An Overview of Heavy Metals (Arsenic, Lead and Phosphorous) Analysis in Drinking Groundwater and its Cause of Cancer

Globally, almost 2.5 billion people rely on groundwater for drinking, the concentration level of heavy metals in drinking water is a major challenge it may be either low or high and both conditions are the cause of diseases. A high level of heavy metals in the human body alters several biochemical pathways leads to the cause of several diseases and among them is cancer. It is necessary to know the accurate concentration level of heavy metals in drinking water before use. Precise estimation of metals ions presence can be done with an instrumental analytical technique like Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS), Inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES), Inductively coupled plasma mass Spectrometry (ICPMS), Capillary Zone Electrophoresis (CZE), HPLC/ICP-DRC-MS and Flame atomic absorption spectrometer, etc. By these instruments, the exact concentration of heavy metals like arsenic, lead and phosphorous can be determined. Heavy metals toxicity (As, Pb, and P) in the human body alter the biochemical pathways, and final it indicates cell damage, cellular membrane damage, inactivation of enzymes, and changes in protein structure these effects cause diseases such as carcinogenesis, cell damage, loss of cellular functions and neurotoxicity respectively. This review article was prepared from several sources for the articles like Pubmed, Google Scholar, Web of sciences, Scopus, and WHO website.

Author(s): Isha Talwar, Satish Sharma and Prabhat Kumar Verma

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