Arsenic Contamination in Groundwater and Skin Manifestations in Three VDC of Kailali District in Terai, Nepal

摘要

Groundwater pumped up through shallow tubewells was the major water source used by the people for drinking and other domestic purposes in Terai, Nepal. Though people are exposed to high arsenic through contaminated drinking water, scarce data are available on the health effects of chronic arsenic poisoning. This study was, thus, undertaken from July-December 2007 aiming to know arsenic contamination levels and identify arsenicosis cases among risk population in three arsenic affected VDCs of Kailali district in Terai, Nepal. Measurement of arsenic concentrations in 50 tubewell water and 150 spot urine samples were done at laboratory by HG-AAS. The surveyed households were exposed to arsenic ranging from 53 ppb to >500 ppb, with mean value of 105.2±70.6 ppb. Of the 5992 population living in 777 households, 3889 villagers were physically examined for arsenic-related skin manifestations and 26 persons (17 male and 9 female) were found to suffer from chronic arsenic toxicity. The prevalence of arsenicosis cases for male was 0.9% and for female 0.4%, with the overall prevalence of 0.7%. Despite knowing high arsenic concentration, majority of the people were continuously using arsenic contaminated tubewell water for all domestic purposes including drinking.