Strategy to mitigate As exposure from drinking water

Abstract

One of the worst health hazards in Bangladesh is arsenic contamination of drinking water, which demands immediate and urgent remedial measures. The common strategy to control environmental health problems is to erect interventions at three levels: control at source, avoid ingestion and provide heath care The source of arsenic contamination is absolutely geological and almost any method can be applied to control it at source. There is little proven treatment for acute arsenic toxicity, but drinking water free of arsenic can aid the affected people at their initial stage of illness to get rid of the symptoms of arsenic toxicity. Hence, provision of safe drinking water is the foremost element of the arsenic mitigation plan. Identification of affected people and the population at risk of toxicity from arsenic, establishment of a standard value for the presence of arsenic in drinking water, provision of medical and health care and establishment of appropriate research work and study programmes are important elements of the plan. Finally, international, interdisciplinary and inter-organizational co-operation and collaboration have been highly emphasized in the mitigation plan.