in literature, removal through adsorption has been considered as a cost-effective
and promising technology.
Keywords
Arsenic contamination · Nanoparticles · Remediation · Health risk
2.1
Introduction
Arsenic is a toxic, bio-accumulating, redox and pH-sensitive element. It is a lifethreatening contaminant, to which millions are exposed through contaminated
groundwater from the beginning of the twentieth century (World Health Organization 2010). The high mobility of arsenic species in sub-surface systems is of concern
among the scientific communities (Gupta et al. 2020). Worldwide, about
105 countries and approximately 226 million people are under the potential threat
of arsenic contamination (Naujokas et al. 2013). Around 90,000 km
2 area with
50 million people are critically affected by its contamination in Bengal Delta basin
comprising Bangladesh (Pal et al. 2009). Its contamination in groundwater broadly
reported in flood plains of the Ganga River is a subject of concern among the
scientific communities across the globe since the last two and half decades due to
its high mobility in ecosystem, high toxicity, carcinogenicity to human beings and its
biomagnification characteristics. The menace among the communities across the
globe is mainly due to its contamination in groundwater as compared to that of
surface water. To combat the problems related to its contamination, the WHO and
the US EPA have set its standard limit as 10 μg L
À1 for drinking water since 2006
(World health organisation 2017; Office of Water U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency 2018).
2.2
Arsenic Pollution in Groundwater and Its Health
Consequences
Both developed and developing countries are under a potential threat of problems
related to arsenic-contaminated groundwater. The countries such as Argentina
(Smedley et al. 2005), Bangladesh (Ahmed 2001a), Brazil (Ciminelli et al. 2017),
Canada (Bondu et al. 2017), Cambodia (Berg et al. 2007), Chile (Pino et al. 2015),
Ghana (Adomako et al. 2011), Hungary (Sugár et al. 2014), Mexico (Navarro et al.
2017), Pakistan (Berg et al. 2007; Richards et al. 2015), Republic of China, Taiwan,
United States of America and Vietnam (Berg et al. 2007) are affected with arseniccontaminated groundwater. It may be interesting to note that one of the first countries
to report the arsenic contamination in the groundwater in the beginning of the
twentieth century (1917) was Argentina, whereas in India, its potential health
hazards were reported as late as in early 1990s. In India, the states of Assam (Das
et al. 2017), Bihar (Chakraborti et al. 2016), Chhattisgarh (Patel et al. 2017; Rana
36
A. Kumar et al.
and promising technology.
Keywords
Arsenic contamination · Nanoparticles · Remediation · Health risk
2.1
Introduction
Arsenic is a toxic, bio-accumulating, redox and pH-sensitive element. It is a lifethreatening contaminant, to which millions are exposed through contaminated
groundwater from the beginning of the twentieth century (World Health Organization 2010). The high mobility of arsenic species in sub-surface systems is of concern
among the scientific communities (Gupta et al. 2020). Worldwide, about
105 countries and approximately 226 million people are under the potential threat
of arsenic contamination (Naujokas et al. 2013). Around 90,000 km
2 area with
50 million people are critically affected by its contamination in Bengal Delta basin
comprising Bangladesh (Pal et al. 2009). Its contamination in groundwater broadly
reported in flood plains of the Ganga River is a subject of concern among the
scientific communities across the globe since the last two and half decades due to
its high mobility in ecosystem, high toxicity, carcinogenicity to human beings and its
biomagnification characteristics. The menace among the communities across the
globe is mainly due to its contamination in groundwater as compared to that of
surface water. To combat the problems related to its contamination, the WHO and
the US EPA have set its standard limit as 10 μg L
À1 for drinking water since 2006
(World health organisation 2017; Office of Water U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency 2018).
2.2
Arsenic Pollution in Groundwater and Its Health
Consequences
Both developed and developing countries are under a potential threat of problems
related to arsenic-contaminated groundwater. The countries such as Argentina
(Smedley et al. 2005), Bangladesh (Ahmed 2001a), Brazil (Ciminelli et al. 2017),
Canada (Bondu et al. 2017), Cambodia (Berg et al. 2007), Chile (Pino et al. 2015),
Ghana (Adomako et al. 2011), Hungary (Sugár et al. 2014), Mexico (Navarro et al.
2017), Pakistan (Berg et al. 2007; Richards et al. 2015), Republic of China, Taiwan,
United States of America and Vietnam (Berg et al. 2007) are affected with arseniccontaminated groundwater. It may be interesting to note that one of the first countries
to report the arsenic contamination in the groundwater in the beginning of the
twentieth century (1917) was Argentina, whereas in India, its potential health
hazards were reported as late as in early 1990s. In India, the states of Assam (Das
et al. 2017), Bihar (Chakraborti et al. 2016), Chhattisgarh (Patel et al. 2017; Rana
36
A. Kumar et al.