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Arsenic in groundwater of the Bengal Basin, Bangladesh: Distribution, field relations, and hydrogeological setting

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Abstract

Arsenic contaminates groundwater across much of southern, central and eastern Bangladesh. Groundwater from the Holocene alluvium of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers locally exceeds 200 times the World Health Organisation (WHO) guideline value for drinking water of 10 µg/l of arsenic. Approximately 25% of wells in Bangladesh exceed the national standard of 50 µg/l, affecting at least 25 million people. Arsenic has entered the groundwater by reductive dissolution of ferric oxyhydroxides, to which arsenic was adsorbed during fluvial transport. Depth profiles of arsenic in pumped groundwater, porewater, and aquifer sediments show consistent trends. Elevated concentrations are associated with fine-sands and organic-rich sediments. Concentrations are low near the water table, rise to a maximum typically 20–40 m below ground, and fall to very low levels between about 100 and 200 m. Arsenic occurs mainly in groundwater of the valley-fill sequence deposited during the Holocene marine transgression. Groundwater from Pleistocene and older aquifers is largely free of arsenic. Arsenic concentrations in many shallow hand-tube wells are likely to increase over a period of years, and regular monitoring will be essential. Aquifers at more than 200 m below the floodplains offer good prospects for long-term arsenic-free water supplies, but may be limited by the threats of saline intrusion and downward leakage of arsenic.

Résumé

L’arsenic contamine les eaux souterraines dans la plus grande partie du sud, du centre et de l’est du Bangladesh. Les eaux des nappes alluviales holocènes du Gange, du Brahmapoutre et de la Meghna dépassent localement 200 fois la valeur guide donnée par l’OMS pour l’eau de boisson, fixée à 10 µg/l d’arsenic. Environ 25% des puits du Bangladesh dépassent la valeur standard nationale de 50 µg/l, affectant au moins 25 millions de personnes. L’arsenic a été introduit dans les nappes par la dissolution par réduction d’oxy-hydroxydes ferriques sur lesquels l’arsenic était adsorbé au cours du transport fluvial. Des profils verticaux d’arsenic dans l’eau souterraine pompée, dans l’eau porale et dans les sédiments des aquifères montrent des tendances convergentes. Les concentrations élevées sont associées à des sédiments à sable fin et riches en matières organiques. Les concentrations sont faibles au voisinage de la surface de la nappe, atteignent un maximum typiquement entre 20 et 40 m sous le sol, puis tombent à des niveaux très bas entre 100 et 200 m. L’arsenic est surtout présent dans les eaux souterraines de la séquence de remplissage de vallée déposée au cours de la transgression marine holocène. Les eaux souterraines des aquifères pléistocènes et plus anciens sont très largement dépourvus d’arsenic. Les concentrations en arsenic dans de nombreux puits creusés à la main doivent probablement augmenter au cours des prochaines années ; aussi un suivi régulier est essentiel. Les aquifères à plus de 200 m sous les plaines alluviales offrent de bonnes perspectives pour des alimentations en eau sans arsenic à long terme, mais ils peuvent être limités par les risques d’intrusion saline et la drainance descendante de l’arsenic.

Resumen

El arsénico ha contaminado gran parte de las aguas subterráneas en el Sur, centro y Este de Bangla Desh. Su concentración en las aguas subterráneas del aluvial Holoceno de los ríos Ganges, Brahmaputra y Meghna supera localmente en un factor 200 el valor guía del arsénico en el agua potable, establecido por la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) en 10 µg/L. Aproximadamente, el 25% de los pozos de Bangla Desh superan el estándar nacional de 50 µg/L, afectando al menos a 25 millones de personas. El arsénico ha llegado a las aguas subterráneas por la disolución reductora de hidróxidos férricos a los que se adsorbe durante el transporte fluvial. Los perfiles del arsénico en las aguas subterráneas bombeadas, agua de poro y sedimentos del acuífero muestran tendencias coherentes. Las concentraciones elevadas están asociadas a arenas finas y sedimentos ricos en materia orgánica. Las concentraciones de arsénico son bajas cerca del nivel freático, se incrementan hasta un máximo que se localiza generalmente a entre 20 y 40 m bajo la cota del terreno, y disminuyen a valores muy pequeños entre alrededor de 100 y 200 m. El arsénico se encuentra sobretodo en las aguas subterráneas existentes en la secuencia de sedimentación que tuvo lugar en el valle durante la transgresión marina del Holoceno. Las aguas subterráneas del Pleistoceno y acuíferos más antiguos están mayoritariamente libres de arsénico. Es probable que las concentraciones de arsénico aumenten en los próximos años en muchos pozos de tipo tubo perforados manualmente, por lo que será esencial efectuar un muestreo regular. Los acuíferos ubicados a más de 200 m bajo las llanuras de inundación ofrecen buenas perspectivas de abastecimiento a largo plazo sin problemas de arsénico, pero pueden estar limitados por las amenazas de la intrusión salina y de la precolación de arsénico desde niveles superiores.

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Acknowledgements

PR and KMA thank Mr Kazi Nasir Uddin Ahmed, Additional Chief Engineer of the Department of Public Health Engineering for his support in conducting the Groundwater Studies for Arsenic Contamination project. We also wish to thank the project staff and the staff of DPHE for their co-operation during the project. We thank David Kinniburgh of the British Geological Survey for planning and co-ordinating the analytical aspects of the Regional Survey. The Groundwater Studies for Arsenic Contamination project was financed by the Department for International Development (UK). The Natural Environment Research Council provided an Advanced Course Studentship and fieldwork allowance to Melanie Burren. Jerome Perrin was supported by a fieldwork grant from the University College London Graduate School. We thank Mizanur Rahman of the Bangladesh Water Development Board for provision of core-samples from the Ujjalpur borehole. Chemical analyses for the Meherpur study were carried out by the Robens Institute for Public and Environmental Health at Surrey University, the Environmental Mineralogy laboratory of the Natural History Museum in London, and the Natural Environmental Research Council ICP-AES facility at Royal Holloway College, London. Grateful thanks for help with analyses are due to Andrew Taylor, Chris Stanley, Vic Din, Nikki Paige and Tony Osborn for assistance. Martin Gillham of Mott MacDonald Ltd, Mike McCarthy of the Department for International Development and Dr Babar Kabir of the World Bank are thanked for their support and encouragement. The script has been much improved due to helpful reviews by Kirk Nordstrom and Alan Welch of the USGS. Last, but not least, we wish to extend our sympathies to those people in Bangladesh and West Bengal whose lives have been so tragically affected by arsenic in groundwater.

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  1. Melanie Burren

    Present address: , 39 Durrants Lane, Berkhamstead, Herts, HP4 3PL, UK

  2. Jerome Perrin

    Present address: Centre of Hydrogeology, Neuchatel University, 11 Rue E-Argand 2000, Neuchatel, Switzerland

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Arcadis Geraghty and Miller International, 2 Craven Court, Newmarket, Suffolk, CB8 7FA, UK

    Peter Ravenscroft

  2. Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London , WC1E 6BT, UK

    William G. Burgess, Melanie Burren & Jerome Perrin

  3. Department of Geology, Dhaka University, Dhaka, Bangladesh

    Kazi Matin Ahmed

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Ravenscroft, P., Burgess, W.G., Ahmed, K.M. et al. Arsenic in groundwater of the Bengal Basin, Bangladesh: Distribution, field relations, and hydrogeological setting. Hydrogeol J 13, 727–751 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-003-0314-0

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