A Rapid Assessment of Fluoride and Arsenic in Drinking Water on Assam-Nagaland Border, India

Tikendrajit Gogoi^1, , Trishna Jarambasa² and Porismita Nath³

¹Department of Environmental Science, Gauhati University, Assam, India

²Department of Botany, Gauhati University, Assam, India

³Department of Life Sciences, Dibrugarh University, Assam, India

Cite this paper:
Tikendrajit Gogoi, Trishna Jarambasa and Porismita Nath. A Rapid Assessment of Fluoride and Arsenic in Drinking Water on Assam-Nagaland Border, India. Applied Ecology and Environmental Sciences. 2022; 10(5):297-302. doi: 10.12691/aees-10-5-5

Abstract

A rapid assessment of drinking water quality in the Assam-Nagaland border region was done to evaluate the current scenario of drinking water quality in the Assam Nagaland border region where the E sector of Golaghat District, Assam was selected as the study site. Arsenic (As) and fluoride (F^-) levels, as well as other basic water quality indicators like pH, TDS, redox potential, conductivity, resistivity, NaCl, Nitrate, Sulfate, Iron, and Phosphate, were analyzed. Levels of F^- (1.27-1.95 mg/l) and As (0.012 - 0.151 mg/l) were found higher than the permissible limit of WHO and Indian standards, which is not safe for drinking. The presence of a higher level of A, F^-, and Fe²⁺ in drinking water at the study site may be primarily due to the hydro-geochemical process. The Hydro-geochemical process in the underground rock leads to the mobilization of these contaminants into aquifers. Although the drinking water quality standards in this study area are not an immediate threat to human health, their long-term impact on human health harms conditions such as cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular diseases, renal disorders, and diabetes. Groundwater conservation and awareness about safe drinking water quality, governmental support, health, and hygiene are required for immediate concern in this study area for the better health of people.

Keywords:
fluoride arsenic Assam-Nagaland border

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