Abstract
Arsenic (As) is a recognized naturally hazardous metalloid that has long been linked to human poisoning. Bangladesh is now dealing with a major public health crisis, with arsenic contamination in drinking water and food crops putting millions of people at risk. Arsenic accumulates in large quantities in Bangladesh’s farmlands. Arsenic accumulates in edible tissues ingested by people and animals when vegetables and other crops are cultivated in As-contaminated irrigation water and soil. Various ongoing mitigation methods have been implemented in Bangladesh to reduce arsenic exposure and consumption. Some strategies have shown to be successful on their own, while others remain contentious.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Abedin, M. J., Cresser, M. S., Meharg, A. A., Feldmann, J., & Cotter-Howells, J. (2002). Arsenic accumulation and metabolism in rice (Oryza sativa L.). Environmental Science & Technology, 36(5), 962–968. https://doi.org/10.1021/es0101678
Adeloju, S. B., Khan, S., & Patti, A. F. (2021). Arsenic contamination of groundwater and its implications for drinking water quality and human health in under-developed countries and remote communities—A review. Applied Sciences, 11(4), 1926. https://doi.org/10.3390/app11041926
Ahmad, S. A., Khan, M. H., & Haque, M. (2018). Arsenic contamination in groundwater in Bangladesh: Implications and challenges for healthcare policy. Risk Management and Healthcare Policy, 11, 251–261. https://doi.org/10.2147/RMHP.S153188
Ahmed, I. (2021). Rights, rivers and the quest for water commons: The case of Bangladesh. Springer.
Ahmed, M. K., Shaheen, N., Islam, M. S., Habibullah-Al-Mamun, M., Islam, S., Islam, M. M., Kundu, G. K., & Bhattacharjee, L. (2016). A comprehensive assessment of arsenic in commonly consumed foodstuffs to evaluate the potential health risk in Bangladesh. Science of the Total Environment, 544, 125–133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.11.133
Alam, M. S., Wu, Y., & Cheng, T. (2014). Silicate minerals as a source of arsenic contamination in groundwater. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 225, 2201. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-014-2201-9
Annaduzzaman, M., Rietveld, L. C., Hoque, B. A., Bari, M. N., & van Halem, D. (2021). Arsenic removal from iron-containing groundwater by delayed aeration in dual-media sand filters. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 411, 124823. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.124823
Arslan, B., Djamgoz, M. B. A., & Akün, E. (2017). Arsenic: A review on exposure pathways, accumulation, mobility and transmission into the human food chain. Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 243, 27–51. https://doi.org/10.1007/398_2016_18
Bahrami, A., Sathyapalan, T., Moallem, S. A., & Sahebkar, A. (2020). Counteracting arsenic toxicity: Curcumin to the rescue? Journal of Hazardous Materials, 400, 123160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.123160
Bari, A. F., Lamb, D., Choppala, G., Bolan, N., Seshadri, B., Rahman, M. A., & Rahman, M. M. (2020). Geochemical fractionation and mineralogy of metal(loid)s in abandoned mine soils: Insights into arsenic behaviour and implications to remediation. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 399, 123029. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1172974
BGS (British Geological Survey) and DHPE (Department of Public Health Engineering). (2001). Arsenic contamination of groundwater in Bangladesh. In D. G. Kinniburgh & P. L. Smedley (Eds.), British Geological Survey technical report (WC/00/19). British Geological Survey.
Bjørklund, G., Oliinyk, P., Lysiuk, R., Rahaman, M. S., Antonyak, H., Lozynska, I., & Peana, M. (2020). Arsenic intoxication: General aspects and chelating agents. Archives of Toxicology, 94(6), 1879–1897. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-020-02739-w
Callegari, A., Ferronato, N., Rada, E. C., Capodaglio, A. G., & Torretta, V. (2018). Assessment of arsenic removal efficiency by an iron oxide-coated sand filter process. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 25, 26135–26143. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-2674-y
Cardoso, A. P. F., Udoh, K. T., & States, J. C. (2020). Arsenic-induced changes in miRNA expression in cancer and other diseases. Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, 409, 115306. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.taap.2020.115306
Chakraborti, D., Rahman, M. M., Mukherjee, A., Alauddin, M., Hassan, M., Dutta, R. N., Pati, S., Mukherjee, S. C., Roy, S., Quamruzzman, Q., Rahman, M., Morshed, S., Islam, T., Sorif, S., Selim, M., Islam, M. R., & Hossain, M. M. (2015). Groundwater arsenic contamination in Bangladesh—21 years of research. Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology, 31, 237–248. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtemb.2015.01.003
Chakraborti, D., Singh, S. K., Rahman, M. M., Dutta, R. N., Mukherjee, S. C., Pati, S., & Kar, P. B. (2018). Groundwater arsenic contamination in the Ganga river basin: A future health danger. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(2), 180. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15020180
Chowdhury, M. T. A., Deacon, C. M., Jones, G. D., Huq, S. I., Williams, P. N., Hoque, A. M., & Meharg, A. A. (2017). Arsenic in Bangladeshi soils related to physiographic region, paddy management, and mirco-and macro-elemental status. Science of the Total Environment, 590, 406–415. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.11.191
Das, S., Kim, G. W., Lee, J. G., Bhuiyan, M. S. I., & Kim, P. J. (2021). Silicate fertilization improves microbial functional potentials for stress tolerance in arsenic-enriched rice crop** systems. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 417, 125953. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.125953
Dittmar, J., Voegelin, A., Roberts, L. C., Hug, S. J., Saha, G. C., Ali, M. A., Badruzzaman, A. B. M., & Kretzschmar, R. (2010). Arsenic accumulation in a paddy field in Bangladesh: Seasonal dynamics and trends over a three-year monitoring period. Environmental Science & Technology, 44(8), 2925–2931. https://doi.org/10.1021/es903117r
Fendorf, S., Michael, H. A., & van Geen, A. (2010). Spatial and temporal variations of groundwater arsenic in South and Southeast Asia. Science, 328(5982), 1123–1127. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1172974
Flora, S. J. S. (2015). 1—Arsenic: Chemistry, occurrence, and exposure. In S. J. S. Flora (Ed.), Handbook of arsenic toxicology. Academic.
Foster, A. L. (2003). Spectroscopic investigations of arsenic species in solid phases. In A. H. Welch & K. G. Stollenwerk (Eds.), Arsenic in ground water (pp. 27–65). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-47956-7_2
Greger, M., Bergqvist, C., Sandhi, A., & Landberg, T. H. (2015). Influence of silicon on arsenic uptake and toxicity in lettuce. Journal of Applied Botany and Food Quality, 88, 234–240. https://doi.org/10.5073/JABFQ.2015.088.034
Hossain, M. F. (2006). Arsenic contamination in Bangladesh—An overview. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 113(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2005.08.034
Hossain, M. B., Jahiruddin, M., Loeppert, R. H., Panaullah, G. M., Islam, M. R., & Duxbury, J. M. (2009). The effects of iron plaque and phosphorus on yield and arsenic accumulation in rice. Plant and Soil, 317(1–2), 167–176. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-008-9798-7
Hussain, M. M., Bibi, I., Niazi, N. K., Shahid, M., Iqbal, J., Shakoor, M. B., Ahmad, A., Shah, N. S., Bhattacharya, P., Mao, K., Bundschuh, J., Ok, Y. S., & Zhang, H. (2021). Arsenic biogeochemical cycling in paddy soil-rice system: Interaction with various factors, amendments and mineral nutrients. Science of the Total Environment, 773, 145040. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145040
Islam, M., & Islam, F. (2010). Arsenic contamination in groundwater in Bangladesh: An environmental and social disaster. IWA Water Wiki. http://www.iwa-network.org/
Islam, M. S., & Mostafa, M. (2021). Influence of chemical fertilizers on arsenic mobilization in the alluvial Bengal delta plain: A critical review. AQUA—Water Infrastructure, Ecosystems and Society, 70(7), 948–970. https://doi.org/10.2166/aqua.2021.043
Islam, S., Rahman, M. M., Islam, M. R., & Naidu, R. (2017). Effect of irrigation and genotypes towards reduction in arsenic load in rice. Science of the Total Environment, 609, 311–318. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.07.111
Ivy, N., Mukherjee, T., Bhattacharya, S., Ghosh, A., & Sharma, P. (2023). Arsenic contamination in groundwater and food chain with mitigation options in Bengal delta with special reference to Bangladesh. Environmental Geochemistry and Health, 45(5), 1261–1287. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-022-01330-9
Jamil, N. B., Feng, H., Ahmed, K. M., Choudhury, I., Barnwal, P., & van Geen, A. (2019). Effectiveness of different approaches to arsenic mitigation over 18 years in Araihazar, Bangladesh: Implications for national policy. Environmental Science & Technology, 53(10), 5596–5604. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b01375
Jayasumana, C., Fonseka, S., Fernando, A., Jayalath, K., Amarasinghe, M., Siribaddana, S., Gunatilake, S., & Paranagama, P. (2015). Phosphate fertilizer is a main source of arsenic in areas affected with chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology in Sri Lanka. Springerplus, 4(1), 90. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40064-015-0868-z
Kabir, M. S., Salam, M. A., Paul, D. N. R., Hossain, M. I., Rahman, N. M. F., Aziz, A., & Latif, M. A. (2016). Spatial variation of arsenic in soil, irrigation water, and plant parts: A microlevel study. Scientific World Journal, 2016, 2186069. https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/2186069
Khan, M. A., Islam, M. R., Panaullah, G. M., Duxbury, J. M., Jahiruddin, M., & Loeppert, R. H. (2010). Accumulation of arsenic in soil and rice under wetland condition in Bangladesh. Plant and Soil, 333(1–2), 263–274. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-010-0340-3
Kumarathilaka, P., Seneweera, S., Ok, Y. S., Meharg, A., & Bundschuh, J. (2019). Arsenic in cooked rice foods: Assessing health risks and mitigation options. Environment International, 127, 584–591. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2019.04.004
Kundu, D. K., Gupta, A., Mol, A. P., & Nasreen, M. (2016). Understanding social acceptability of arsenic-safe technologies in rural Bangladesh: A user-oriented analysis. Water Policy, 18(2), 318–334.
Mandal, B. K., & Suzuki, K. T. (2002). Arsenic round the world: A review. Talanta, 58(1), 201–235. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0039-9140(02)00268-0
McArthur, J., Ravenscroft, P., Safiulla, S., & Thirlwall, M. (2001). Arsenic in groundwater: Testing pollution mechanisms for sedimentary aquifers in Bangladesh. Water Resources Research, 37(1), 109–117.
Meharg, A. A., & Rahman, M. M. (2003). Arsenic contamination of Bangladesh paddy field soils: Implications for rice contribution to arsenic consumption. Environmental Science & Technology, 37(2), 229–234. https://doi.org/10.1021/es0259842
Naidu, R., & Bhattacharya, P. (2009). Arsenic in the environment—Risks and management strategies. Environmental Geochemistry and Health, 31, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-008-9243-0
Nickson, R., McArthur, J., Burgess, W., Ahmed, K. M., Ravenscroft, P., & Rahmanñ, M. (1998). Arsenic poisoning of Bangladesh groundwater. Nature, 395, 338. https://doi.org/10.1038/26387
Oremland, R. S., & Stolz, J. F. (2005). Arsenic, microbes and contaminated aquifers. Trends in Microbiology, 13(2), 45–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tim.2004.12.002
Pham, T. D., Tran, T. T., Pham, T. T., Dao, T. H., & Le, T. S. (2019). Adsorption characteristics of molecular oxytetracycline onto alumina particles: The role of surface modification with an anionic surfactant. Journal of Molecular Liquids, 287, 110900. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molliq.2019.110900
Polizzotto, M. L., Birgand, F., Badruzzaman, A. B. M., & Ali, M. A. (2015). Amending irrigation channels with jute-mesh structures to decrease arsenic loading to rice fields in Bangladesh. Ecological Engineering, 74, 101–106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2014.10.030
Polya, D. A., & Middleton, D. (2017). Arsenic in drinking water: Sources & human exposure. In P. Bhattacharya, D. A. Polya, & D. Jovanovic (Eds.), Best practice guide on the control of arsenic in drinking water. IWA Publishing. https://doi.org/10.2166/9781780404929_001
Raessler, M. (2018). The arsenic contamination of drinking and groundwaters in Bangladesh: Featuring biogeochemical aspects and implications on public health. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 75(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-018-0511-4
Rahaman, M. S., Mise, N., & Ichihara, S. (2022). Arsenic contamination in food chain in Bangladesh: A review on health hazards, socioeconomic impacts and implications. Hygiene and Environmental Health Advances, 2, 100004. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heha.2022.100004
Rahman, M. A., Hasegawa, H., Rahman, M. M., Rahman, M. A., & Miah, M. A. M. (2007). Accumulation of arsenic in tissues of rice plant (Oryza sativa L.) and its distribution in fractions of rice grain. Chemosphere, 69(6), 942–948. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2007.05.044
Rahman, M. M., Ng, J. C., & Naidu, R. (2009). Chronic exposure of arsenic via drinking water and its adverse health impacts on humans. Environmental Geochemistry and Health, 31, 189–200. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-008-9235-0
Rahman, M. A., Rahman, A., Khan, M. Z. K., & Renzaho, A. M. N. (2018). Human health risks and socioeconomic perspectives of arsenic exposure in Bangladesh: A sco** review. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 150, 335–343. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2017.12.032
Rahman, M. A., Kumar, S., Bari, A. F., Sharma, A., & Rahman, M. M. (2021a). Efficiency of arsenic and iron removal plants (AIRPs) for groundwater treatment in rural areas of Southwest Bangladesh. Water, 13(3), 354. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13030354
Rahman, M. M., Alauddin, M., Alauddin, S. T., Siddique, A. B., Islam, M. R., Agosta, G., Mondal, D., & Naidu, R. (2021b). Bioaccessibility and speciation of arsenic in children’s diets and health risk assessment of an endemic area in Bangladesh. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 403, 124064. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.124064
Ravenscroft, P., Brammer, H., & Richards, K. (2009). Health effects of arsenic in drinking water and food. In Arsenic pollution: A global synthesis (pp. 157–212). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444308785.ch5
Safiuddin, M., & Karim, M. M. (2001). Groundwater arsenic contamination in Bangladesh: Causes, effects and remediation. In Proceedings of the 1st IEB international conference and 7th annual paper meet. Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh, Chittagong, November 2–3.
Sagar, L., Singh, S., Attri, M., Maitra, S., Shankar, T., Sairam, M., Aftab, T., & Hossain, A. (2023). Arsenic contamination in soil and water across south east Asia: Its impact and mitigation strategies. In N. K. Niazi, I. Bibi, & T. Aftab (Eds.), Global arsenic hazard: Ecotoxicology and remediation (pp. 533–560). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-16360-9_24
Saha, N., & Rahman, M. S. (2020). Groundwater hydrogeochemistry and probabilistic health risk assessment through exposure to arsenic-contaminated groundwater of Meghna floodplain, central-east Bangladesh. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 206, 111349. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2020.111349
Sandhi, A., Greger, M., Landberg, T., Jacks, G., & Bhattacharya, P. (2017). Arsenic concentrations in local aromatic and high-yielding hybrid rice cultivars and the potential health risk: A study in an arsenic hotspot. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 189(4), 184. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-017-5889-3
Sandhi, A., Yu, C., Rahman, M. M., & Amin, M. N. (2022). Arsenic in the water and agricultural crop production system: Bangladesh perspectives. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 29(34), 51354–51366. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-20880-0
Smith, R., Knight, R., & Fendorf, S. (2018). Overpum** leads to California groundwater arsenic threat. Nature Communications, 9, 2089. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-04475-3
Suriyagoda, L. D., Dittert, K., & Lambers, H. (2018). Mechanism of arsenic uptake, translocation and plant resistance to accumulate arsenic in rice grains. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 253, 23–37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2017.10.017
Talukder, A. S. M. H. M., Meisner, C. A., Sarkar, M. A. R., & Islam, M. S. (2011). Effect of water management, tillage options and phosphorus status on arsenic uptake in rice. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 74(4), 834–839. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2010.11.004
van Geen, A., Zheng, Y., Cheng, Z., He, Y., Dhar, R. K., Garnier, J. M., Rose, J., Seddique, A., Hoque, M. A., & Ahmed, K. M. (2006). Impact of irrigating rice paddies with groundwater containing arsenic in Bangladesh. Science of the Total Environment, 367(2–3), 769–777. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2006.01.030
Williams, P. N., Price, A. H., Raab, A., Hossain, S. A., Feldmann, J., & Meharg, A. A. (2005). Variation in arsenic speciation and concentration in paddy rice related to dietary exposure. Environmental Science & Technology, 39(15), 5531–5540. https://doi.org/10.1021/es0502324
Williams, P. N., Islam, M. R., Adomako, E. E., Raab, A., Hossain, S. A., Zhu, Y. G., Feldmann, J., & Meharg, A. A. (2006). Increase in rice grain arsenic for regions of Bangladesh irrigating paddies with elevated arsenic in groundwaters. Environmental Science & Technology, 40(16), 4903–4908. https://doi.org/10.1021/es060222i
Yang, J., Zhou, Q., & Zhang, J. (2017). Moderate wetting and drying increases rice yield and reduces water use, grain arsenic level, and methane emission. Crop Journal, 5(2), 151–158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cj.2016.06.002
Zhao, F. J., McGrath, S. P., & Meharg, A. A. (2010). Arsenic as a food chain contaminant: Mechanisms of plant uptake and metabolism and mitigation strategies. Annual Review of Plant Biology, 61(1), 535–559. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-arplant-042809-112152
Zinke, L. (2020). Groundwater arsenic. Nature Reviews Earth and Environment, 1(11), 558–558. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-020-00110-2
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Fazle Bari, A.S.M., Masum, S.M., Hasanuzzaman, M., Mandal, M.S.H., Asaduzzaman, M. (2024). Arsenic Contamination of Soil and Water and Related Biohazards in Bangladesh. In: Kumar, N., Hashmi, M.Z., Wang, S. (eds) Arsenic Toxicity Remediation. Emerging Contaminants and Associated Treatment Technologies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-52614-5_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-52614-5_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-52613-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-52614-5
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)