Abstract
The underground water samples (94) were collected from tube wells, hand pumps and dug wells from district Matiari (49) and Khairpur Mir's (45) and analyzed for pH, conductivity, total dissolved solids, salinity and arsenic contents. Arsenic was determined by Merck Arsenic Kit for 0.01-0.5 mg/ L arsenic. The concentration of arsenic was estimated by visual comparison of the reaction zone of analytical test strip with the color scale. The results obtained were compared with hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry. Thirty five samples indicated a concentration of 50 or > 50 mu g/ L arsenic and 14 samples (15 % of total samples analyzed) indicated arsenic concentration of 250 mu g/ L. The permissible limit of arsenic in drinking water, as recommended by WHO, is 10 mu g/ L. A negative correlation was observed between occurrences of arsenic with total dissolved solids (TDS).