Determination of Arsenic and Other Heavy Metals in Hand Pump and Tube-Well Ground Water of Khairpur, Sindh, Pakistan

An exclusive study has been carried out for determination of arsenic and other toxic metals in drinking water of Khairpur, Pakistan. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the concentration of arsenic and other heavy metals in ground water. Hydride generator atomic absorption spectrometry (HG-ASS) was used for analysis of arsenic in water samples with detection limit 0.02 ¿g l^-1. In hand pump and tube well water the level of arsenic was found in the range of 0.24-315.6 ¿g l^-1 and 0.35120.5 ¿g l^-1 respectively. It has been observed that the level of arsenic was high in most of the samples as recommended by WHO. While level of Fe, Co, Cu, and Ni in hand pump water was found to be 0.004-1.61 mg l^-1, 0-230 ¿g l^-1, 0-556 ¿g l^-1 and 0-700 ¿g l^-1 respectively. In tube well water the level was found to be 0.005-1.62 mg l^-1, 4-110 ¿g l^-1, 0-50 ¿g l^-1, and 0-360 ¿g l^-1 for Fe, Co, Cu, and Ni respectively.