ABSTRACT

Inorganic arsenic a well documented human carcinogen is widely distributed in nature, in water and soil (Smedley & Kinniburgh, 2002; Nriagu et al., 2007). Severe health effects have been observed in populations drinking arsenic-rich water over long periods in countries world-wide. East Asia (Indo-Bangladesh region) is the worst affected region in the world where millions of people have been exposed to arsenic above the regulatory limit (Chatterjee et al., 1995; Bhattacharya et al., 1997; Mukherjee et al., 2006).