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Role of physical environment in groundwater contamination by arsenic in parts of West Bengal, India

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Abstract

Hydrogeological investigations have been carried out in an area of about 777 km2 in parts of Purba Bardhaman district and adjoining Nadia district, in West Bengal State, India. The area is occupied by Quaternary Alluvium, underlain by the Tertiaries. N–S flowing mighty Bhagirathi River lies in the east of the study area. Arsenic infestation and a decline in groundwater levels have been reported in the area. Present work has been aimed to study the bearings of components of the physical environment, viz., river meandering, landform elements, etc. on groundwater contamination by arsenic (As). The relation of As-contamination with other potentially toxic metals in varied landforms is another objective of this study. Besides, the severe decline of water level in the aquifer has also been dealt in the present work. Groundwater in shallow aquifers shows sporadic arsenic contamination in and around meanders. However, this contamination is not encountered away from those meanders and at higher elevations. Generally, the higher concentration of arsenic is associated with higher contents of other toxic metals. Groundwater in phreatic and deeper aquifers is generally potable. This study shows that this contamination is related to landforms, lithology of host formation and stage of drainage evolution.

Research highlights

  1. 1.

    Sporadic arsenic contamination is encountered only in shallow aquifers occurring near river meandering and absent away from this zone at higher elevations.

  2. 2.

    Higher concentration of arsenic is associated with higher contents of other toxic metals.

  3. 3.

    Potable groundwater occurs in the ground water of phreatic and deeper aquifers all over the area.

  4. 4.

    This contamination is, however, related to the process of landforms of the host formation and the stage of evolution of drainage.

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Acknowledgements

The author deeply acknowledges the use of data and work done during his studies in Central Ground Water Board and he owes gratitude to the Director General, Geological Survey of India, for analyses of some groundwater samples.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ex-Assessor, QCI-NABET, New Delhi, India

    Supriya Brahma

  2. Ex-Scientist, Central Ground Water Board, Kolkata, India

    Supriya Brahma

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  1. Supriya Brahma
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The author is the sole contributor to the whole work.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Supriya Brahma.

Additional information

Communicated by Abhijit Mukherjee

Appendix

Appendix

Table A1. Concentration (µg/L) of arsenic and other toxic metals in groundwater.
Full size table

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Brahma, S. Role of physical environment in groundwater contamination by arsenic in parts of West Bengal, India. J Earth Syst Sci 132, 50 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-023-02050-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-023-02050-z

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