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 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 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 NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL. (2009, FEBRUARY 12). ARSENIC IN DRINKING WATER. ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES. RETRIEVED FROM 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