239 million people drink high arsenic level water in India

According to the government data, about 239 million people across 153 districts in 21 states drink high levels of arsenic water.

– 65% of Assam’s population, or about 21 million people, is drinking arsenic-contaminated water, while it’s 60% in Bihar and 44% in West Bengal. As far as absolute numbers is concerned, Uttar Pradesh has the largest number of people, over 70 million, exposed to arsenic-contaminated water.

–States like Maharashtra, Kerala, Uttarakhand, Goa, Tripura and Arunachal have not reported arsenic contamination in groundwater in any district. Odisha and Rajasthan are among the least affected states, with just one district in each having high arsenic levels in groundwater.

–WHO’s guideline value for acceptable levels of arsenic in drinking water is0.01mg/litre. In these 153 districts, the arsenic level in groundwater is above this benchmark. For India, the WHO has said that, in the absence of an alternative source of water, arsenic of 0.05 mg/l could be treated as a permissible level.

– The main source in drinking water is arsenic rich rocks through which the water filters. It may also occur because of mining or industrial activities. Drinking the water, crops irrigated with it, and food prepared with contaminated water are the sources of exposure. Fish, shellfish, meat, poultry, dairy products and cereals could also be dietary sources of arsenic.