Low Cost Adsorption, Phytoremediation and Sludge Management Technologies of Arsenic Remediation Adoptable in India: a Review

Arsenic is an important element in today's groundwater pollution scenario. It is introduced into soil and groundwater because of weathering of rocks and minerals followed by subsequent leaching and runoff. In India, a number of States, namely; West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Manipur and Chhattisgarh have chronically been exposed to drinking arsenic contaminated hand tube-wells water above permissible limit of 0.05 mg/L. Arsenic causes serious health hazard such as skin, lung, bladder, and kidney cancer as well as pigmentation changes, skin thickening (hyperkeratosis), neurological disorders, muscular weakness, loss of appetite, and nausea etc. Many treatment and technologies are available for arsenic remediation but any method suitable for a specific area should not be generalized for the other affected regions due to geographical and geomorphological variations, different socio-economic conditions, local availability, processing required and treatment conditions. The arsenic remediation capability of treatments and technologies vary, depending on the characteristics of the material used, concentration of arsenic, pH, temperature and contact time. Agricultural waste, Industrial waste, soil constituents, and biosorbents in natural or modified form are highly efficient for the removal of arsenic, and their potential availability in India provides hope for technology advancement at very low cost. Many of the technologies and treatments described in this paper are possibly adoptable in India which greatly helps for arsenic remediation.