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Procedia Environmental Sciences 00 (2013) 000000

2013 International Symposium on Environmental Science and Technology (2013 ISEST)
Arsenic in foodchain and community health risk: a study in
Gangetic West Bengal
Subhas Chandra Santra*, Alok Chandra Samal, Piyal Bhattacharya,
Satabdi Banerjee, Anirban Biswas, Jayjit Majumdar
Department of Environmental Science, University of Kalyani, Kalyani, West Bengal- 741 235, India
Abstract
Arsenic, a potent carcinogen, can cause malignant arsenical skin lesions may be Bowens disease, basal cell
carcinoma, or squamous cell carcinoma. Apart from carcinoma and melanoma, chronic arsenic exposure can cause
respiratory disease, gastrointestinal disorder, liver malfunction, nervous system disorder, haematological diseases like
anaemia, leucopaenia and thrombocytopaenia, diabetes and severe cardiovascular malfunction. Vegetables and crops
grown in arsenic contaminated groundwater can add many fold daily arsenic intake through human food apart from
drinking water. The main economy of highly arsenic affected areas of West Bengal depends on agriculture, so
uncontrolled uplifting of groundwater for irrigation is being practised over past few decades. Our research group
studied on various aspects of arsenic entry into human foodchain and its health effects. By studying arsenic
accumulation in different vegetables, we found that tuberous vegetables accumulated higher amount of arsenic than
leafy vegetables and leafy vegetables followed by fruity vegetable. The highest arsenic accumulation was observed in
potato, brinjal, arum, amaranth, radish, ladys finger, cauliflower whereas lower level of arsenic accumulation was
observed in beans, green chilli, tomato, bitter guard, lemon, turmeric. The major oil seed of this region is mustard and
was found to accumulate arsenic in the range 0.339-0.373 mg/kg. In pulses group, pea showed the highest arsenic
content of 1.30 mg/kg whereas moong (Mung bean) found the lowest value (0.314mg/kg). Rice, the principal crop of
this region, accumulated arsenic irrespective to its varieties. The arsenic accumulation was found to be more in Boro
rice than in Aman, while high yielding rice varieties were found to accumulate more arsenic than local. From dietary
study we found that a total daily intake of 560g and 393g of arsenic for adult and children respectively. The people
having poor nutrition were found to be affected more from arsenic toxicity than the people having adequate nutrition.
The present review represents the current scenario of arsenic contamination and suggests probable sustainable
mitigation strategies to battle against the curse of arsenic contamination.

2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of Beijing Institute of Technology.

Keywords: Arsenic; foodchain; health risk; Gangetic West Bengal

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +91-33-25808749; fax: +91-33-25808749.
E-mail address: scsantra@yahoo.com.
Santra et al / Procedia Environmental Sciences 00 (2013) 000000
1. Introduction
Arsenic (As), a toxic metalloid found in ground water over 70 countries posed the greatest threat to
the health of world population. Arsenic contamination in drinking water threatens health risk for more
than 150 million people all over the world[1]. Around 110 million of those people live in 10 countries in
South and South-east Asia: Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan,
Taiwan and Vietnam[2]. Arsenic has diverse chemical behaviour in the natural environment. The soil
organic matter impacts on the redox transformation of arsenic and its biomethylation, thus affecting
arsenic toxicity and its fate in soils[3]. Arsenic is potentially toxic to human, plant and animals. The
toxicity of arsenic depends on the chemical form and the oxidation state of arsenic, where inorganic
arsenicals are more toxic than organic ones. In human the common mode of arsenic toxicity is the
inactivation of the enzyme system by binding through various biological ligands[4]. Chronic arsenic
exposure causes wide variety of health effects like melanosis, keratosis, skin, bladder, and internal
cancers[5]. Regarding the threat related to arsenic toxicity the World Health Organization provisionally
reduced the guideline value for arsenic in drinking water from 50 to 10 g/L in 1993[6].
In India the ground water arsenic contamination was first reported from West Bengal in 1983[7].
After that a number of other states had chronically affected with arsenic pollution[8]. Presently the most
acute arsenic contaminated site in the world is the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna plain with concentration
sometime >4000g/L[9]. During 1980s in West Bengal some cases of arsenical dermatitis in few
districts were reported[8]. The state divides its all arsenic contaminated districts into three major groups,
i.e. severely affected, mildly affected and arsenic safe. In total 88,750 km2 in West Bengal has been
identified as arsenic contaminated zone among which 38, 861 km2 areas has been identified as highly
affected zones, this include Nadia, North and South 24 parganas, Murshidabad and Kolkata districts[10].
The hydrologic arsenic contamination in the environment depends on its mobilization under natural
conditions. Various reports suggest that presence of high amount of arsenic in any geographic location is
related with its geology, morphology, hydrology and its land use pattern[11]. Release of arsenic from
sediment to ground water was driven by number of geological and biological factors. Irrigation with
arsenic contaminated ground water makes the crop field contaminated with arsenic. In West Bengal most
of the crop fields are contaminated with arsenic through irrigated water[12].
The uptake of arsenic in several plants varies widely. The plant which can uptake huge amount of
arsenic and also can translocate it, is known as hyperaccumulator. Some plants with low translocation
factors are called excluders because of their restricted translocations of arsenic from roots to shoots. Rice
is also an interesting case as it is much more efficient in arsenic accumulation than other cereals such as
wheat and barley, with its arsenic translocation factor often approaching unity [13-17]. In West Bengal
the crops and vegetables cultivated in the arsenic contaminated soil accumulate a significant amount of
arsenic and finally enter to the human foodchain.
In West Bengal, during 1980s, some cases of arsenical dermatosis were reported[18]. Chakraborty et
al.[10] reported the overall groundwater arsenic status in the West Bengal from their 20 years study report.
Das et al.[19] studied the arsenic concentration in drinking water, hair, nails, urine, skin scale and liver
tissue in six districts of West Bengal. Maity et al.[20] reported an association between arsenic exposure of
people from drinking water and skinlessions outcomes in the two villages in North 24 parganas.
2. Uptake of arsenic in crops and vegetables from arsenic-contaminated irrigation water and soil
A number of study were carried out on the arsenic uptake in crops and vegetables in arsenic affected
areas of Bengal delta.[14,15,21-35]. Rice is the main staple food of West Bengal and 73% of the calorific
intake of the people is from rice[36]. Vegetables are also important as regular diet includes many types of
Santra et al./ Procedia Environmental Sciences 00 (2013) 000000
vegetables. The vegetables and rice that grows in arsenic contaminated soil spread the arsenic toxicity.
People unknowingly consume those arsenic contaminated rice and vegetables and become victims of
arsenic toxicity. Abedin et al. [37] have reported accumulation of arsenic, and transformation of arsenic
species in rice plant. The rice plants are enriched in arsenic because the rice grows in flooded paddy fields
when mobile As(III) is released to soil water[38]. The arsenic translocation factor (TF) in rice (0.8) is
greater than wheat (0.1) and barley (0.2)[39]. Usually at matured stage of cereals arsenic transferred in the
order of straw> husk> grain. Our study group [13-16,26,34,40] reported the arsenic contamination in rice
and vegetables from the agricultural field in arsenic contaminated areas of West Bengal. The root, shoot
and leaf tissue of rice plant contain mainly inorganic AsIII and AsV while the rice grain contain
predominantly DMA (85 to 94%) and AsIII [41,42]. Arsenic translocation from shoot to grain was greater
than from root to shoot and also translocation was better in high yielding rice variety than a local rice
variety[13]. In case of vegetables highest arsenic accumulation was observed in potato, brinjal, arum,
amaranth, radish, ladys finger, cauliflower where as lower level of arsenic accumulation was observed in
beans, green chilli, tomato, bitter guard, lemon, turmeric etc.[14,34,43]. The arsenic accumulation was
more in Boro rice than in Aman rice[15]. In this contrary when people of West Bengal takes arsenic
contaminated rice with vegetables twice a day, the degree of its effect increases many folds. Williams et
al.[44] reported daily consumption of rice with total arsenic level of 0.08mg/kg would be equivalent to
drinking contaminated water with arsenic level of 0.01mg/l. Roychowdhury et al.[45] studied on the
arsenic and other heavy metals in food composites and drinking water, and also estimated the arsenic in
dietary intake. Several greenhouse studies show that an increment in As in cultivated soils leads to an
increment in the levels of As in edible crops and vegetables[17,46,47]. Arsenic accumulation by
agricultural plants depends on availability of arsenic and also on the physiological properties of the plant
[27,48-50]. The arsenic concentration in fleshy vegetable material is low than other vegetables [23, 51].
The level of arsenic was higher in crops and vegetables which were irrigated with arsenic contaminated
water were reported in many parts of West Bengal[30,49,52,53]. Tuberous vegetables accumulate higher
amount of arsenic than leafy vegetables and leafy vegetables can accumulate more arsenic than fruity
vegetables [26, 34]. Das et al. [53] also reported from Bangladesh that the mean arsenic concentrations in
potatoes and pointed gourd/potals were 0.598 and 0.10 ppm FW, respectively and were higher than the
values for those grown on uncontaminated soils[54]. Significant levels of arsenic in arum/kanchu and
water spinach/kalmi sak were found (0.11-3.49ppm FW) and (0.09-2.03ppm FW) respectively.
Roychowdhury et. al. [23] reported that arsenic content in various food composite from Murshidabad,
West Bengal varies from <0.0004mg/kg to 0.693mg/kg. Biswas et al, [55] reported significant level of
arsenic in some widely cultivated fruity vegetables in West Bengal. Among non leafy and fruity
vegetables green chilli had contained lowest arsenic (0.114mg/kg). They have also reported arsenic in
main grown oil seed that is mustard ranges from 0.339 mg/kg to 0.373 mg/kg in Nadia district. Among
pulses group pea showed highest arsenic content 1.3mg/kg where as moong(Mung bean) showed lowest
value 0.314 mg/kg of arsenic. It is generally found that different varieties of rice accumulate arsenic at
different rate and quantity along with several other heavy metals [15,17,29,49,56,57]. Table 1 describes
the arsenic level in soil, crops and vegetables grown in West Bengal, India compared with that reported
from other countries.
2.1. Arsenic entry in foodchain and its consequences
Accumulation of arsenic from one trophic level to other depends not only on the total As
concentration but also largely depends on the bioavailability. So, one area with high arsenic concentration
may not be dangerous in comparison to another area with lowest As concentration. However, a very few
research has been designed to find out the complete bioavailability of As from soil and water to foodchain.
A number of studies were conducted on arsenic exposure to human through foodchain in West
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Bengal[34,35,43,45,58]. A very little is known about the chemical forms of arsenic (e.g., inorganic and
organic) in crop/vegetable/ fish and the bioavailability, which in turn is needed for estimating its toxicity.
Human being can also uptake As from contaminated rice, vegetables, milk and meat hence planthuman
and plantanimalhuman could be other potential foodchain pathways of arsenic accumulation. It is
important to point out that the people who live in As contaminated regions are not only at risk but also
other people (who live in non-contaminated zones) are in danger as they are also consuming arsenic
contaminated food stuffs [9,26,44,53,59]. Samal et al,[34] reported the daily arsenic intake from the
foodstuffs rice, vegetable and pulses in Nadia district of West Bengal was 126gday
-1
, 26gday
-1
and
1.75 gday
-1
respectively. They also reported the daily total arsenic uptake in cooked food, with arsenic
contaminated water along with drinking water and its potential health risk. They have found a total intake
of daily 560g and 393g of arsenic for adult and children respectively while significant amount of
arsenic also retain in human body after some excreted through urine. The influence of cooking process on
arsenic retention in rice was reported by several researchers [9, 60-63]. Sengupta et al. [60] based on the
three major rice cooking processes reported that the traditional cooking method in the Indian subcontinent
removed upto 57% of arsenic from rice. The cooking of rice with arsenic contaminated water increases
the concentration of arsenic in the cooked rice [9, 61-68].
Table 1. Arsenic levels in soil, crops and vegetables grown in West Bengal, (India) and adjoining countries.
Country Arsenic in soil
(mg kg
-1
)
Arsenic in crops & Vegetables (mg kg
-1
) Reference
Rice Vegetables
Bangladesh NA 0.358 0.034 Chowdhury et al. (2001)[22]
West Bengal, India 11.35 0.245 <0.0004-0.693 Roychowdhury et al. (2002)[23]
Bangladesh NA NA 0.306-0.489 Alam et al. (2003)[51]
Bangladesh NA NA 0.011-0.103 Farid et al. (2003)[69]
Bangladesh 7.31-27.28 0.04-0.27 0.02-3.99 Das et al. (2004)[53]
West Bengal, India 7.0-38.0 0.30 NA Norra et al. (2005)[27]
China 6.04 0.117 0.003-0.116 Huang et al. (2006)[28]
Bangladesh 14.5 0.5-0.8 NA Rahman et al. (2007)[29]
Nepal 6.1-16.7 0.180 <0.010-0.550 Dahal et al. (2008)[30]
West Bengal, India 1.34-14.09 0.16-0.58 NA Bhattacharya et al. (2009)[13]
West Bengal, India 5.70-9.71 0.334-0.451 0.030-0.654 Bhattacharya et al. (2010)[14]
Bihar, India 0.027 0.019 0.011-0.015 Singh et al. (2011)[70]
West Bengal, India NA 0.156-0.194 0.069-0.78 Samal et al. (2011)[34]
West Bengal, India NA 0.01-0.64 0.03-0.35 Halder et al. (2012)[35]
NA, not available

3. Epidemiology on arsenic contamination on human health
According to WHO[71], 1.0 mg of inorganic arsenic per day may give rise to skin effects within a few
years. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimated that drinking 1liter per day of arsenic
contaminated water (50g/l) could be as high as 13 per 1000 persons at life risk from arsenicosis [72].
The U.S. National Research Council (NRC) concluded that exposure to 50 g/l could easily result in a
combined cancer risk[73] of 1 in 100. The arsenic toxicity mainly depends on the species and chemical
form. The exposure time to develop arsenicosis varies from case to case reflecting its dependence on
arsenic level in drinking water and food, nutritional status, genetic variant of human being and
compounding factors[74,75]. The various effects of arsenic poisoning on human health are melanosis,
leuco-melanosis, keratosis, hyperkeratosis, dorsum, non-petting oedema, gangrene and skin cancer.
Melanosis and keratosis are the most common presentations among the affected people[76]. Patients of
Santra et al./ Procedia Environmental Sciences 00 (2013) 000000
Leuco- melanosis and hyper-keratosis have been found in many cases. Few cases of skin cancer have also
been identified among the patients seriously affected by arsenite and arsenate [77, 78].
Chronic exposure to inorganic arsenic affects several disorders upon different biological systems like
on digestive system, respiratory system, cardiovascular system, hematopoietic system, endocrine system,
renal system, neurological system, and reproductive system etc. which are ultimately leads to cancer
[77,79,80]. The symptoms of chronic arsenic toxicity are insidious in onset and are dependent on the
magnitude of the dose and duration of its exposure[75,81,82]. All members of an affected family do not
show clinical symptoms[75]; the reason for such variation of disease expression is an enigma. Symptoms
of chronic lung disease were present in 89(57%) out of 156 cases of chronic arsenic toxicity caused by
drinking arsenic contaminated water in West Bengal[83]. Liao et al.[84] performed a comparative study
related to chronic arsenic exposure with H1N1 influenza susceptibility along with lung function among
people from West Bengal (India), Taiwan, Mexico, and Brazil. Symptoms of dyspepsia were observed in
60 out of 156(38.4%) cases of chronic arsenic toxicity studied in West Bengal[85]. Many investigators
reported symptoms like nausea, diarrhea, anorexia and abdominal pain in cases of chronic arsenic
toxicity[86-89]. Typical cutaneous signs of long-term arsenic exposure were also observed in liver[77,
90]. Comparable peripheral vascular disorders with varying degrees of severity including Raynauds
syndrome and acrocyanosis have also been reported due to arsenic exposure[91, 92]. Peripheral neuritis
characterized by paresthesia was found in 74(47.4%) out of 156 patients due to drinking of arsenic
contaminated water (0.05-14.2mg/l)[83]. Haematological abnormalities, anaemia have been reported in
acute and chronic arsenic poisoning[85]. A significant trend in risk between an approximate time-
weighted arsenic exposure and the prevalence of diabetes mellitus strengthened the possibility of a causal
association[93]. Kar et al.[94] stated the health risks from human intake of aquacultural fish with arsenic
contamination. Arsenic significantly affects developing embryos and it has been recognized as a
reproductive toxicant in humans. A study conducted on 240 married women residing in four As-affected
villages in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, showed arsenic has a significant effect on stillbirth
percentage among pregnant women along with confirmation of insignificant relation with arsenic
exposure and miscarriage [95].
The evidence of carcinogenicity in humans from arsenic exposure is based on epidemiological studies
of cancer in relation to arsenic in drinking water. Arsenic seems to be a cancer promoter rather than a
cancer initiator and the risk of cancer is a dose dependent because the cancer risk would be expected to
decline again when the arsenic exposure ceased and the substances was excreted from the body.
Malignant arsenical skin lesions may be Bowens disease, basalcell carcinoma, or squamous cell
carcinoma [77, 78, 96].
4. Remediation measures to mitigate arsenic toxicity
4.1. Arsenic removal technologies from drinking water
Several arsenic removal technologies has been developed with effective implementation. The major
mode of removal of arsenic from water is by physico-chemical and biological treatment methods. The
most commonly used technologies include oxidation, co-precipitation and adsorption onto coagulated
flocs, lime treatment, adsorption onto sorptive media, ion exchange resin, reverse osmosis and membrane
techniques [97-109].
4.2. Phytoremediation of arsenic-contaminated agricultural field soils
Remediation refers to the process or methods for treating contaminants in soil or water such that they
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are contained, removed, degraded, or rendered less harmful[110,111]. Due to the high cost of removal,
and loss of land use by containment, cost-effective in- situ remedies are being explored. It is believed
that geochemical fixation and phytoremediation can be developed for cost-effective treatments of arsenic
contamination. In fact, phytoremediation has been applied to different contaminants from soil, surface,
water, municipal and industrial wastewater[112]. Phytoremediation involves the cultivation of tolerant
plants that concentrate soil contaminants in their above ground tissues[113]. Phytoremediation for arsenic
can be categorized into five fundamental processes[114, 115] i.e. 1) Phytoextraction 2) Phytostabilization
3) Immobilization 4) Volatilization and 5) Rhizofiltration [116].
The brake fern (Pteris vittata), an efficacious arsenic hyperaccumulator [117]. Subsequently four
other fern species, Pityrogramma calomelanos [118], Pteris cretica, P. longifolia and P. umbrosa are also
been identified as arsenic accumulators[119]. The brake fern can accumulate between 14427526 mg/ kg
arsenic in fronds from contaminated soils, and up to 27,000 mg/kg As in its fronds in hydroponics culture.
This plant is not only efficient in taking up large amounts of arsenic (2.3%) from soil but also in
translocating arsenic to its aboveground biomass (90%)[120]. In hydroponics batch studies, Pteris ferns
have been shown to rapidly reduce arsenic concentrations from spiked drinking water from as high as
500ppb in the presence of sulfate, nitrate and phosphate[121]. However, the phytoremediation potential of
Pteris vittata has not been tested in soils naturally contaminated with arsenic, which are likely to have a
much lower bioavailability of arsenic than soils amended with soluble arsenic [122]. Samal, [26] and
Majumder et al. [123] analysed the arsenic hyperaccumulation in some fern species and concluded Pteris
sp. accumulates more arsenic than others.
4.3. Microbial remediation of arsenic-contaminated soil
A wide variety of microorganisms have been found to convert arsenic compounds into arsine or
methyl arsine gases [124]. In aerobic environments, microbial reduction of As (V) to As (III) is primarily
a detoxification mechanism whereby As is excreted by the cell via a As (III)-specific transporter [125].
Several novel species were discovered as arsenite oxidizers. Gihring and Banfield[126] isolated a
thermophilic species of Thermus (strain HR13) under aerobic condition it will oxidize As (III) without
conserving the energy produced by the reaction. Two closely related representatives Sulfurospirillum
arsenophilum and Sulfurospirillum barnessi were the first microbes reported that could reduce arsenate to
arsenite [127]. At present there are at least 16 species in pure culture and include representatives from the
-,-, - Proteobacteria , low GC Gram positive bacteria, Thermophilic Eubacteria and Crenoarchea
[128]. Maity et al, [129] reported two arsenate reducing strains from an oil contaminated site. Several
studies are going on with these arsenic resistant and transforming bacterial and fungal strains to retreat the
arsenic mobilization in soil.
4.4. Mitigation of arsenic contamination in soil through organic amendments
The application of FYM (Farmyard Manure) helped to moderate the arsenic accumulation in both soil
and plant due to the formation of organo-arsenic complexes with humic/fluvic colloids of native soil.
With increasing organic matter content in soil the microbial activity is enhanced, which can impact the
cycling of the element. Thus, soil organic matter, as an important surface soil component, may impact on
the redox transformations of arsenic and its biomethylation, and its toxicity and fate in soil[130]. The
dissolved organic carbon also appears to play a significant role in controlling arsenic mobility in soil.
Arsenic content in soil markedly decreased, especially with farmyard manure application. In a pot culture
experiment with rice, application of FYM helps to reduce the arsenic accumulation in both soil and
plant[131]. Plants generally absorb the least amount of soil arsenic at neutral soil pH and increasing soil
organic matter by adding compost, manures, or other organic soil amendments has been found to reduce
plant uptake of soil arsenic[132]. Mukhopadhyay et al., [133] conducted an incubation study with soil
Santra et al./ Procedia Environmental Sciences 00 (2013) 000000
samples from the selected areas with arsenic-contaminated groundwater, and also from an arsenic-free
zone, treated with different rates of phosphorus, arsenic and well decomposed farmyard manure (FYM).
The findings showed that extractable arsenic from each soil was high at longer incubation period than at
shorter period, and also in the presence of the added arsenic. Sewage sludge (SS) showed greater effect on
arsenic adsorption followed by municipal solid waste compost (MSWC) and FYM. Application of SS and
MSWC served as binding agents for native and added arsenic, through irrigation water and thereby
moderating the rapid arsenic mobilization to the crop rhizosphere [130].
4.5. Agricultural management strategies to prevent arsenic uptake in crops and vegetables
Even though the risks to food safety and, in particular, to crop production are not yet fully understood,
it can be stated generally that the input of contaminants to the environment should be avoided or, at least,
minimized, and that natural resources such as groundwater should be used in a sustainable way. From this
perspective, there are various topics that can be explored to address management options [134]. Reduce
irrigation water use in rice cultivation will reduce arsenic input, reduce leaching of nutrients and
minimize extraction of groundwater resources. If water input could be reduced to such an extent that the
soil conditions become more aerobic, the solubility of arsenic and, therefore, the uptake of arsenic will be
minimized as well. Promote cropping patterns that require less irrigation water in areas with high arsenic
in soil and/or irrigation water. For example, depending on soil conditions, replace Boro rice with crops
like wheat and maize [43,135].
5. Conclusions
The groundwater arsenic contamination in West Bengal and its further spreading into soil and food
crops is in a very critical condition. The consumption of arsenic-contaminated food poses health risk to a
larger number of populations in the arsenic affected areas of West Bengal and the present critical situation
will become severely life-threatening if effective mitigatory action plans are not taken as well as
implemented immediately. The people in these areas have been already found to be suffering from
arsenicosis and other types of allied diseases due to arsenic toxicity via foodchain. It has been estimated
that on daily basis a high amount of arsenic retained in the human body even after urinary excretion. The
people living in neighboring (arsenic non-contaminated) areas are also at risk of arsenic toxicity through
their imported food crop and vegetable from these arsenic-contaminated areas of West Bengal. A detailed
monitoring programme, mitigation measures, awareness creation and management of arsenic problem in
the state are urgently needed from all levels (Government, academicians, NGOs and community) to
overcome this burning problem. The overall arsenic contamination scenario needs a comprehensive
management plan with respect to conservation and use of surface water bodies, harvesting of rain water,
careful use of uncontaminated groundwater for agriculture and domestic purposes.

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