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Status of groundwater arsenic pollution of Mirzapur district in Holocene aquifers from parts of the Middle Ganga Plain, India

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Abstract

A groundwater arsenic (As) distribution in Mirzapur district of Uttar Pradesh is shown in the entrenched channels and floodplains of the Ganga River. A total of 45 tubewell water samples were analysed for As through flow injection hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry (FI-HG-AAS) system. Iron in tubewell water was analysed by 1,10-phenanthroline method by the use of UV spectrophotometer. About 37.7 % of tubewells in this district have As >10 µg/l (WHO guideline) and 15.5 % of tubewells have As above 50 µg/l. About 84.4 % of tubewells have higher concentrations of iron (Fe) beyond its permissible limit 1 mg/l (BIS guideline). The iron (Fe) content in tubewell water samples varies from 0.1 to 7.6 mg/l. About 75.5 % of tubewells in Mirzapur district are from shallow depth (20–40 m), and it is worth noticing that 37.7 % of As-contaminated (As >10 µg/l) tubewells are located within the depth of 25–40 m in the Holocene Newer Alluvium aquifers. Most of the As-contaminated villages in Mirzapur district are located close to abandoned or present meander channels and floodplains of the Ganga River. In contrast, tubewells in Mirzapur and Chunar towns have low concentrations of As in groundwater (As <10 µg/l) because of their positions on the Pleistocene Older Alluvium upland surfaces. In As-contaminated areas, deeper tubewells (>50 m) in the Pleistocene Older Alluvium aquifers would be better option for As-safe groundwater. The potential sources of As are mainly from the Himalayas and the Himalayas rivers have high content of As in suspended river sediments.

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Acknowledgments

The author thanks School of Environmental Studies, Jadavpur University for the As and Fe analyses. The author would like to thank local field assistants from Mirzapur district for helping to collect tubewell waters. The suggestions and comments of the three anonymous reviewers and the editor are greatly appreciated. The financial support of this study came from Department of Science and Technology Fast Track Young Scientist Scheme, and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research Scientists’ Pool Scheme, which is gratefully acknowledged.

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  1. Department of Geological Sciences, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, 700032, India

    Babar Ali Shah

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Shah, B.A. Status of groundwater arsenic pollution of Mirzapur district in Holocene aquifers from parts of the Middle Ganga Plain, India. Environ Earth Sci 73, 1505–1514 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-014-3501-5

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