Arsenic Poisoning in Bihar: A Comparative Health Risk Assessment Through Water and Food Sources

Arsenic poisoning from groundwater has caused serious health hazards to the exposed population globally. The human body is contaminated by arsenic through drinking water and food, causing skin manifestations, neurological disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, cancer, etc. In the present study, a total of n = 286 household handpump water samples and food consumed (wheat and rice) by the studied subjects and each household member's biological samples (hair and nail) were collected for arsenic quantification. The hazard quotient (HQ) and cancer risk (CR) study was evaluated in the exposed studied population from the consumed wheat and rice. Arsenic content in 14% of water samples, 44% of wheat samples, and 3% of rice samples have exceeded their respective permissible limits of 10 μg/L, 100 μg/kg, and 200 μg/kg. In the studied subjects, 69% had arsenic contamination in their hair samples more than the permissible limit (200 μg/kg), while 11% had arsenic contamination in their nail samples more than the permissible limit (500 μg/kg). Arsenic contamination in the participants' household water, hair, and nail samples was positively correlated with one another by a correlation coefficient study. The food samples showed a significant correlation between the subjects' hair and nail samples and rice and wheat. In the six districts of Bihar, the geospatial analysis of all the variables revealed a considerable level of arsenic contamination. The health risk assessment also showed a high risk of arsenic contamination through wheat rather than rice. The risk assessment revealed elevated hazard quotient (HQ) and cancer risk (CR) in the six districts of Bihar's arsenic-exposed population. The present study thus concludes that arsenic contamination in water and food grains is causing health hazards in the studied exposed population of Bihar. Therefore, there is an urgent need to initiate an effective mitigation plan to safeguard the health of the exposed population.