Arsenicosis an illness with its early manifestations being the appearance of dark or white patches on the skin and hardening of the skin as a result of accumulation of excessive arsenic in blood. The usual source of such arsenic toxicity is drinking water contaminated with arsenic. Underground water pumped by tube wells is often the major source of such arsenic-contaminated water. How the underground water is contaminated with arsenic is not clear. But it is believed that in the affected area excessive lifting of underground water for irrigation purposes has been gradually lowering the ground water level causing movement of oxygen in the empty space created by water withdrawal. Oxygen can trigger oxidative changes in arsenic-containing rocks which is present underneath, the consequence of which is the release of inorganic arsenic into the water.
