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The Human Right to Water pp 55–81Cite as

Arsenic in Drinking Water: An Emerging Human Right Challenge in India

Abstract

Arsenic is a dangerous contaminant that occurs naturally in the groundwater in many parts of the world, including India. The presence of this contaminant threatens enjoyment of the human right to water, negatively impacting upon people’s health, economy and social wellbeing. This in turn thwarts people’s enjoyment of the rights to health, education and development. This chapter presents the scenario of the impact of arsenic in groundwater in the Indian state of Bihar, elaborating on the health implications through detailed case studies. It further critically evaluates the measures adopted for arsenic mitigation in the state, finally suggesting that the need is to find sustainable solutions for securing safe drinking water for the people. This alone can enable enjoyment of the human right to water and other related rights in arsenic-affected areas in India and elsewhere in the world.

Keywords

  • Arsenic
  • Ground Water
  • Arsenicosis
  • Human right
  • India
  • Bihar

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The ‘community development block’ or simply ‘block’ is the smallest rural area earmarked for administration and development in India . The area is administered by a block development officer. The block generally includes around 100 villages.

  2. 2.

    The village-level local self-government is called gram panchayat in India .

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mahavir Cancer Institute and Research Centre, Patna, India

    Arun Kumar

  2. Department of Environment and Water Management, A.N. College, Patna, India

    Ashok Ghosh

  3. Department of Sustainable Development, Environmental Science and Engineering (SEED), Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden

    Nandita Singh

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  1. Arun Kumar
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  1. Department of Sustainable Development Environmental Science and Engineering (SEED), Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden

    Nandita Singh

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Kumar, A., Ghosh, A., Singh, N. (2016). Arsenic in Drinking Water: An Emerging Human Right Challenge in India. In: Singh, N. (eds) The Human Right to Water. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40286-4_4

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