CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -Arsenic-affected habitations in India up 145% in last 5 yrs.

Detailed explanation-2: -“A total of more than 250 million people are estimated to be exposed to high arsenic in India, ” said Abhijit Mukherjee, Associate Professor at the IIT Kharagpur, West Bengal.

Detailed explanation-3: -Long-term exposure to arsenic in drinking-water is causally related to increased risks of cancer in the skin, lungs, bladder and kidney, as well as other skin changes such as hyperkeratosis and pigmentation changes.

Detailed explanation-4: -This is consistent with recent statistical modelling which suggests between 94 and 220 million people are at risk of exposure to elevated arsenic concentrations in groundwater (6).