BIS standard IS 10500:2012 permits a maximum permissible limit of arsenic in drinking water of 0.01 mg/L. In districts of West Bengal with groundwater arsenic above 0.05 mg/L, long-term exposure most characteristically causes:
- A Methemoglobinaemia and cyanosis
- B Keratosis, Mees' lines, Blackfoot disease and Bowen's disease of skin ✓
- C Fluorosis with dental and skeletal mottling
- D Wilson's disease due to copper displacement
Correct answer: B. Keratosis, Mees' lines, Blackfoot disease and Bowen's disease of skin
Explanation
Chronic arsenicosis from groundwater arsenic in West Bengal/Bangladesh is characterised by: palmoplantar keratosis (hyperkeratosis of palms and soles), Mees' lines (transverse white bands on nails), pigmentary changes (melanosis), and progression to skin cancers including Bowen's disease (SCC in situ) and arsenical keratoma. Blackfoot disease (peripheral vascular occlusion causing gangrenous digits) is classically described in Taiwan from artesian well arsenic. Fluorosis causes dental mottling and osteosclerosis from fluoride, not arsenic.
Reference: Park's Textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine, 27th ed.
High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP
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