQ) and cancer risk (CR) values which were found to be greater than the recommended values by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (1.0 and 10−6) for health risk assessment. The CR were ranged from 0–5.7 × 10−1, 4.0 × 10−1, 2.0 × 10−1 and 1.0 × 10−1 in small residential areas for children, adolescents, males and females, respectively. In roadside areas, the values ranged from 0–2.8 × 10−1, 4.0 × 10−1, 2.0 × 10−1 and 2.8 × 10−1 for children, adolescents, males and females, while 0–5.9 × 10−1, 4.1 × 10−1, 2.1 × 10−1 and 1.6 × 10−1 in industrial areas and 0–8.0 × 10−1, 2.91 × 10−1, 2.6 × 10−1 and 3.9 × 10−1 were calculated in household sites. All the CR values were found to be exceeding the US-EPA limit (10−6) recommending that the people in the study area are more prone to carcinogenic risk. Overall, it was concluded that due to presence of As in drinking water, these areas tend to be at higher cancer risks. To provide safe drinking water for the people living in these As-affected areas, urgent remedial and management steps are required.
View
... The School of Science Volume 7 Issue 3, 2023 quantity of arsenic found in drinking water was quite high in secondary schools of Vehari (mostly ranging between 12.9µg/L-19.5µg/L), which predominantly affected the health of students [8]. Highly populated cities like Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, and others face severe drinking water pollution due to human activities, rendering it unsuitable for consumption [9]. ...
Rising Arsenic Level in Drinking Water: A Study of Schools and Local Areas of Multan, Pakistan
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Full-text available
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Water is the basic need for the survival of all living organisms; however, its contamination has caused disastrous effects on human health. Almost 80% of the total population in Pakistan is forced to use unsafe drinking water due to the scarcity of clean water sources. To assess, the risk involved and to monitor the amount of Arsenic and bacterial growth in drinking water, water samples were collected from different government schools and underdeveloped areas of Multan, Pakistan. Moreover, water samples were collected by randomly visiting areas and were sent for laboratory analysis to determine and detect the arsenic amount along with other parameters including aesthetic, physical, chemical, and bacteriological growth. The results indicated that all the data collected from Govt. schools and developed locality were having a large amount of arsenic in drinking water. A huge amount of Coliform growth was found in the Peer colony water, which indicated a highly unhealthy intensity of pollutant water for the population residing in this area. Therefore, urgent and regular monitoring of drinking water in Multan was required to prevent such contamination.
View
... In many As polluted areas around the world, for example, in Sindh province of Pakistan, As concentration in drinking water was higher than 10 µg•L − 1 in most tubewells, and one health risk assessment model indicated that the children were at risk of chronic As toxicity in the future (Baig et al. 2016). Similar ndings were reported for school-going children in Punjab, Pakistan (Murtaza et al. 2020). Furthermore, Rahman et al. (2021c) and Gul et al. (2020) reported that groundwater in Jessore and Multan districts is not t for human consumption due to excessive As contamination and high school students are at risk of experiencing chronic and carcinogenic health risks. ...
Groundwater arsenic poisoning in a primary educational institution: health risks to school-going children
Preprint
Full-text available
  • May 2022
This study aimed to estimate arsenic (As) and iron (Fe) content in tubewell water (n = 58) in primary educational institutions and subsequently assess the health risks to school-going children. Results described that the As concentration ranged between 0.002 and 0.994 mg∙L-1 with an average value of 0.044 mg∙L-1; which exceeded the World Health Organization (WHO) provisional guideline value of 0.01 mg∙L-1. Similarly, the Fe content varied from 0.05 to 10 mg∙L-1 averaging to 2.84 mg∙L-1. Samples of 55.17 % contained a greater As concentration than 0.01 mg∙L-1 and 18.97% greater than Bangladesh drinking water quality (BDWQ) standardof 0.05 mg∙L-1, respectively. Meanwhile, 75.86 % of samples contained a higher Fe concentration than the maximum Bangladesh permissible limit of 1 mg∙L-1. Health risk assessment indicated that girls are more vulnerable than boys are. The average hazard quotients (HQs) for As intake through drinking water were 6.01 ± 17.85 and 7.41 ± 22.03 for boys and girls, respectively, implying non-carcinogenic health risks to both genders. The HQs for Fe intake were less than threshold value of 1 indicating no health issues may arise from Fe intake alone. However, consumption of As and Fe may trigger health risks to students as indicated by the hazard index (HI), which was higher than 1.The average cancer risk (CR) values for both boys (0.0027 ± 0.008) and girls (0.0033 ± 0.0099) exceeded the threshold limit of 10-6–10-4, suggesting a possibility of lifetime cancer risks to the school-going children. Consequently, school authorities should find alternative ways to ensure safe drinking water for school-going children to avoid possible cancer and non-cancer health risks through consumption of As-poisoning water.
View
... In many As polluted areas around the world, for example, in Sindh province of Pakistan, As concentration in drinking water was higher than 10 lg L -1 in most tubewells, and one health risk assessment model indicated that the children were at risk of chronic As toxicity in the future (Baig et al. 2016). Similar findings were reported for school-going children in Punjab, Pakistan (Murtaza et al. 2020). Furthermore, Rahman et al. (2021c) and Gul et al. (2020) reported that groundwater in Jessore and Multan districts is not fit for human consumption due to excessive As contamination and high school students are at risk of experiencing chronic and carcinogenic health risks. ...
Groundwater arsenic poisoning in a primary educational institution: health risks to school-going children
Article
Full-text available
  • Sep 2022
This study aimed to estimate arsenic (As) and iron (Fe) content in tubewell water (n = 58) in primary educational institutions and subsequently assess the health risks to school-going children. Results described that the As concentration ranged between 0.002 and 0.994 mg L-1 with an average value of 0.044 mg L-1 ; which exceeded the World Health Organization (WHO) provisional guideline value of 0.01 mg L-1. Similarly, the Fe content varied from 0.05 to 10 mg L-1 averaging to 2.84 mg L-1. Samples of 55.17% contained a greater As concentration than 0.01 mg L-1 and 18.97% greater than Bangladesh drinking water quality (BDWQ) standard of 0.05 mg L-1 , respectively. Meanwhile, 75.86% of samples contained a higher Fe concentration than the maximum Bangladesh permissible limit of 1 mg L-1. Health risk assessment indicated that girls are more vulnerable than boys are. The average hazard quotients (HQs) for As intake through drinking water were 6.01 ± 17.85 and 7.41 ± 22.03 for boys and girls, respectively, implying non-carcinogenic health risks to both genders. The HQs for Fe intake were less than threshold value of 1 indicating no health issues may arise from Fe intake alone. However, consumption of As and Fe may trigger health risks to students as indicated by the hazard index (HI), which was higher than 1. The average cancer risk (CR) values for both boys (0.0027 ± 0.008) and girls (0.0033 ± 0.0099) exceeded the threshold limit of 10-6-10-4 , suggesting a possibility of lifetime cancer risks to the school-going children. Consequently, school authorities should find alternative ways to ensure safe drinking water for school-going children to avoid possible cancer and non-cancer health risks through consumption of As-poisoning water.
View
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Assessment of arsenic exposure by drinking well water and associated carcinogenic risk in peri-urban areas of Vehari, Pakistan
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  • Jan 2020
  • ENVIRON GEOCHEM HLTH
Arsenic (As) is a highly toxic and carcinogenic element. It has received considerable consideration worldwide in recent years due to its highest toxicity to human, and currently, high concentrations observed in the groundwater. Some recent media and research reports also highlighted possible As contamination of groundwater systems in Pakistan. However, there is a scarcity of data about As contents in groundwater in different areas/regions of the country. Consequently, the current study estimated the As concentration in the groundwater used for drinking purpose in 15 peri-urban sites of district Vehari, Pakistan. In total, 127 groundwater samples were collected and examined for As contents in addition to physicochemical characteristics such as temperature, electrical conductivity, pH, total soluble salts, chloride, carbonates, bicarbonates, sodium, potassium, lithium, calcium and barium. Results indicated that the groundwater samples were not fully fit for drinking purposes with several parameters, especially the alarming levels of As (mean As: 46.9 µg/L). It was found that 83% groundwater samples of peri-urban sites in district Vehari have As concentration greater than WHO lower permissible limit (10 µg/L). The risk assessment parameters (mean hazard quotient: 3.9 and mean cancer risk: 0.0018) also showed possible carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks associated with ingestion of As-contaminated groundwater at peri-urban sites. Based on the findings, it is anticipated that special monitoring and management of groundwater is necessary in the studied area in order to curtail the health risks associated with the use of As-contaminated drinking water. Moreover, appropriate remediation and removal of As from groundwater is also imperative for the study area before being used for drinking purpose to avoid As exposure and related risks to the local community.
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The Heavy Metal Contamination in Shallow Groundwater at Coastal Ares of Surabaya East Java Indonesia
Article
Full-text available
  • Apr 2019
The present study was conducted to assess the level of heavy metal contamination in shallow aquifer of Surabaya coastal areas. Six heavy metals (Arsenic, Mercury, Chromium, Lead, Cupper and Magnesium) of contaminant have been determined in the shallow groundwater. The samples were then analyzed by using Atomic Absorbent Spectrometry gas and followed by using the method of Standard Method Examination. The result indicated that shallow groundwater in Surabaya has been contaminated by Arsenic (0.243 ppm) and Magnesium (1.262 ppm). Another heavy metal such as Mercury, Chromium, Lead, and Cupper showed bellow detected. This study has proven the presence of heavy metal as specially Arsenic and Magnesium has been contain in shallow aquifer supplies in the coastal areas of Surabaya.
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A critical prospective analysis of the potential toxicity of trace element regulation limits in soils worldwide: Are they protective concerning health risk assessment? - A review
Article
Full-text available
  • Mar 2019
  • ENVIRON INT
Trace elements (TEs) may have toxic effects to plants and humans; thus, countries and organizations impose maximum allowable regulation limits of their concentrations in soils. Usually such limits are placed in different categories according to soil use, soil properties or based on both attributes. However, some countries have regulation limits irrespective of differentiation in soil properties. In this review, we aimed at collecting TE regulation limits in soils from major countries and organizations around the globe, and critiquing them by assessing potential human health risks in the case of soils attaining the maximum allowable values. We explored the soil-to-human pathway and differentiated among three major exposures from TEs, i.e., residential, industrial and agricultural. We observed the existence of problems concerning TE regulation limits, among which the fact that limits across countries do not regulate the same TEs, not even a minimum number of TEs. This indicates that countries do not seem to agree on which regulation limits of TEs pose a high risk. Also, these regulation limits do not take into account TE mobility to neighbouring environment interphases such as plant, especially edible, and water matrices. Moreover, limits for same TEs are vastly diverse across countries; this indicates that those countries have conflicting information concerning TE-related health risks. Subsequently, we addressed this problem of diversity by quantifying resultant risks; we did that by calculating human health risk indices, taking into consideration the cases in which the highest allowable TE limits are attained in soil. Arsenic limits were found to generate a relatively high hazard quotient (HQi, accounting for human intake over the maximum allowable oral reference dose for that same TE), indicating that its risk tends to be underestimated. Other TE limits, such as those of Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn typically result in low HQi, meaning that limits in their cases are rather overprotective. Our approach reveals the need of reducing diversity in regulation limits by drafting soil legislations of worldwide validity, since risks are common across countries. We suggest that new directions should strategically tend to (a) reduce limits of TEs with underestimated contribution to health risk (such as As), (b) cautiously increase limits of TEs that currently cause minor health risks, (c) quantify TE risks associated with uptake to edible plants and potable water, and (d) consider multi-element contamination cases, where risks are cumulatively enhanced due to TE synergism.
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Monitoring of arsenic in drinking water of high schools and assessment of carcinogenic health risk in Multan, Pakistan
Article
  • Aug 2019
This study was performed to measure arsenic (As) contents in groundwater/drinking water of high schools and its effects on human health. Chronic daily intake, hazardous quotient (HQ), carcinogenic risk (CR), hazardous index (HI), and carcinogenic indices (CI) for oral and dermal exposure to arsenic were calculated. Samples were taken from high schools in four tehsils of Multan. As contents ranged from 3.25 to 184 µg/l and 99% samples exceeded World Health Organization safe limit (10 µg/l). HQ for Multan city (1.70) and for Multan Saddar (1.38) exceeded USEPA permissible toxic risk value (1.0). CR in four tehsils for oral (0.0001–0.0003) and dermal exposure (0.0000049–0.000011) exceeded USEPA limit (10⁻⁶). HI for tehsil Multan city (1.75) and Multan Saddar (1.42) exceeded the limit (1.0). CI for four tehsils ranged from 0.00022 to 0.0008 exceeding USEPA limit (10⁻⁶) indicating high chronic and carcinogenic health risk to exposed population. Results indicated that groundwater of district Multan is not fit for human consumption due to excessive arsenic contamination. It invites attention of water supplying agency and educational authorities to take steps for provision of arsenic free safe drinking water to students and local area peoples.
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Human health risk assessment of groundwater arsenic contamination in Jinghui irrigation district, China
Article
  • May 2019
The groundwater is an important route of human exposure to kinds of contaminants. This study was carried out to investigate the occurrence and spatial distribution of groundwater arsenic in the Jinghui irrigation district in Shaanxi Province, China. The water contamination was assessed for drinking purposes by comparing it to national guidelines, and the impacts of arsenic on human health were quantified using the health risk assessment model recommended by the USEPA. The results show that the concentration of groundwater arsenic ranges from 0.0012 to 0.0190 mg/L (average 0.0054 mg/L), and 2.58% of groundwater exceed the national guidelines of 0.01 mg/L for drinking. The carcinogenic risk of arsenic affecting adults has reached 3.50 × 10 ⁻⁴ , significantly exceeding the national guideline (1.00 × 10 ⁻⁴ .) The health risks resulting from oral exposure are higher than those of dermal exposure. The carcinogenic risk for adults is higher than that for children, while the non-carcinogenic risk for children is higher than that for adults. The area ratio of the carcinogenic risk is 42.82%, and the area of the non-carcinogenic risk is 69.19%. Groundwater arsenic mainly originates from the discharge of industrial wastewater and the slowly release of natural sediments. The results of this study can help to set up suitable management strategies to guarantee water supply and health safety for local residents.
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Distribution of arsenic in core sediments and groundwater in the Chapai Nawabganj district, Bangladesh
Article
  • Feb 2019
Arsenic (As) concentration and geochemical analysis of groundwater as well as core sediments of 20 tube wells revealed the uppermost aquifer (20–40 m of depth) groundwater As concentrations ranging from 2.34 to 586.96 μg L−1 , and groundwater geochemical conditions change from oxidized to gradually more reduced as higher concentrations of As increased with depth. The highest sediment As levels (25 mg kg−1) were found within the shallow depth (15 m). The groundwater of the study area is of Ca-HCO3 type, where Ca is the dominant metal with high concentrations of As, Fe, and Mn but low levels of NO3 − and SO4 2−. The trace elements Fe, Mn, and As exceed theWHO and DoE standard in groundwater which clearly indicated As contamination except some few areas where less Fe and Mn are released in aquifer water from sediment. The contaminated As zone also corroborated with the GIS study. Considerable variability with depth and location is noted in the levels of As, Fe, and Mn in groundwater, and from these levels it can be seen that the groundwater of Rajarampur village of Chapai Nawabganj Paurasava is more reduced than the groundwater of Baragharia. Groundwater in Baragharia village contains low concentration of As below the WHO standard (< 10 μg L−1), and this type of water is generally suitable for extraction for domestic uses. Some places have been detected as having the most favorable conditions for reducing the environment where higher concentrations of As are observed. Fine-grained sediments are also associated with high levels of As concentration in aquifers. Statistical analysis clearly shows that As is closely related with Fe (R2 = 0.557) and Mn (R2 = 0.627) in sediments. However, As is not well correlated with Mn (R2 = 0.2175) in groundwater. These correlations indicate that the reductive destruction of Mn- and Fe-rich compounds (e.g., MnOOH, FeOOH) is controlled by anaerobic bacteria states for releasing As into the aquifer. Notwithstanding, in spite of the poor correlation between As and Fe, As and Mn bare that Fe and Mn are assumed to be precipitated onto the sediments as siderite and rhodochrosite. Keywords Chapai Nawabganj district . Bangladesh . Groundwater . Arsenic
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