ARSENIC CONTAMINATION OF WATER IN BANGLADESH

SENGE NGALAME

MPH 583

DR. WHEELER

WHAT IS ARSENIC

• SEMI-METAL ELEMENT IN THE PERIODIC TABLE

• ODORLESS

• TASTELESS

• ENTERS INTO WATER FROM NATURAL DEPOSITS

• ANOTHER OPTION OF ENTERING WATER IS AGRICULTURAL AND INDUSTRIAL PRACTICES

HEALTH EFFECTS OF ARSENIC

• DAMAGE OR PROBLEMS IN THE CIRCULATORY SYSTEM

• INCREASED RISK OF CANCER(BLADDER, LUNG, SKIN, KIDNEY, AND LIVER)

• HARMS CENTRAL AND PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEMS

• BIRTH DEFECTS

• REPRODUCTIVE PROBLEMS

MAGNITUDE OF ARSENIC POISONING IN BANGLADESH

• POPULATION OF BANGLADESH: 125 MILLION

• TOTAL POPULATION IN REGIONS WHERE SOME WELLS ARE KNOWN TO BE CONTAMINATED: 35–77 MILLION

• MAXIMUM CONCENTRATION OF ARSENIC PERMITTED IN DRINKING WATER ACCORDING TO WORLD HEALTH RECOMMENDATIONS: 10 MG/L

• MAXIMUM CONCENTRATION ALLOWED IN BANGLADESH: 50MG/L (SIMILAR TO MANY COUNTRIES WORLDWIDE)

ISSUES INVOLVING ARSENIC CONTAMINATED WATER

• ARSENIC EXPOSURE IN BANGLADESH IS WIDESPREAD AND INVOLVES THOUSANDS OF WELLS

• ESTIMATES INDICATE THAT AT LEAST 100 000 CASES OF SKIN LESIONS CAUSED BY ARSENIC HAVE OCCURRED AND THERE MAY BE MANY MORE

• IF EXPOSURE CONTINUES, SKIN LESIONS WILL CONTINUE TO OCCUR

• SKIN LESIONS ARE UNPLEASANT AND MAY BE DEBILITATING

• SKIN LESIONS ARE OCCURRING IN CHILDREN AGED 10 YEARS AND YOUNGER

QUICK FACTS

• THE CAUSE IS KNOWN: EACH DAY OF CONTINUED EXPOSURE INCREASES THE RISK OF MORBIDITY AND DEATH

• SUSTAINED DRINKING OF WATER CONTAINING 500MG/L OF ARSENIC MAY RESULT IN 1 IN 10 PEOPLE DYING FROM ARSENIC-RELATED CANCERS

• UNLIKE OTHER MAJOR HEALTH PROBLEMS EXPERIENCED IN BANGLADESH, ARSENIC-CAUSED DISEASES CAN BE ERADICATED AT RELATIVELY LOW COST

TRANSMISSION OF WATER IN BANGLADESH

• PRIMARY DRINKING WATER SOURCE ARE TUBE-WELLS

• ESTABLISHED IN THE 1940S

• WATER IS DRAWN FROM UNDERGROUND AQUIFERS

CONTAMINATION OF WATER IN BANGLADESH

• HISTORICALLY, WATER SOURCES HAVE BEEN CONTAMINATED WITH MICROORGANISMS

• CAUSES SIGNIFICANT BURDEN OF DISEASE AND MORTALITY

• INFANTS AND CHILDREN SUFFERED FROM ACUTE GASTROINTESTINAL DISEASE FROM BACTERIAL CONTAMINATION OF STAGNANT POND WATER.

DRAWING AWARENESS TO RESIDENTS

• ARSENIC CONTAMINATION WAS CONFIRMED IN 1993 IN NAWABGANJ DISTRICT

• A CONFERENCE TO RAISE AWARENESS WAS CONVENED IN 1995 BY D. CHAKRABORTI AND THE SCHOOL OF ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES OF JADAVPUR UNIVERSITY IN CALCUTTA

• PROBLEM BECAME CLEARER THROUGH ADDITIONAL SURVEYS OF THE WATER AND POPULATION

RESEARCH DONE

• A STUDY CONDUCTED IN THE RAJARAMPUR VILLAGE OF THE NAWABGANJ DISTRICT, BY THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF PREVENTIVE AND SOCIAL MEDICINE AND THE SCHOOL OF ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES, FOUND THAT 29% OF THE 294 TUBE-WELLS TESTED HAD ARSENIC CONCENTRATIONS GREATER THAN 50 MG/L

• AN EXAMINATION OF 265 WELLS IN SAMTA VILLAGE IN THE JESSORE DISTRICT FOUND THAT ABOUT 91% OF THE WELLS HAD ARSENIC CONCENTRATIONS HIGHER THAN 50MG/

• IN 1998, A BRITISH GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF 41 DISTRICTS COLLECTED 2022 WATER SAMPLES— 35% WERE FOUND TO HAVE ARSENIC CONCENTRATIONS ABOVE 50 MG/L (TABLE 1)AND 8.4% WERE ABOVE 300 MG/L

STRATEGIES TO REDUCE EXPOSURE

• IDENTIFYING TUBE WELLS THAT HAVE WATER WITH A LOW ARSENIC CONTENT

• PROVIDING EACH HOME WITH A WATER FILTER

• PROVIDING CHEMICALS TO BE USED DAILY TO REMOVE ARSENIC FROM HOUSEHOLD DRINKING WATER

• WATER SOURCES THAT HAVE BEEN TREATED BY FILTRATION AND CHLORINATION

• CLOSE HIGHLY CONTAMINATED WELLS WHEN A TEMPORARY WATER SOURCE HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED

• USING FIELD KITS TO DETECT IF THE WATER HAS BEEN CONTAMINATED

CHALLENGES OF PROVIDING ARSENIC FREE WATER

• IDENTIFICATION OF ARSENIC FREE TUBE WELLS IN THE KNOWN AFFECTED AREAS

• TREATMENT OF ARSENIC CONTAMINATED WATER WHERE NO OTHER SAFE SOURCE EXISTS

• HABIT, CULTURE AND CUSTOM OF THE PEOPLE

• ECONOMIC CONDITION OF THE PEOPLE, AND THEIR WILLINGNESS AND ABILITY TO PAY FOR THE SERVICE

• COMMUNITY MOTIVATION TO FACE THE CHALLENGE COLLECTIVELY

CHALLENGES CONT.

• TECHNOLOGIES

• COST

• MONITORING

• RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

• INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT

REFERENCES

• HUSSAIN, A.Z. (2014). ARSENIC CONTAMINATION OF GROUND WATER IN BANGLADESH. MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE: BANGLADESH. RETRIEVED FROM HTTP://USERS.PHYSICS.HARVARD.EDU/~WILSON/ARSENIC/COUNTRIES/BANGLADESH/MINOFHLTH_BANG.HTML

• LINGAS, E., RAHMAN, M, & SMITH, A. (2008). CONTAMINATION OF DRINKING-WATER BY ARSENIC IN BANGLADESH: A PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY. BULLETIN OF THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION. RETRIEVED FROM HTTP://WWW.WHO.INT/DOCSTORE/BULLETIN/PDF/2000/ISSUE9/BU0751.PDF?UA=1

• NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL. (2009, FEBRUARY 12). ARSENIC IN DRINKING WATER. ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES. RETRIEVED FROM HTTP://WWW.NRDC.ORG/WATER/DRINKING/QARSENIC.ASP

• UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY. (2013, SEPTEMBER 17). BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT ARSENIC IN DRINKING WATER. WATER: BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT REGULATED DRINKING WATER CONTAMINANTS. RETRIEVED FROM HTTP://WATER.EPA.GOV/DRINK/CONTAMINANTS/BASICINFORMATION/ARSENIC.CFM