Emer Life Sci Res (2023) 9(1): 83-90 83 emergent Life Sciences Research Received: 18 Febuary 2023 Accepted: 30 March 2023 Online: 06 April 2023 Authors: R. Mishra, S. P. Datta , M. C. Meena, D. Golui, K. K. Bandyopadhyay, A. Bhatia, A Chaudhary ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi-110012, India R. Mishra ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil Science, Bhopal- 462038, India mishrarahul471@gmail.com Emer Life Sci Res (2023) 9(1): 83-90 E-ISSN: 2395-6658 P-ISSN: 2395-664X DOI: https://doi.org/10.31783/elsr.2023.918390 Research Article Geostatistical analysis of arsenic contamination in soil and comparison of interpolation techniques in Nadia district of Bengal, India Rahul Mishra, S. P. Datta, M. C. Meena, D. Golui, K. K. Bandyopadhyay, A. Bhatia, A Chaudhary Abstract The contamination of soil and water with arsenic directly or indirectly affects millions of people, particularly in Southeast Asia. Efficiently managing contaminated sites cost-effectively requires an understanding of the spatial distribution of contamination in soil. In this study, different interpolation methods, including Ordinary Kriging (OK), Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW), Radial Basis Function (RBF), and Empirical Bayesian Kriging (EBK), were evaluated in the Bengal region to determine their effectiveness in predicting the Olsen extractable As content in the soil. The study found that the mean Olsen extractable content in soil was 1.45 mg kg -1 , with a range of 0.48 to 3.57 mg kg -1 . Geostatistical analysis showed that the northern side of Nadia had relatively high contamination, while the southern side had relatively lower contamination. The Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) values of the different interpolation methods ranged from 0.52 to 0.54, with corresponding mean cross-validation (CV) values ranging from -0.005 to 0.008. The predicted minimum and maximum values of as-in soil were in close agreement with the measured values for IDW interpolation, followed by OK, RBF, and EBK. The study found that IDW consistently provided the most precise predictions of pollution in the soil throughout space. These findings have significant implications for managing contamination in the Nadia West Bengal and other regions facing similar challenges. Keywords extractable arsenic, GIS, interpolation Introduction Arsenic (As) is a class (I) carcinogen, which poses a very serious threat to both the health of humans and the environment and affects millions of people all over the world [1]. Arsenic has entered terrestrial and aquatic habitats through both natural geological processes and human activities, contaminating soil and groundwater [2]. In the last three decades, increased levels of As in drinking water and food sources like rice have become a major concern for public health around the world [3]. The Ganga Delta Plains, where a sizable percentage of the population is located, is one of the worst affected by As pollution [4]. In the rice-rice cropping system prevalent in Bangladesh and Bengal (India), arsenic-contaminated groundwater is frequently used to irrigate rice crops, leading to the accumulation of As in agricultural soils [2]. In regions where rice is a staple diet, the increased amount of As in the grain of rice cultivated on soil with elevated as levels represent a serious hazard to human health [5-6]. In humans, toxicity manifests as hyperkeratosis,