Arsenic Exposure in Children through Drinking Water in Different Districts of Sindh, Pakistan

A cross sectional study has been conducted during 2007–2010 for the assessment of arsenic (As) contamination in drinking water, and its impact on the health of local public belongs to five districts of Sindh, Pakistan. The toxic risk assessment of As in different areas of Sindh province based upon its concentration in drinking water and scalp hair of boys and girls of age group 5–10 and 11–15 years. The total and inorganic As species in drinking water samples of four districts Hyderabad, Sukkur, Naushehro Firoze, Nawab shah, and Dadu were determined by advance pre-concentration methodologies. The resulting data indicated that the dominant inorganic As species in municipal treated (Hyaderabad) and hand pumps (Sukkur, Naushehro Firoze, Nawab shah and Dadu) water samples were arsenate (As V ) and arsenite (As III ), respectively. The total As concentrations in hand pumps water samples of Dadu district were 6.0- to 35-fold higher than the World Health Organization permissible limit of (10 μg/L) for drinking water. Whereas, total As in hand pump water samples of Sukkur, Naushehro Firoze, and Nawab shah were found in the range of 26.0–98.2, 18.0–50.6, and 52.3–85.2 μg/L, respectively. However, municipal treated water samples of Hyderabad were within recommended level (As