School of Environmental Studies, Jadavpur University, Kolkata 700032, India.
Virtusa Corporation, Irvington, NJ 07111, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018 Jan 23;15(2):180. doi: 10.3390/ijerph15020180.
This study highlights the severity of arsenic contamination in the Ganga River basin (GRB), which encompasses significant geographic portions of India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Tibet. The entire GRB experiences elevated levels of arsenic in the groundwater (up to 4730 µg/L), irrigation water (~1000 µg/L), and in food materials (up to 3947 µg/kg), all exceeding the World Health Organization's standards for drinking water, the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization's standard for irrigation water (100 µg/L), and the Chinese Ministry of Health's standard for food in South Asia (0.15 mg/kg), respectively. Several individuals demonstrated dermal, neurological, reproductive, cognitive, and cancerous effects; many children have been diagnosed with a range of arsenicosis symptoms, and numerous arsenic-induced deaths of youthful victims are reported in the GRB. Victims of arsenic exposure face critical social challenges in the form of social isolation and hatred by their respective communities. Reluctance to establish arsenic standards and unsustainable arsenic mitigation programs have aggravated the arsenic calamity in the GRB and put millions of lives in danger. This alarming situation resembles a ticking time bomb. We feel that after 29 years of arsenic research in the GRB, we have seen the tip of the iceberg with respect to the actual magnitude of the catastrophe; thus, a reduced arsenic standard for drinking water, testing all available drinking water sources, and sustainable and cost-effective arsenic mitigation programs that include the participation of the people are urgently needed.
本研究强调了恒河河流域（GRB）砷污染的严重性，该流域涵盖了印度、孟加拉国、尼泊尔和西藏的重要地理区域。整个 GRB 的地下水（高达 4730μg/L）、灌溉水（~1000μg/L）和食品中砷含量都很高（高达 3947μg/kg），均超过了世界卫生组织的饮用水标准、联合国粮食及农业组织的灌溉水标准（100μg/L）和中国卫生部南亚地区食品标准（0.15mg/kg）。一些人表现出皮肤、神经、生殖、认知和癌症等方面的影响；许多儿童被诊断出患有一系列砷中毒症状，GRB 地区报告了许多因砷中毒而死亡的年轻受害者。砷暴露的受害者面临着严重的社会挑战，包括来自各自社区的社会隔离和仇恨。不愿意制定砷标准和不可持续的砷缓解计划加剧了 GRB 的砷灾难，使数百万人的生命处于危险之中。这种令人震惊的情况就像一颗定时炸弹。我们认为，在 GRB 进行了 29 年的砷研究之后，我们已经看到了这场灾难实际规模的冰山一角；因此，迫切需要降低饮用水的砷标准、测试所有可用的饮用水源，并实施可持续和具有成本效益的砷缓解计划，包括人民的参与。
