ABSTRACT
Arsenic (As) contamination in the groundwater of the central Gangetic plain was first reported in the year 2002; since then, a number of studies on the groundwater have been conducted by different researchers in this region. Identification of chemical and geological processes responsible for As contamination in the groundwater of the region might be useful to install new tubewells and may allow tapping As-free aquifers as easily available drinking water sources. The main factors for mobilization and accumulation of As are rock-water interactions and availability of favorable physical and geochemical conditions in the aquifers. Besides natural, there are anthropogenic sources of As to the environment like application of As-based pesticides, combustion of coal, mining activities and use of preservatives of wood like chromated copper arsenate. In central Gangetic plain, the sediment deposition is divided into Pleistocene and Holocene deposition, which comprises flood plains and piedmont plains of eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
