Arsenic contamination in soil and groundwater is one of the serious health hazards from a global perspective. Nine districts of West Bengal are affected by arsenic toxicity. The regions in the eastern side of Bhagirathi River are severely affected. We have analyzed the level of arsenic toxicity in nine blocks of Murshidabad district. The situation in these blocks are extremely alarming as seven of the nine blocks have 30 - 50 % groundwater samples containing arsenic > 50 µg/l, a concentration declared unsafe by World Health Organization in absence of alternative source of drinking water. If we consider all the blocks, minimum 36% of the tested water samples contain arsenic > 10 µg/l (the permissible limit prescribed by U. S. Environmental Protection Agency). There are blocks where 78% of the water samples contain arsenic > 10 µg/l. Exposure to arsenic at this level for considerable period of time would lead to cardiovascular, respiratory and gastrointestinal disorders. It will have neurological, haematological and dermal effects. Also, it will affect the renal and hepatic systems. The other potential health effects faced by residents of these blocks could be chromosomal aberrations and genetic mutations, leading to cancers of bladder, kidney, intestine, lung and liver. Although arsenic poisoning could be treated with drugs, the only remedy is to switch over to uncontaminated sources of drinking water and food. For this purpose, innovative technologies like bioremediation, phytoremediation, rhizoremediation and inhibition of biomagnification could be used.
