Drinking Water Quality and Arsenic Contamination: Understanding the socio-economic environment of India."
By Anabel Castro
Abstract
Table of Contents
Abstract……………………………………….…………………………………….………………1
Introduction………………………….…………………………………….……………………..3
Water Policies and Laws ………………………….…………………………………….…….4
History of Water Quality………………………….…………………………………….…….5
Magnitude of the Problem………………………….…………………………………….…..6
Contamination Sources and Processes………………………….……………………….7
Overview of the Latest Research and Solutions………………………….……………8
Sociological and Economical Effects………………….…………………………………..8
Conclusion and Remarks………………….………………………………………………….9
Biographical Sketch………………….………………………………………………………..10
List of Tables………………….…………………………………………..……………………..11
List of Illustrations………………….…………………………………………………..…….12
References…………………………………….…………………………………….…………….13
Introduction
India is the second most populous country of the world. The steadily increasing population in India is facing severe water shortages. India’s groundwater contaminants exist from biogenic, geogenic and anthropogenic sources. It was revealed from extensive research that the groundwater arsenic contamination is mostly restricted to the alluvial aquifers of the Ganges delta which comprises sediments carried from the sulphide-rich mineralized areas of Bihar and the Himalayas mountain range. Arsenic widespread contamination is exaggerated through the percolation of fertilizer residues. (Bikash Kumar Panda)
Arsenic ingestion and poisoning has a detrimental impact on the quality of life, shown in the form of life-long diseases, skin pigmentation, and cancer. Most undermined is the Arsenic presence in social disorders and the sociological phenomenon. A number of socio-economic problems such as social uncertainty, social injustice, social isolation and problematic family issues are reported due to arsenicosis. (Brinkel) The long-term socio-economic effects of Arsenicosis is most prevalent in the lower class of India. The poor people of India are being socially stigmatized, discriminated against, and socially isolated from the non-poisoned groups.
Despite the social, economical, psychological, and health-hazardous effects of poor water quality, India’s water related-laws remain mostly unchanged. This paper will give an overview of the above mentioned, and include the impact of International treaties, global environmental stewardship, and the minimal science-based decision making that has kept India from improving the quality of water for their citizens.
Water Policies and Laws
History
Global environmental stewardship and international treaties have shaped the water policies and laws in India. In contrast, in modern societies, primarily first-world countries, no other institutions influence societies as much as science does. Public lives are strongly influenced and constructed based off the regulations and standards set forth by the respected government. However, the Indian judiciary uses minimal science-based evidence in their drinking water quality decision making. The rights-based approach blurs the lines between human rights and economic development. (Sharma)
The history of statuary water law in India is 156 years old as of 2018. (Ramanathan, 1992) The British Raj ended in 1947 and the Indian constitution was enacted on January 26, 1950. No exhaustive legislation for the prevention and control of water pollution was created for more than two decades upon the independence of India. The environmental movement of the 1970s spread like wildfire throughout the world. As Cullet states “Law often evolves in response to specific challenges that arise at a given point in time.” (Cullet 2010) India is no exception, and in 1974 we saw the Water Prevention and Control of Pollution Act and the Environment Protection Act of 1986.
In Indian culture, clean water has been seen as a fundamental right for the past four decades. According to the National Water Policy of 2002, some alterations to the existing water laws took place to include,
“The decision to intensify the research in some additional areas, such as, water quality, risk analysis, and disaster management; use of remote sensing techniques in development and management; use of static groundwater resources as a crisis management mesure, prevention of salinity regress, environmental impact, and regional equity and a few more.”
Discussion
If one were to only read and understand the above, one may be confused as to the current state of India’s water quality standards and be perplexed by the millions of cases of Arsenicosis. However, what has been understood as “clean water” has no constitutional backing nor clear regulatory policies. In Article 21 of the constitution, it states that “citizens have the right to enjoy pollution-free water. (Cullet 2010) However, the article does not define what it means to be “pollution-free.”
In the case of Subhash Kumar vs. State of Bihar, the petitioner states that the “State of Bihar and State Pollution Control Board has failed to take any action against the Company when the discharge from it is causing serious water pollution.” The Supreme Court ruling that the right to life is a fundamental right under Article 21. Unfortunately the court did not establish the scope of the legal definition of water quality and did not base their decision off of science-based facts. The extent of science was limited to purely expert-based opinions. The limitations of expert-witnesses includes the lack of research regarding the problem at hand. Expert opinions can only be right if they are based off the most recent, true and available evidence. Moreover, not one expert will always agree with another, and therefore, there is room for interpretation and sound opinion making. Despite judicial hearings, there are no mandatory standards for public supply of drinking water that has been legally enforced.
History of Water Quality
The Industrial Revolution propelled nations into the modern world. In India and Bangladesh, it resulted in a dramatically fast growing population. The current data shows that India comprises 17% of the global population within the meager percent of only 2.4 of the global land area. This has resulted in water quality depleting. In order to insulate a population from water borne diseases, millions of well, motorized and hand-operated, were installed in India in the 1970s. The large flux of well installation was in hopes to mitigate the problem of a rapidly growing population with a short supply of water. A few years about the installation of wells, the first patient was registered in a medical facility in 1976 due to Arsenic-related ailments. From this point forward, millions of people residing in India would come to suffer from Arsenic-pollution.
Notwithstanding the fact that India and Bangladesh have a good reserve volume of groundwater resources, and some of the highest yielding aquifers in the world, the distribution of usable groundwater in India is not uniform. Water quality problems are associated with the over extraction for irrigation and uncontrolled deforestation as well as the excess dependence (85 %) on groundwater resources. (B.K. Thakur et al. 2013) There is also growing concern for potable water quality due to natural and anthropogenic (doctrinal and social) pollution. Among the wide-range of pollutants existing in India, the most dangerous is the carcinogen Arsenic in elevated concentrations in the groundwater and surrounding aquifers. Arsenic contamination affects wide regions of India, including the north and east Indian Gangetic alluvial plain and delta, the northeastern states, the central state of Chatissgarh, and the southern states. (P. Bhaggacharya)
The groundwater flowing in India is abundant in means and in distribution. However the distribution of potable and useable water is not uniformly distributed in India. The majority of the country, which is composed of 29 states, is infected with a wide-range of pollutants. Arsenic is present in 7 states in India over the Indian Bureau of Standards Limits of 0.05 mg/L. Chloride is present in quantities above 1000 mg/L in thirteen states. Unhealthy levels of Fluoride is present above 1.5 mg/L in nineteen states. Any concentration of Iron in drinking water is considered very harmful if above 1 mg/L and it occurs in most states in India. Nitrate is the most common pollutant in India’s groundwater. (Table 1) Poor water quality combined with a growing population leads to a water scarcity epidemic.
Bangaladesh, a country located northeast of India, has a similar water quality epidemic. In 1992, the UK National Environmental Research Council (NERC) and British Geological Survey (BGS) created limited geological survey for the purpose of identifying artesian wells to aid in Bangladesh irrigation projects. BGS and NERC analyzed the geology of the sub-surface aquifers and the suitability and integrity of the wells. Quantitative analyses of thirty-one trace elements were conducted, but Arsenic was not amongst them. A group lawsuit was filed against the BGS for negligent after UNICEF and the World Bank conducted similar shallow groundwater in Bangladesh and discovered Arsenic in their survey. The British Geological Survey was not held accountable for their actions because the House of Lords felt that scientists could not “be held responsible for the research that they did not conduct.” Thus, erupted a severe water quality crisis northeast of India.
Table 1
Magnitude of Problem
Regions
India and Bangladesh have some of the highest yielding aquifers in the world. A large dependence upon rich groundwater resources is thus created. In the state of Bihar, in northeastern India, 85% of their water is extracted from groundwater resources.
Health Concerns
Arsenic poisoning can cause a range of short-term effects. Long-term usage leads to skin pigmentation, severe damage to organs, and immunological disorders. Arsenic can cause problems in the reproductive system, birth defects and harm the central and peripheral nervous system. (Canter 1997) Melanosis and Keratosis at the initial stage, if left untreated, can lead to advanced skin cancer.
Table 2
Agriculture
Arsenic contamination in India is regionally expanded and perpetuated through the usage of contaminated water in agriculture.
Contamination Sources & Processes
Global water pollution and contamination are caused by geogenic, anthropogenic, and biogenic sources and processes.
Anthropogenic and biogenic processes in northeastern India include over extraction of groundwater for irrigation and unrestricted deforestation.
Table 2
Overview of Latest Research and Solutions
Sociological and Economical Effects
Sociological
It was Cvjetanovic who stated that “access to safe water supply is the most important determinants of health and socio-economic development. Arsenic contamination in groundwater has significant sociological and economical impacts on the population of India and Bangladesh. Every country in the world has divisions of groups of people systematically divided by education, class, income, ethnicity, race, and more. Every person may identify with a systematic class division, but is further inclined to a sub-culture group based off personal choices, interests, and characteristics which are out of one’s control, such as health conditions. Social exclusion is something that occurs naturally by choice, however social exclusion that is forced upon by pre-conceived ideas of who you are, can be stressful. In arsenic-contaminated regions, there are social divides that keep the healthy group from interacting with the unhealthy group. Social separation can have sociological and economical consequences that can further perpetuate a sense of isolation.
Mis-education is the primary reason the negative sociological effects. For instance, Leprosy, is an infection caused by the Mycobacterium Leprae bacteria. Leprosy can be presented on the surface of the skin in the form of red ulcers. The forementioned disease is often confused with Arsenicosis, which causes lesions, reddening, swelling, and warts. People in India often mistaken Arsenicosis with Leprosy and thus create a physical behavior between themselves and those infected. It should be noted that Leprosy has been proven to not be as contagious as previously thought.
The social structuring continues further with a divide between ages. Children are more prone and susceptible to diseases and illnesses due to their growing bodies. Arsenic-contaminated water is most likely to be ingested by children from a poor socio-economic background. In a study conducted in Bangaladesh by Rahman in 2006, they found that 52% of the respondents tested had no formal education and that 46% of the respondents had primary education.
Table 3 : Study conducted in Matlab, Bangladesh researching the arsenic-induced skin lesions by age and sex, in a population drinking water from Arsenic-contaminated tube wells. Rahman 2006)
Economical
In a study carried out by Roy in 2008 and Kahn in 2007, households that incurred arsenic contamination acquire a substantial economic cost.
Conclusions & Remarks
This paper did not discuss the fact that water quality issues will continue to rise and be aggravated due to climate change. Particularly in danger are third-world countries with a growing urban community that must support an exponentially increasing population.