A recent study by the National University of Rosario in Santa Fe province in Argentina revealed that 17 million people of 45.8 million Argentinians were exposed to arsenic through groundwater.
Notably, the arsenic contamination in the country primarily takes place through geochemical processes, rather than through industrial pollution or mining processes.
Arsenic leaches from sources such as volcanic rocks into groundwater, causing serious health concerns, including cancer, dermatological diseases and genetic disorders. Arsenic pollution is also associated with severe pregnancy outcomes and infant mortality.
A paper titled The new map of Argentine population exposed to arsenic in drinking water published in the Journal of Water and Health in 2024 revealed, "while analysing provincial representativeness, the population under study presented a considerable heterogeneity, ranging from 0.35% (the lowest in Chubut province) to 99% (the highest in Santa Fe province). In relation to the percentages of the exposed population (PEP), the highest exposure was found in La Pampa (87.98%), followed by Catamarca (78.90%) and Buenos Aires provinces (68.55%). "
Chronic Endemic Regional Hydroarsenicism, marked by skin lesions and systemic cancerous and non-cancerous alterations caused as a result of exposure to low levels of arsenic for prolonged periods, has prevailed in Argentina since 1913, making the country next after the USA among the world's most affected countries due to arsenic pollution.
Now, the situation has only worsened with a long-term and chronic impact on human health.
Erasmo Cuellar, who lives in Vilmer, an area with the highest levels of arsenic in the water, said the Guardian, "I drank that polluted water from age four until about 20. And my siblings drank it longer because they were older. There were eight of us, of whom only two are alive now. Seven of us fell ill with cancer, and six have died. I’m managing the problem because it’s skin cancer that’s affected me.”
"Losing someone you love to a problem (Arsenic pollution) and continuing with the same problem with your children is very hard," Marta Romero said to the Guardian.
WHO reported that arsenic contamination of groundwater is widespread, and there are a significant number of regions that witness arsenic contamination in drinking water. It stated that an estimated 140 million people in at least 70 countries have been drinking water containing arsenic at levels above the WHO provisional guideline value of 10 μg/L.
The recent statistical modelling suggested that between 94 and 220 million people are at risk of exposure to elevated arsenic concentrations in groundwater.
The assessment of the burden on health due to arsenic pollution is complicated, as there is no universal definition of the disease caused by arsenic.
However, recent technologies aimed at removing arsenic from drinking water, like advanced electrocoagulation, membrane filtration, including reverse osmosis (RO) and nanofiltration (NF), and usage of novel adsorption materials like nanoparticles, seem promising to strengthen the fight against arsenic pollution all over the globe.