International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 6, Issue 12, December 2016 430 ISSN 2250-3153 www.ijsrp.org Assessment of Arsenic Contamination in Relation to Soil Properties of Kustia and Rangpur Districts Arif Ahmad * , Abu Rayhan Siddique ** , Prince Biswas *** , Mominul Haque Robin **** Prof Dr. Md. Aslam Ali * , Prof Dr. M. A. Sattar * * Department of Environmental Science, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh ** Department of Entomology, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University *** Department of Biochemistry, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka, Bangladesh ****Department of Agricultural Chemistry, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka, Bangladesh Abstract- The total arsenic (As) contents of collected soil series were determined using FI-HG-AAS (Flow Injection Hybrid Generation Atomic Absorption Spectrometry) method to find out whether the soils are contaminated or not in soil of different series in Kushtia and Rangpur, Bangladesh. Besides arsenic, the other elements vizs. soil properties like soil pH, organic carbon, total nitrogen content and exchangeable cations like Ca, K and Na were also estimated in the Soil Science laboratory at Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture (BINA), Mymensingh. Results showed that the As level of Kushtia district ranged from 11.03 mg/kg - 21.06 mg/kg. The lowest As contaminated soil series in Kushtia district was Gopalpur 1 (11.03 mg/kg) and the highest contaminated soil series in Kushtia district was Ishurdi (21.06 mg/kg). In Rangpur district, the As level ranged from 1.80 mg/kg - 6.57 mg/kg, where all the soil series were non-contaminated. Kaunia 2 (6.57 mg/kg) and Belabo 1 (5.10 mg/kg) soil series were slightly contaminated with refers a level of 6 mg/kg and Belabo 2 (4.72 mg/kg) soil series were also slightly contaminated with refers a level of 5 mg/kg. The total As contents in the different surface soils were varied mainly due to local differences in the soil types, biogeochemical activities and farm management practices I. INTRODUCTION roundwater arsenic contamination is a severe problem in Bangladesh. Presently, above 50 million people in 60 districts are affected by arsenic contamination. The severely arsenic affected areas are in the southeast and southwest parts of the country. Besides domestic use (drinking, cooking, washing, etc.), a significant quantity of groundwater is utilized in agricultural sector, especially for irrigation. This toxic element may enter into the food chain (Huq et al., 2006), thus posing a significant threat to human health. Arsenic problem has emerged as a fresh blow to Bangladesh, a country of 140 million populations, known as a land of frequent natural calamities. Recent surveys showed that about 90 million people of the country are living under the risk of arsenic problem as the groundwater of a vast region contaminated with arsenic and the arsenic pollution is not only causing serious health hazard to the people, but also affecting the environment and creating social problems. More than 2 million tube-wells are presently being used as the source of drinking water in Bangladesh. Out of those, only 50,000 have so far been brought under investigation by different Government and non-Government agencies. The rest are still beyond the survey. The actual picture of the severity of arsenic pollution is yet to be revealed as the entire country could not be surveyed till now. The reasons for arsenic contamination of ground water in Bangladesh are yet to be identified. The source of arsenic contamination in the seven districts of West Bengal is noted to be geological. Bore-hole sediment analysis at several arsenic contaminated areas showed high arsenic concentration in soil layers where it was found to be associated with iron pyrites. The reason why arsenic is leaching out from the sources is not yet clear. Several studies have indicated that due to heavy extraction of groundwater, there is marked fluctuation of water level (Ali, 2009). As a result there is aeration of soil leading to decomposition of the pyrites that causes leaching of arsenic. Bangladesh is geographically adjacent to west Bengal having similar aquifers and socio-economic background. Environmental pollution has become a major problem along with increase of the world population. Many reports (Ali, 2009) indicate the large variability of groundwater arsenic problem on both local and regional scales. After 1995, the crisis has emerged into broad public awareness. It has been estimated that water poisoning is affecting as many as 85 million people, nearly 13 million of which is contaminated with arsenic. The scale of disaster in the country is beyond that of the accidents in Bhopal and Chernobyl. It is likely that irrigation with this ground water may increase the As level in soil and this toxic element may consequently be health hazard after entering into the food chain through crop uptake. Ground water is the source of drinking water for more than 97 percent of rural population who do not have access to public water supply system. These groups of people are at risk by exposed to arsenic pollution. So it is necessary to find out arsenic problem in the different soils of Bangladesh. Therefore, this study was undertaken with a view to assess the As concentration of Kushtia and Rangpur district’s soil. The main objectives of the study are:  to find out the arsenic status of the soil in the studied areas; and  to assess the arsenic contamination in soils of Kushtia and Rangpur districts in Bangladesh. G