Threats of arsenic and fluoride contamination in vulnerable Indo-Bangladesh coastal groundwater aquifers: issues, policy practice gap, and the way forward

In recent times, groundwater (GW) contamination has been rising at an alarming rate in the freshwater-scarce dry and coastal areas of the world in terms of arsenic (As) and fluoride (F−). This study focused on the vulnerability assessment of ‘As and F−’ contamination of GW in the Gangetic delta region by evaluating GW quality and potential health issues. After analyzing the health risk, it is noticed that about 65% area of the Ganges delta come over the moderate to excessive health risk zone, which is detected in the northeast, east, and central portion of this region due to high population pressure on GW consumption. The findings of this study will be fruitful to the local, national, and international environmentalists, water scientists, and supervision experts to mitigate such harmful condition sustainably and give safeguard to the local people by supplying fresh drinking water by undertaking some preventive measures.