Indian Journal of Health and Wellbeing

Prasoon Kumar Singh ¹, Mukesh Kumar Mahato ¹, Ashwani Kumar Tiwari ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of Environmental Science & Engineering Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad, Jharkhand, IN

Abstract

The purpose of this review paper is to reveals the GIS based spatial analysis of groundwater arsenic contamination and their effects on human health. Since drinking water is one of the most important causes of exposure to arsenic in human beings. So it is necessary to analyze the status of the arsenic contamination in groundwater to avoid the various arsenic related health problems. With the help of Geographic Information System (GIS) one can delineate the exact distribution of arsenic contamination in groundwater. Now a day, arsenic pollution is of major concern due to its toxic nature that is why arsenic pollution in ground water has become a major quality problem and health hazard. Now the geographic information system (GIS) technology has become an extremely effective tool for analyzing, manipulating, managing and prioritizing natural resource management alternatives. Since natural resources management problems are spatial in nature. The GIS tools are used for evaluating the extent of the problem to facilitate the design and implementation of alternative management strategies. Since GIS is flexible in design so it can couple with the ability to integrate models with spatial data which gives resource managers and planners the tools to manage natural resources in a well ordered manner and to assess the implementation of regulatory policies before they are implemented.

Keywords

GIS, Groundwater Contamination, Arsenic, Drinking Water, Spatial Distribution.

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Ashwani Kumar Tiwari ¹, Prasoon Kumar Singh ¹, Mukesh Kumar Mahato ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad, Jharkhand, IN

Abstract

Water is an essential natural resource for sustaining life and environment which we have always thought to be available in abundance and free gift of nature. Groundwater is the major source for drinking and domestic purposes mboth rural andurban areas. Besides, it is an important source for both agriculture and industrial sectors. Ithas been considered as a dependable source of uncontaminated water. More than 90% of the rural population uses groundwater for domestic purposes. However, a large population in India still live in absolute poverty in both urban and rural areas, and often lack access to clean drinking water and baste sanitation, nearly half the population is illiterate, not at all aware of the water borne diseases affecting their health. Groundwater in India is at risk of contamination due to rapid and unplanned urbanization, industrialization and indiscriminate disposal of domestic, industrial, agricultural and mining wastes. Once the groundwater is contaminated, its quality cannot be restored by stopping the pollutants from the source. Major problems are being faced by the country due to the presence of excess fluoride, sulphate, chloride, nitrate, total hardness and sodium in groundwater in certain parts of the country. About 17 Indian states have been affected by problems of fluorosis in 2002, which has now been extended to more than 20 states, indicating that endemic fluorosis has emerged as one of the most alarming public health problems in the country. Nitrate concentrations were also reported from several areas in Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Bihar, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh & Rajasthan. High concentration of nitrate in groundwater causes a number of health disorders, viz. methemoglobinemia, gastric cancer goiter, birth malformations and hypertension etc. The paper highlight is brief about the adverse effect on human health due to rise of the concentration of major elements.

Keywords

Groundwater, Sources of Chemical Elements, Health Effects and Mitigation.

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