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The health risk assessment of residents consuming groundwater with high arsenic concentrations has attracted widespread concern. This study therefore is aimed at providing a framework to evaluate the risks imposed to local residents of Simaria Patti Ojha village of Bhojpur district, Bihar. Results showed that the mean values of ADD, HQ and CR were 5.1 µg/(Kg Day) (PTDI- 2.1 µg/(Kg Day), 5-17 (safe range <1) and 0.002-0.007(tolerable range, 10-6-10-4), respectively. Carcinogenic risk value was found as 4.7 × 10-3 around 100 times higher than safe range of 10−6–10−4, indicating high risks to the local residents. Hence, this study will help in suggesting suitable implementation measures on ground to deal with the risk of arsenic contamination and diseases caused due to its prolonged exposure.

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To protect human and environmental health, wastewater treatment is one of the important activities in urban and industrial areas. Urbanized increasing population with industrialization demands more amount of wastewater treatment. Despite wastewater treatment’s positive impact on human and environmental health, it also produces sludge as a by-product of the process. Characteristics of the sludge mainly depend on the source of wastewater and the process applied for its treatment. Domestic sludge generally contains a large number of pathogenic bacteria carrying biodegradable compounds. Characteristics of industrial sludge vary greatly. It may contain biodegradable, non-biodegradable, toxic compounds, heavy metals, etc. The sludge may be in the form of liquid or semisolid with 0.25–12% solids. Thus, the handling and disposal/reuse of sludge may become a complex task due to its large volume and infectious and/or toxic nature. This chapter analyses the characterization and quantity estimate of the sludge produced during the application of various municipal and industrial wastewater treatment options. Current practices for the disposal and reuse options such as anaerobic digestion for biogas production, composting to utilize as a fertilizer, brick production, filler material, and bioplastic production will be reviewed and the suitability of each option in terms of benefit and risk will be critically analyzed.