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In News
- As per a study by Bihar Pollution Control Board, the arsenic contamination has found its way into the food chain– mainly rice, wheat and potato.
- Arsenic contamination in groundwater has been a growing concern in several parts of the country.
Arsenic (As)
Permissible Limits
Health hazards due to Arsenic
Sources of Arsenic and exposure
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Arsenic Contamination: Status in India
- Increasing Area under Arsenic Contamination:
- The number of arsenic-affected habitations in India has increased by 145% in the last five years (2015-20).
- India had 1,800 arsenic-affected habitations in 2015.
- This increased to 4,421 habitations as of September 2020.
- Affected Regions:
- The occurrence of Arsenic in groundwater was first reported in 1980 in West Bengal in India.
- Maximum number of the arsenic-affected habitations are in the Ganga and Brahmaputra alluvial plains.
- They are distributed across Assam, Bihar, West Bengal, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh (UP).
- States Performance:
- Assam had the highest share of As contaminated habitations (1,853), followed by West Bengal (1,383).
- However, Karnataka which had nine habitations in 2015, had none in 2020.
- Menace in Bihar and West Bengal:
- Out of its 38 districts, 22 were reported to have arsenic in drinking water above the WHO provisional guide value of 10 μg /L.
- The recent major cause of concern is the presence of arsenic in the food chain in Bihar through irrigation water.
- Three common eatables – rice, wheat and potato – have elevated levels of arsenic that increases the disease burden in exposed persons.”
- Arsenic content in food items was higher than that in drinking water.
- The concentration was higher in cooked rice compared to raw rice.
Source: Vikaspedia
Solutions to mitigate the Challenges
- Muktoshri: Arsenic Resistant Rice
- It has been developed jointly by
- the Rice Research Station at Chinsurah, coming under West Bengal’s Agriculture Department and
- the National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow.
- The research and development in agri-engineering can help in reducing the Arsenic content in food.
- Similar research can be extended to other crops.
- It has been developed jointly by
- Water Treatment Methods
- There are multiple Arsenic removal techniques available world wide like oxidation, coagulation-flocculation, and membrane techniques.
- Other Simpler Methods
- Uses of surface water sources
- Exploring and harnessing alternate arsenic free aquifer
- Adopting rainwater harvesting/ watershed management practices.
Government Schemes for mitigating such challenges
- Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM):
- JJM was started in 2019 by the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
- Aim: To provide piped water supply to every household by 2024.
- Priority has been given to such quality-affected habitations through Community Water Purification Plants (CWPP).
- The CWPP will meet drinking and cooking needs- until potable water supply through tap connection is provided.
- Under JJM, upto 2% of the allocation to states/ UTs can be utilised for Water Quality Monitoring & Surveillance activities (WQM&S).
- A new Sub-programme under National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) viz. National Water Quality Sub-Mission (NWQSM)
- It was started by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (now the Ministry of Jal Shakti) in 2017.
- Aim: To address the urgent need for providing clean drinking water in about 28000 Arsenic & Fluoride affected habitations.
- The NWQSM aims to cover all rural populations in Arsenic/Fluoride affected habitats by March 2021.
- NRDWP is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme with 50:50 fund sharing between the Centre and the States.
Way Ahead
- To combat Arsenic Pollution, focussing only on drinking water will not be sufficient, rather the focus should also be on irrigation water.
- The strengthened canal system may reduce the farmers’ dependence on groundwater.
- Differences in the sampling frame, mitigations and public education / awareness interventions by various agencies can go a long way in ensuring the safe potable drinking water and food to millions of Indians.
Source: DTE
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