Abstract:
Arsenic (As) contamination in groundwater is a serious issue of south Asian countries. As can also contaminate soil and crops growing in that area. To evaluate the level of As contamination in water, soil and crops (rice grain), sites were selected from highly As affected southern district of Nepal, Nawalparasi. The As level in water was above the national (0.05 mg L-1) and WHO standards (0.01 mg L-1). However, soil and rice grain showed As contamination in the safe level. The average ratios of As concentration of soil to water, rice grain to water and rice grain to soil samples was found to be 6.2, 2 and 1.5, respectively. Furthermore, positive correlation of As in water with soil and negative correlation of As in water with rice grain indicates that soil gets contaminated first with As followed by rice grain. Hydride generation atomic absorption spectrophotometer was used for As analysis. |
