Health Risk Assessments of Arsenic and Toxic Heavy Metals Exposure in Drinking Water in Central Gangetic Plain, Uttar Pradesh

The current study was focused on the characterization of recharge, weathering processes and to check the aptness of groundwater for household and agriculture utility in the Central Gangetic Plain, Uttar Pradesh, India. Arsenic contamination in groundwater recognized as a vital catastrophic problem that affect millions of people across the world and have geogenic as well as anthropogenic sources. In central gangetic, plain, high geogenic arsenic in groundwater is extensively present in Holocene alluvial aquifers. The severity of this problem is further accelerated through in-situ physio-chemical factors in the fluvial environment. In our studied areas, newer alluvium has organic rich clay, which plays an important role in arsenic mobilization by reductive dissolution of Fe-oxyhydroxide. The aim of this paper is to compare and contrast the long-term similarities and differences in arsenic hot spot regions in central gangetic plain with those of other parts of the world and assess the unique socio-cultural factors that determine the human health risks of exposure to arsenic in local groundwater. It documents how the pathways of exposure to this poison have been greatly expanded through intensive application of groundwater in agriculture in the region within the Green Revolution framework.