Pathway of Arsenic from water to food, West Bengal, India
The large agrarian population of West Bengal drink groundwater with arsenic content anywhere between 0.05 and 3.7 mg/L. Greater than 44% of this population suffers from arsenic related diseases like conjunctivitis, melanosis, hyperkeratosis, and hyper pigmentation. In certain areas gangrene in the limb, malignant neoplasm and even skin cancer have also been been observed. Irrigation practices have contributed a large quantity of arsenic in to the shallow aquifers of West Bengal.