Arsenic, iron and chloride in drinking water at primary school, Satkhira, Bangladesh

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pce.2018.09.008Get rights and content

Highlights

  • 48% tube wells arsenic level exceeds WHO guideline.

  • Iron level exceeds 44.6% tube wells of Bangladesh drinking water standard.

  • 49.2% tube wells chloride level exceeds Bangladesh drinking water standard.

Abstract

Safe water is essential for all living things. Globally, a good fraction of school-aged children, especially in the developing countries children are suffering from several water-borne diseases. In this study, potable water supplies for primary school children were examined at Satkhira district, Bangladesh to ensure arsenic-free drinking water. In 240 randomly selected tube wells water of the primary schools were monitored from the seven Upazilas in Satkhira district, Bangladesh. The metal content, especially arsenic and iron in the tube wells water were analyzed by atomic absorption spectroscopy. Results indicate that arsenic content was exceeded the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline value maximum contaminated level (10 μg/L) in 49% of the tube wells water and reached up to 167.9 μg/L. The level of iron and chloride content was in the tube wells water from 10.01 to 13479.6 μg/L and 29.3–9987.01 mg/L, respectively. The 49% tube wells (118 out of 240) chloride and 45% tube wells (110 out of 240) iron content were exceeded by the Drinking Water Quality Standards of Bangladesh. The drinking water parameters especially arsenic at Satkhira district did not meet the requirement of the WHO drinking water quality guideline or the Drinking Water Quality Standards of Bangladesh. The obtained data were treated for estimating chronic daily intake (CDI) and Hazard Quotient (HQ). The HQ values were >1 for arsenic in the tube wells water of seven Upazilas at Satkhira district. Lifetime drinking of arsenic-contaminated water may trigger cancer risk to the human health.

Introduction

Water is life. All living things require water as the principal medium and solvent of their metabolic activities. Nonetheless, pure water does not exist in the environment. Freshwater is available for human consumption, which derives from the rivers, lakes, tube wells (TWs), ponds and subsurface aquifers. These sources account for only one percent (1%) of all water on the earth; one-third of the world's population use groundwater for the drinking and other household purposes (Nickson et al., 2005). Impurities of trace elements in the surface and groundwater are the primary concern in human health, especially for the children. Hence, drinking water monitoring for the trace elements including their physicochemical parameters is very important.

A good fraction of the world's population is facing the shortage of water, and day-by-day its demand is increasing. Increasing urbanization and industrialization are blaming the amplified level of trace metals, particularly heavy metals in the waterways (Singh et al., 2011). Drinking water sources are continuously contaminated by the natural and human activities (Kinniburgh and Kosmus, 2002; Roussel et al., 2000). The contaminants e.g., bacteria, virus, heavy metals, nitrates, and salt have found their way into water supplies due to insufficient treatment and disposal of waste, industrial releases as well as over-use of the limited water resources (Singh and Mosley, 2003). Surface and groundwater are the significant water resources for the drinking, bathing, irrigation and household purpose for the coastal people of Bangladesh (Palaniappan et al., 2010). Bangladesh has been highlighted that arsenic level in the groundwater is found to be causing harmful effect on human (Anawara et al., 2002).

Arsenic (As) content in drinking water has an adverse effect on the children between the ages of 5–10 years. Fazal et al. (2001) reported that arsenite As (III) is 60 times more toxic than arsenate As (V). As(III) binds to sulfhydryl (single bondSH) groups that have the broad toxicity (NRC, 2001). The sulfur-containing protein can react with As (III) to form products that may cause biological body malfunction (Wang and Wai, 2004). As(III) impairs the function of many proteins (Kumaresan and Riyazuddin, 2001). People of As exposure might develop damages for the higher neurological functions (Rodrıguez et al., 2003). Children who are exposed to As show lessened learning and memory, sleep disturbances, abnormality and hearing problem (Yadav et al., 2011).

Worldwide, in the developing countries, 46% of school-aged children are affected by anaemia (UNICEF/UNU/WHO/MI Technical Workshop 1998). Serious anaemia causes shortcoming of knowledge and often-permanent significance to the cognitive developments of the young children (Beinner et al., 2005). Iron (Fe) plays a dynamic role in oxygen utilization and energy requirements in the cells. Deficiency of Fe steals the vitality of the young and old and impairs the cognitive development of children (UNICEF/UNU/WHO/MI Technical Workshop 1998). In natural fresh water, Fe is found at the level of 0.5–50 mg/L, while the established Provisional Maximum Tolerable Daily Intake (PMTDI) is 0.8 mg/kg of body weight, except for instances when Fe supplements need to be taken during pregnancy or for the specific clinical requirements (WHO, 2011).

Chloride is present in the groundwater, which originates from the various sources e.g., weathering, leaching from the sedimentary rocks and infiltration of the seawater, etc. (Rahman et al., 2016). It is distributed in nature as sodium chloride (NaCl), potassium chloride (KCl), and calcium chloride (CaCl2) salts. Chloride content in water at the level of 250–500 mg/L produces salty taste (Trivedy and Goel, 1984).

Children are the future of the nation. Safe water is essential for the children's development processes. It permits children to enjoy indispensable hygiene to remain in good health. The presence of safe water in the schools contributes significantly to the realization of the right to education. Right education will contribute to the greater social development ultimately to increase the economic development of the country. Children learning can be seriously restricted if the school's authorities don't have the facility to provide safe drinking water and sanitary toilets. Even many girls do not attend school due to the lack of proper toilets for the girls. Hence, it is an urgent need especially for the developing country to ensure safe drinking water for the children.

In this study, drinking water of the primary school at Satkhira district, Bangladesh was monitored to ensure safe drinking water for the school children. The As and Fe analysis were performed by the atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) because of its reliability. The As, Fe, and chloride content of the tube wells (TWs) water were determined following by the APHA (2012) standard analytical methods. The obtained data were treated for the human health risk assessment as well as comply with the national and international drinking water standards.

Section snippets

Study area

The study was carried out at Satkhira district (Fig. 1), located in the southwestern part of Bangladesh. The district has an area of 3817.29 km2 which is bordered to the north by Jessore district, on the south by the Bay of Bengal, to the east by Khulna district, and to the west by 24 Pargana district of West Bengal, India. The district consists of seven Upazilas (former thana used for administrative purposes) namely: Satkhira proper, Tala, Assasuni, Kalaroa, Kaliganj, Shyamnagar, and Debhata.

Sampling

Physical appearance of TWs water

Instantly, the physical appearance of the TWs water was observed in the daylight by the bare eye, and it was clear without sand.

As content in TWs water

The As content in TWs water of the seven Upazilas at Satkhira district is shown in Table 1, Table 2, Table 3, Table 4, Table 5, Table 6, Table 7. As content in the TWs water of Satkhira proper (Table 1) was ranged from 1.01 to 92.9 μg/L. It is clear from Table 1 that in the TWs of SB01, SB10, SB13, SB14, SB15, SB18, SB19, SB20, SB23, SB30, SB31, SB33, SB34, SB35, SB36,

Conclusions

Safe drinking water is essential for the children's health. The study has provided a specific area's drinking water qualities, i.e., arsenic, iron, and chloride that are used for the primary school children. The examining activity helps the service authorities to identify the areas that need to be improved. The tube wells water arsenic, iron, and chloride levels did not follow the World Health Organization drinking water quality guidelines, or the Bangladesh drinking water quality standard. It

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