Water Pollution and its Impact on the Human Health

Abstract

River pollution has been one of the main topics in the environmental issue of urban Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh. This study was conducted to find out the pollution situation of Turag river and the health problem of the surrounding residents. The results clearly determine that the water quality of Turag river may not be in a position to sustain the aquatic life and not suitable for using domestic purpose. This is indicated by the very low dissoloved oxygen (DO) levels and other measured parameters in the river. The maximum recorded values of pH, color, turbidity, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), hardness, total dissolved solids (TDS), chloride (Cl-), carbon-di-oxide (CO2) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) were 7.1 mg/L, 625 ptcu, 97.2, 4.65 mg/L, 1816 mg/L, 676mg/L, 5 mg/L, 15.5, and 78 mg/L, respectively. The maximum concentration of turbidity, BOD, hardness, TDS, and COD found in the Turag river is much higher than the standard permissible limit. The study also provides evidence that local communities are suffering from a variety of health problems including skin, diarrhea, dysentery, respiratory illnesses, anemia and complications in childbirth. Yellow fever, cholera, dengue, malaria and other epidemic diseases are also available in this area. Furthermore, the people are suffering by the odor pollution and respiratory problems.