A review on arsenic status in environmental compartments from Pakistan

Arsenic (As) is a toxic metalloid with high bioaccumulation capacity that can enter into food chain and cause various health risk in living organisms. As contamination is a worldwide problem. In Pakistan, As is reported in many areas of Sindh, Punjab, and some areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and there is growing concerns of it in environmental compartments especially in water, soils sediments, and fodder of these areas. The aim of this review is to summarize information of As contamination level in different environmental compartments (air, soils sediments, water, and biosample) of Pakistan. The review suggested that elevated level of As were found in air, soil, sediment, water, and different biological samples from Pakistan. The southern Punjab and Sindh especially the Manchar lake area are the hot spot in Pakistan have highest concentration of As in environmental compartments. Most of these affected areas exceed the as concentration in soil, and water set by World Health Organization (WHO), and millions of humans and livestock of these areas are directly exposed to As contamination. There is urgent need to develop treatment technologies for As for safe drinking water. The review suggests that more in-depth studies are needed to figure out As levels and methylation in soil, sediments, and biological samples with the main focus on human. The review will be helpful to researchers and policy makers for further research and to devise policies for Ae management.