Arsenic in Drinking Water: A Review on Toxicological Effects, Mechanism of Accumulation and Remediation

摘要

The aim of this review article is to bring out the toxicological effects caused by arsenic on the biological systems. Drinking water is the major direct source of arsenic exposure by general population. The two predominant species of arsenic are arsenate [As( V)] and arsenite [As(III)]. Arsenite is much more toxic. The review covers a bibliometric analysis of drinking water from 1991 to 2008 covering 2,299 publications on the subject. The data source and case study section highlights the historical and present evidences of arsenic toxicity. The effect of toxicity, biomarkers of arsenic toxicity and the mechanism of arsenic toxicity on plants and animals and sources of remediation are well reported in the article. Lastly various treatment technologies to minimize or remove arsenic are reported.