Arsenic in Groundwater : Poisoning and Risk Assessment

379 Pages·2018·39.762 MB·English

by  Atkins, Peter J., Hassan, M. Manzurul

TOXICOLOGY Hassan
Arsenic in
Arsenic in Groundwater
Groundwater
Poisoning and Risk Assessment
Arsenic-contaminated groundwater is considered one of the world’s largest environmental
health crises, as more than 300 million people in more than one-third of countries A
Poisoning and Risk Assessment
worldwide are at risk of groundwater arsenic poisoning. This book addresses how arsenic
r
in groundwater impacts human health by using the frameworks of natural sciences,
social sciences, and health sciences in the contexts set by environmental and legal s
considerations.  e
Arsenic in Groundwater: Poisoning and Risk Assessment examines the spatial, n
quantitative, and qualitative aspects on arsenic poisoning; for instance, using geographical
i
information systems (GIS) to investigate the spatial discontinuity of arsenic-laced water c
in spatial and temporal dimensions to uncover patterns of variations over scales from

meters to kilometers. Spatial risk mapping provides insight for academics, researchers, i
n
policy makers, and politicians on possible long-term strategies for arsenic mitigation.
Qualitative methodological approaches uncover the hidden issues of arsenic poisoning on
G
human health and the related social implications. The book also examines legal aspects,
such as the right to safe drinking water, as well as an in-depth look at how community
r
participation can shape public policy. 
o
Features:
u
• Describes arsenic poisoning from both the scientific and social science perspectives 
n
• Includes technical insights drawn from GIS-based modeling for spatial arsenic d
discontinuity and spatial health risks of arsenic poisoning
w
• Provides a state-of-the-art review of the human health literature and cutting-edge
scholarship on arsenic-related health and social implications  a
• Examines the environmental justice and legal issues of drinking water and its quality  t
e
• Presents environmental policy and public mitigation strategies with Public
r
Participation GIS (PPGIS) related to arsenic contamination 
• More than 2,000 references serve as valuable resources for various aspects of
arsenic poisoning
M. Manzurul Hassan
K11790
6000 Broken Sound Parkway, NW
Suite 300, Boca Raton, FL 33487
711 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10017
2 Park Square, Milton Park
www.crcpress.com Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN, UK
Arsenic in Groundwater
Poisoning and Risk Assessment

Arsenic in Groundwater
Poisoning and Risk Assessment
M. Manzurul Hassan
CRC Press
Taylor & Francis Group
6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300
Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742
© 2018 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business
No claim to original U.S. Government works
Printed on acid-free paper
International Standard Book Number-13: 978-1-4398-3927-0 (Hardback)
This book contains information obtained from authentic and highly regarded sources. Reasonable efforts have been
made to publish reliable data and information, but the author and publisher cannot assume responsibility for the
validity of all materials or the consequences of their use. The authors and publishers have attempted to trace the
copyright holders of all material reproduced in this publication and apologize to copyright holders if permission to
publish in this form has not been obtained. If any copyright material has not been acknowledged please write and let
us know so we may rectify in any future reprint.
Except as permitted under U.S. Copyright Law, no part of this book may be reprinted, reproduced, transmitted, or
utilized in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including pho-
tocopying, microfilming, and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission
from the publishers.
For permission to photocopy or use material electronically from this work, please access www.copyright.com (http://
www.copyright.com/) or contact the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. (CCC), 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA
01923, 978-750-8400. CCC is a not-for-profit organization that provides licenses and registration for a variety of users.
For organizations that have been granted a photocopy license by the CCC, a separate system of payment has been
arranged.
Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for
identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Hassan, M. Manzurul, author.
Title: Arsenic in groundwater : poisoning and risk assessment / M. Manzurul Hassan.
Description: Boca Raton : Taylor & Francis, a CRC title, part of the Taylor & Francis imprint,
a member of the Taylor & Francis Group, the academic division of T&F Informa, plc, 2018. |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017051747| ISBN 9781439839270 (hardback : acid-free paper)
| ISBN 9781315117034 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Groundwater--Pollution. | Arsenic--Environmental aspects. | Arsenic--Toxicology.
Classification: LCC TD427.A77 H37 2018 | DDC 628.1/14--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017051747
Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at
http://www.taylorandfrancis.com
and the CRC Press Web site at
http://www.crcpress.com
This book is dedicated to those who died with
incurable groundwater arsenic poisoning.

Contents
List of Figures ................................................................................................................................xiii
List of Tables ..................................................................................................................................xvii
Preface.............................................................................................................................................xix
Acknowledgment .........................................................................................................................xxiii
Author ............................................................................................................................................xxv
Chapter 1 Arsenic Poisoning through Ages: Victims of Venom ..................................................1
1.1 Arsenic: Terminology and History ....................................................................2
1.2 Arsenic Chemistry .............................................................................................3
1.2.1 Principal Arsenic Compounds .............................................................3
1.2.2 Properties of Arsenic ............................................................................6
1.2.3 Arsenic Analysis: Geochemical Speciation .........................................7
1.3 Arsenic Applications .........................................................................................8
1.3.1 Homicidal and Suicidal Arsenic ..........................................................8
1.3.2 Medicinal Arsenic ................................................................................9
1.3.3 Arsenic in Industries ..........................................................................11
1.3.4 Arsenic in Agriculture........................................................................11
1.4 Arsenic in Environment ..................................................................................12
1.4.1 Arsenic in Water .................................................................................12
1.4.2 Arsenic in Rocks and Soils ................................................................14
1.4.3 Arsenic in Atmosphere .......................................................................15
1.4.4 Dietary Sources of Arsenic ................................................................16
1.5 Mechanism of Arsenic in Groundwater ..........................................................17
1.6 Health Impacts of Arsenic Toxicity .................................................................20
1.7 Regulation for Arsenic Exposure ....................................................................22
1.8 Concluding Remarks .......................................................................................24
Chapter 2 Groundwater Arsenic Catastrophe: The Global Scenario ..........................................25
2.1 Worldwide Arsenic Catastrophe ......................................................................26
2.2 Arsenic in Asian Countries .............................................................................26
2.2.1 Alluvial and Deltaic Aquifers, Bangladesh ........................................26
2.2.2 Irrawaddy Delta, Burma .....................................................................38
2.2.3 Mekong Delta, Cambodia ..................................................................39
2.2.4 Alluvial Plains, China ........................................................................40
2.2.5 Ganges-Brahmaputra Plain, India ......................................................41
2.2.6 Kurdistan Province, Iran ....................................................................44
2.2.7 Japan ...................................................................................................45
2.2.8 Terai Alluvial Plain, Nepal .................................................................45
2.2.9 Indus Alluvial Plain, Pakistan ............................................................46
2.2.10 Quaternary Aquifer, Taiwan...............................................................47
2.2.11 Ron Phibun, Thailand ........................................................................48
2.2.12 Western Anatolia, Turkey ...................................................................49
2.2.13 Red River Basin and Mekong Delta, Vietnam ...................................50
2.3 Arsenic in North America ...............................................................................51
2.3.1 Canada ................................................................................................51
2.3.2 Mexico ................................................................................................52
vii
viii Contents
2.3.3 The USA .............................................................................................54
2.4 Arsenic in South America ...............................................................................55
2.4.1 Chaco-Pampean Plain, Argentina ......................................................55
2.4.2 Brazil ..................................................................................................57
2.4.3 Chile ...................................................................................................57
2.5 Arsenic in Europe ............................................................................................58
2.5.1 France .................................................................................................58
2.5.2 Germany .............................................................................................59
2.5.3 Greece ................................................................................................59
2.5.4 The Great Hungarian Plain ................................................................59
2.5.5 Italy .....................................................................................................60
2.5.6 The Danube Basin: Romania, Slovakia, and Croatia .........................60
2.5.7 Scandinavia ........................................................................................60
2.5.8 Madrid and Duero Basin, Spain .........................................................61
2.5.9 Switzerland .........................................................................................61
2.5.10 United Kingdom .................................................................................62
2.6 Arsenic in Africa .............................................................................................62
2.6.1 Burkina Faso ......................................................................................62
2.6.2 Cameroon ...........................................................................................62
2.6.3 Ethiopia ..............................................................................................63
2.6.4 Ghana .................................................................................................63
2.6.5 Nigeria ................................................................................................64
2.7 Arsenic in Oceania ..........................................................................................64
2.7.1 Australia .............................................................................................64
2.7.2 New Zealand ......................................................................................64
2.8 Other Areas with Arsenic Contamination .......................................................65
2.9 Natural Geochemical Processes of Arsenic Mechanism ................................65
2.10 Concluding Remarks .......................................................................................67
Chapter 3 Groundwater Arsenic Discontinuity: Spatial Mapping, Spatial Planning
and Public Participation .............................................................................................69
3.1 Spatial Characteristics: What Is Special about Spatial Analysis? ...................70
3.2 Spatial Variability: Water Quality Investigation .............................................72
3.3 Spatial Continuity: Theories of Estimation .....................................................74
3.3.1 Geostatistical Estimation ...................................................................74
3.3.2 Semivariogram Estimation .................................................................75
3.3.3 Kriging Estimation .............................................................................77
3.3.4 Cross-Validation and Prediction Error ...............................................82
3.4 Descriptive Statistics and Regression ..............................................................82
3.5 Attributes for Spatial Arsenic Concentration ..................................................84
3.6 Groundwater Arsenic Concentrations: Pattern and Array ..............................85
3.6.1 Probabilistic Scale: How to Quantify the Pattern? .............................85
3.6.2 Spatial Scale: What Are the Areal Discontinuity and at
What Extent? ......................................................................................85
3.6.3 Depth Scale: Which Aquifer Is Contaminated at Which Level? .......89
3.6.4 Spatial Variation: What Is the Possible Mechanism? .........................92
3.7 Public Participation GIS: Theoretical Framework ..........................................93
3.8 GIS and Spatial Arsenic Mitigation Planning .................................................94
3.8.1 Suitable Location for Arsenic-Safe Tubewell Installation .................94
Contents ix
3.8.2 Spatial Deep Tubewell Planning with PPGIS ....................................94
3.9 Concluding Remarks .......................................................................................97
Chapter 4 Chronic Arsenic Exposure to Drinking Water: An Environmental Health Concern .....99
4.1 Toxic Effects of Inorganic Arsenic................................................................100
4.2 Noncarcinogenic Effects of Chronic Arsenic Exposure ...............................102
4.2.1 Integumentary System ......................................................................102
4.2.2 Vascular System ...............................................................................123
4.2.3 Pulmonary System ...........................................................................125
4.2.4 Endocrine System .............................................................................127
4.2.5 Nervous System ................................................................................129
4.2.6 Hepatic System .................................................................................131
4.2.7 Hematological System ......................................................................132
4.2.8 Renal System ....................................................................................133
4.2.9 Reproductive System ........................................................................134
4.3 Carcinogenic Effects .....................................................................................137
4.3.1 Skin Cancer ......................................................................................137
4.3.2 Lung Cancer .....................................................................................145
4.3.3 Liver Cancer .....................................................................................146
4.3.4 Bladder and Kidney Cancer .............................................................147
4.3.5 Prostate Cancer ................................................................................148
4.4 Susceptibility and Latency Period .................................................................149
4.5 Mechanisms of Arsenic Toxicity ...................................................................149
4.6 Concluding Remarks .....................................................................................154
Chapter 5 Risk from Groundwater Arsenic Exposure: Epidemiological
and Spatial Assessment ............................................................................................155
5.1 Chronological Development of Risk .............................................................156
5.2 Conceptual Focus of Risk ..............................................................................158
5.2.1 Defining Risk ...................................................................................158
5.2.2 Expression of Risk ............................................................................160
5.2.3 Risk Analysis, Risk Assessment, and Risk Management ................161
5.3 Relevant Risk Terminologies .........................................................................164
5.3.1 Risk vs. Hazard and Disaster ...........................................................164
5.3.2 Risk vs. Threat .................................................................................165
5.3.3 Risk vs. Uncertainty .........................................................................166
5.4 Risk Assessment Theories: Arsenic through Drinking Water ......................166
5.4.1 Hazard Identification ........................................................................167
5.4.2 Toxicity (Dose-Response) Assessment .............................................170
5.4.3 Exposure Assessment .......................................................................173
5.4.4 Risk Characterization .......................................................................176
5.5 Human Exposure to Arsenic and Spatial Risk ..............................................179
5.5.1 GIS and Human Exposure ................................................................179
5.5.2 GIS and Spatial Risk Assessment ....................................................180
5.6 Groundwater Arsenic Dose and Risk Response ............................................181
5.6.1 Noncancerous Responses .................................................................181
5.6.2 Cancerous Responses .......................................................................183