Chapter 8
Arsenic Contamination: Sources, Chemistry
and Remediation Strategies
Pankaj K. Parhi, Snehasish Mishra, Ranjan K. Mohapatra, Puneet K. Singh,
Suresh K. Verma, Prasun Kumar, and Tapan K. Adhya
Abstract Growing industrialisation, urbanisation and technological advancements
have been endlessly increasing the environmentally contaminating heavy metals
load. Arsenic contamination as an environmental pollutant has transcended as a
major global concern to address. Arsenic contamination of air, soil, water, sediment
and crops due to the various anthropogenic (agricultural) and geogenic (geochemical) sources is a major global threat, including India, owing to its hazardous and
toxic nature. Primarily, the three and five valency arsenic cause severe human health
concerns at an elevated concentration (>0.05 mg/l) affecting millions of people
worldwide year-after-year. Generally non-biodegradable, arsenic can be transformed
into less toxic forms by adopting chemical, biological and/or composite techniques
involving oxidation-reduction, methylation, complexation, precipitation,
immobilisation through sorption, etc. Microbial and phyto-remediation of arsenic
through adsorption, absorption, extracellular entrapment, precipitation and
oxidation-reduction reactions are gaining global attention due to their greater advantages. While phytoremediation includes phytoextraction and phytovolatilisation,
microbial biomass remediates through active/passive/combined arsenic binding.
The chapter embodies the underlying arsenic toxicity and bioremediation
P. K. Parhi
Department of Chemistry, Fakir Mohan University, Balasore, Odisha, India
S. Mishra (*) · P. K. Singh
Bioenergy Lab and BDTC, School of Biotechnology, KIIT (Deemed University),
Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
e-mail: smishra@kiitbiotech.ac.in
R. K. Mohapatra · T. K. Adhya
School of Biotechnology, KIIT (Deemed University), Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
S. K. Verma
Division of Molecular Toxicology, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institute,
Stockholm, Sweden
P. Kumar
Department of Chemical Engineering, Chungbuk National University,
Cheongju, Chungbuk, Republic of Korea
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
S. Rajendran et al. (eds.), Metal, Metal-Oxides and Metal-Organic Frameworks for
Environmental Remediation, Environmental Chemistry for a Sustainable World 64,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68976-6_8
219
Arsenic Contamination: Sources, Chemistry
and Remediation Strategies
Pankaj K. Parhi, Snehasish Mishra, Ranjan K. Mohapatra, Puneet K. Singh,
Suresh K. Verma, Prasun Kumar, and Tapan K. Adhya
Abstract Growing industrialisation, urbanisation and technological advancements
have been endlessly increasing the environmentally contaminating heavy metals
load. Arsenic contamination as an environmental pollutant has transcended as a
major global concern to address. Arsenic contamination of air, soil, water, sediment
and crops due to the various anthropogenic (agricultural) and geogenic (geochemical) sources is a major global threat, including India, owing to its hazardous and
toxic nature. Primarily, the three and five valency arsenic cause severe human health
concerns at an elevated concentration (>0.05 mg/l) affecting millions of people
worldwide year-after-year. Generally non-biodegradable, arsenic can be transformed
into less toxic forms by adopting chemical, biological and/or composite techniques
involving oxidation-reduction, methylation, complexation, precipitation,
immobilisation through sorption, etc. Microbial and phyto-remediation of arsenic
through adsorption, absorption, extracellular entrapment, precipitation and
oxidation-reduction reactions are gaining global attention due to their greater advantages. While phytoremediation includes phytoextraction and phytovolatilisation,
microbial biomass remediates through active/passive/combined arsenic binding.
The chapter embodies the underlying arsenic toxicity and bioremediation
P. K. Parhi
Department of Chemistry, Fakir Mohan University, Balasore, Odisha, India
S. Mishra (*) · P. K. Singh
Bioenergy Lab and BDTC, School of Biotechnology, KIIT (Deemed University),
Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
e-mail: smishra@kiitbiotech.ac.in
R. K. Mohapatra · T. K. Adhya
School of Biotechnology, KIIT (Deemed University), Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
S. K. Verma
Division of Molecular Toxicology, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institute,
Stockholm, Sweden
P. Kumar
Department of Chemical Engineering, Chungbuk National University,
Cheongju, Chungbuk, Republic of Korea
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
S. Rajendran et al. (eds.), Metal, Metal-Oxides and Metal-Organic Frameworks for
Environmental Remediation, Environmental Chemistry for a Sustainable World 64,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68976-6_8
219