 |
|
61
of Bangladesh’s 64 districts have arsenic-contaminated groundwater |
Bangladesh
is an evergreen country with green fields spread as far as the
eye can see. One opens one’s eyes in Bangladesh to
its green charm and its hundreds of rivers that criss-cross the country.
And although water seems to be almost everywhere, the people of Bangladesh suffer from
inadequate amounts of safe, potable drinking water, due to arsenic contamination that has resulted
in the death of hundreds of Bangladeshis.
Nearly
80% of Bangladeshis live in villages, most of them farmers who use tube wells drilled at depths of
up to 200 feet to obtain their drinking water. Underground
water in Bangladesh is to a large extent contaminated
with the poisonous metal arsenic. Arsenic is harmful to
the human body, causing serious skin conditions, tumors and breathing difficulties that can all lead
to death.
In
1993, seven districts in Bangladesh were labeled as
having arsenic in their groundwater. In 1997 the number
of districts affected was increased to 48. Recent
figures indicate that as many as 61 of a total of 64 Bangladeshi districts have arsenic-contaminated
groundwater. Estimates of numbers of Bangladeshis
exposed to high levels of arsenic vary from 28-77 million people, more than half the population of
the country (WHO).
The
World Health Organization places safe levels of arsenic in drinking water at 10 parts per billion
(ppb). This level was designated in 1993 after reducing
the previously accepted level of 50 ppb. It is expected
that this level will be changed once more this year. Most
water that is drunk in arsenic-affected areas of Bangladesh ,
however, has substantially higher levels that frequently surpass even the 50 ppb level.
In
a survey conducted between 1996 and 1997 in 61 of the nation’s 64 districts, the Department of
Public Health Engineering (DPHE), funded by UNICEF, found that 29% of the 51,000 tube wells tested
exceeded the WHO standard for save levels of arsenic in water. The
British Geological Survey found in 1998 that districts in the central part of the country were more
seriously affected. In the southeast, south central and
southwestern regions of the country, arsenic was detected in shallow tube wells located at depths
between 10-100 meters. The most seriously
affected areas are south of the capital city in Gopalganj, Shariatpur, Chandpur, Lakshimipur,
Noakhali, Bramanbaria and also elsewhere in Meherpur, Rajshahi-Noabganj, and pockets in Sunamganj
and Sylhet.
Good
Intentions Not Quite Enough
The
origins of the arsenic crisis in Bangladesh go back to the 1970s and 80s when foreign aid agencies
and the government of Bangladesh drilled millions of wells in an effort to reduce water-borne
diseases amongst the Bangladeshi population. At the
time, arsenic contamination of the groundwater was not suspected in the region, and thus not tested
for.
Even
as late as 1992, when scientists of the British Geological Survey returned to Bangladesh to
test the safety of the wells they had drilled, they failed to test for arsenic contamination.
This has resulted in a lawsuit brought up in the UK by
a group of Bangladeshi villagers that intend to sue the BSG for being responsible for the many cases
of arsenic poisoning in villages containing wells drilled and tested by the organization.
Arsenic
Poisoning
|
|
|
Skin
lesions typical of arsenic poisoning |
Arsenic
is carcinogenic and can result in acute and chronic toxicities.
In Bangladesh, chronic toxicity is a serious problem and results from regular exposure over a
prolonged period of time to unsafe amounts of the metal.
Chronic
exposure can result in medical problems ranging from skin-related disorders like hyperkeratosis and
melanosis, to various skin, pulmonary and bladder cancers.
Diseases
of the blood vessels of the legs and feet, diabetes, high blood pressure and even reproductive
disorders may result.
Arsenicosis
is recognized by the skin blotches that arise all over the face and body, with hyperpigmentation of
the chest and upper arms, hard patches on the palms and soles, th inability to walk accompanied with
debilitating pain and watery eyes.
At
least 8000 cases of arsenic poisoning have been reported in the country. Many of them have died. No
one can say how many have died from arsenic related diseases although unofficial sources place the
number in the hundreds.
Due
to the fact that arsenic contaminates much of Bangladesh ’s
groundwater, many people in the country have resorted to using river and pond water for drinking
purposes. As a result, diseases such as diarrhea,
dysentery and other such gastro-intestinal infections afflict a large proportion of the Bangladeshi
population.
Arsenic
in the Food Chain
Around
33% of the land in Bangladesh is irrigated using
groundwater from deep, shallow and hand tube wells. This
has resulted in a 20% loss in crop production due to the presence of arsenic in the crops.
Arsenic is extremely toxic to plants.
Vegetables
are considered a main food source in Bangladesh providing
vitamins and minerals to the people. Vegetables contain
more than 80% water, and this water in Bangladesh is
for a large part contaminated with arsenic. The people
in Bangladesh are thus not only poisoned from arsenic present in underground drinking water, but
also from arsenic in their food, leaving non-arsenic affected people at high risk of arsenic
contamination. Arsenic, being a metal, remains in the
soil, and is thus stored in such crops as potatoes, tomatoes, brinjal, chilies, cabbage, amaranth,
red amaranth and cauliflower.
The
Government of Bangladesh and various non-governmental organizations have been attempting to raise
awareness amongst the people about arsenic poisoning. In
the meantime, tube wells contaminated with arsenic have been marked using red paint, while those not
contaminated have been marked with blue paint. The
people of Bangladesh have been requested to abstain
from drinking water from the red tube wells. Bangladeshis
are taught through the various media forms to store rainwater and to filter drinking water.
Most Bangladeshis are so poor, however, that they lack the resources for both storing
rainwater and filtering.
With
the arsenic epidemic alive and well in Bangladesh , the
number of people affected by this disaster is among the greatest of any disease affecting the world
today. The economy, in the meantime, has become prone to
a serious breakdown that will only place the people of Bangladesh at
a disadvantage greater than the one they are in today.
Sources:
*
Mohammad
Abul Hosein is
a Bangladeshi journalist working for the Daily Manabzamin in Dhaka, Bangladesh
.You can reach him at: ahossain69@yahoo.com.
