Studies on the estimation and mitigation of fluoride and arsenic content in the groundwater of some selected districts of West Bengal

Water is the essence of life as 70% of the blood of a human body is water. 60% of the protoplasm of a cell in a human body is water. Hence, the drinking water must be safe, purified, and germless. Major sources of our drinking water are weir, bore holes, ponds, river, lakes, tube wells and hand pumps. Most of the surface water sources are either free from fluoride ion or Arsenic or contain traces or certain amount of fluoride ion and Arsenic. Arsenic is a toxic metalloid element present in contaminated water that can be fatal to human health. A new technical method for the mitigation of arsenic from groundwater/ surface water by the filtration process through the special laterite soil has been adopted in this study. After mitigation the amount of arsenic was found to be below detection level. WHO and EPA have recommended that the fluoride ion concentration in drinking water should not exceed 1.5 mg/lt. The concentration of fluoride ion in water has been determined accurately with the help of an electrochemical cell, known as the fluoride –ion-meter “ORION-4-STAR”. Set of 3-5 standard solutions is arranged in a raw and the fluoride electrode is dipped in each of these solutions one by one. The electrode potential corresponding to each standard Solution is recorded in the voltmeter in milli volt which is increased linearly with the increase in the concentration of standard solutions.