Contamination Of Groundwater In Bangladesh Research Articles

Arsenic contamination in groundwater in Bangladesh: implications and challenges for healthcare policy.

Arsenic contamination of groundwater in Bangladesh has been recognized as a major public problem. The arsenic contamination was first identified in the tubewell water in 1993 in a northern district of Bangladesh. Tubewells are the main source of drinking water in rural areas, and except hilly and terrace upland throughout the Bangladesh, the arsenic-contaminated tube-wells are distributed. Fifty million people of Bangladesh were estimated to be at risk of exposure to arsenic through consumption of water from contaminated tubewells. Chronic exposure to arsenic causes arsenicosis and may include multi-organ pathologies. Many of the health effects of chronic toxicity are evident in Bangladesh. Besides dermatological manifestations, noncommunicable diseases including cancer, adverse pregnancy outcomes, and decreased intelligence quotient among the children are reported to be increasing. Cancer due to long-term low-dose arsenic exposure through consumption of contaminated water is now an important concern of Bangladesh as it is being increasingly reported from arsenic-exposed individuals. Stoppage of consumption of the arsenic-contaminated water is the mainstay of arsenicosis prevention and case management. At present, a higher proportion of the people are still consuming arsenic-contaminated water because of the lack of sustainable arsenic-safe water supply. In providing sustainable arsenic-safe water options, any option advocated should be cheap, easy to use, locally maintainable, and owned by the community. In addressing arsenic-related health issues, arsenic-exposed population needs to be brought under the coverage of the regular surveillance program for detection and subsequent management of noncommunicable diseases and cancers.

Arsenic enrichment and mobilization in the Holocene alluvial aquifers of Prayagpur of Southwestern Bangladesh

Arsenic (As) contamination of groundwater in Bangladesh is a serious natural calamity and public health hazard. High As concentrations in groundwater (>10 μg l−1) generally occur in Holocene alluvial aquifers. In this study, hydrochemical characteristics and factors influencing As distribution and release were investigated in Prayagpur, Southwestern Bangladesh. Fifty groundwater samples from the tubewells to depths from 21 m to 81 m were collected for hydrochemical and isotopic analysis. The results showed that As concentration in groundwater varied from 6.05 to 590.7 μg l−1 (average 58.31 μg l−1), and about 82% samples contained As exceeding 10 μg l−1. Elevated As concentration mostly occurred in shallow aquifers, which was associated with reducing conditions. High As groundwater was distinguished with weak alkaline pH value, moderate HCO3− and total dissolve solid (TDS), and low NO3− and SO42- concentrations. The groundwater was dominated by Ca·Mg-HCO3 type water that was different from other high As aquifers distributed in the arid area. Moderate alkalinity and the reductive condition, resulted from biochemical reactions were the key controlling factors of As mobilization in aquifers. Environmental isotopes (δ18O and δ2H) confirmed that evaporation did not play a vital role in the process of As enrichment in the groundwater.

O-55 Geological constraints on arsenic contamination of groundwater in Bangladesh

O-55 Geological constraints on arsenic contamination of groundwater in Bangladesh

Paper-Based Microfluidic Device with a Gold Nanosensor to Detect Arsenic Contamination of Groundwater in Bangladesh

In this paper, we present a microfluidic paper-based analytical device (μPAD) with a gold nanosensor functionalized with α-lipoic acid and thioguanine (Au–TA–TG) to detect whether the arsenic level of groundwater from hand tubewells in Bangladesh is above or below the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline level of 10 μg/L. We analyzed the naturally occurring metals present in Bangladesh groundwater and assessed the interference with the gold nanosensor. A method was developed to prevent interference from alkaline metals found in Bangladesh groundwater (Ca, Mg, K and Na) by increasing the pH level on the μPADs to 12.1. Most of the heavy metals present in the groundwater (Ni, Mn, Cd, Pb, and Fe II) did not interfere with the μPAD arsenic tests; however, Fe III was found to interfere, which was also prevented by increasing the pH level on the μPADs to 12.1. The μPAD arsenic tests were tested with 24 groundwater samples collected from hand tubewells in three different districts in Bangladesh: Shirajganj, Manikganj, and Munshiganj, and the predictions for whether the arsenic levels were above or below the WHO guideline level agreed with the results obtained from laboratory testing. The μPAD arsenic test is the first paper-based test validated using Bangladesh groundwater samples and capable of detecting whether the arsenic level in groundwater is above or below the WHO guideline level of 10 μg/L, which is a step towards enabling the villagers who collect and consume the groundwater to test their own sources and make decisions about where to obtain the safest water.

Toxic injustice in the Bangladesh water sector: a social inequities perspective on arsenic contamination

Arsenic contamination of groundwater in Bangladesh poses a major environmental health hazard to millions. The efforts of public health programmes to address the problem have often been short-lived and unevenly distributed. The crisis represents a failure of governance and a structural injustice of global dimensions. Rights-based approaches to development have been proposed to address such problems. This paper explores the implications of framing the arsenic problem in terms of social justice and human rights. It describes the efforts of the Arsenic Mitigation and Research Foundation to implement drinking water supplies and health support schemes with marginalised communities. The approach was never explicitly framed as rights-based, but focuses instead on social mobilisation and on securing fundamental human needs. We argue that this will be conducive to social justice, which in turn creates the necessary space for pursuing human rights claims.

Parental decisions, child health and valuation of avoiding arsenic in drinking water in rural Bangladesh.

Arsenic contamination of groundwater in Bangladesh is a widespread public health hazard. Water sources without high arsenic levels are scarce, affecting people's availability for work and other activities when they have to seek safe water to drink. While children are particularly susceptible to chronic arsenic exposure, limited information and heavy constraints on resources may preclude people in developing countries from taking protective actions. Since parents are primary decision-makers for children, a model of stochastic decision-making analytically linking parent health and child health is used to frame the valuation of avoiding arsenic exposure using an averting behavior model. The results show that safe drinking water programs do work and that people do take protective actions. The results can help guide public health mitigation policies, and examine whether factors such as child health and time required for remediation have an effect on mitigation measures.

Arsenic contamination of groundwater in Bangladesh: A review

The groundwater arsenic contamination in Bangladesh is known as the largest natural calamity in the world in terms of the affected population. The millions of tube-wells that had been sunk for drinking water supply are now dispensing poisonous arsenic. Consequently, about 80 million people are at risk and another 30 million are potentially exposed to arsenic poisoning. Most of the recognized stages of arsenic poisoning such as melanosis, keratosis, and hyper-keratosis have been identified in Bangladesh. In addition to the health crisis, the arsenic poisoning is affecting the agricultural crops and causing many social problems. The present study is an overview of the groundwater arsenic contamination in Bangladesh. The severity, sources, and causes of arsenic contamination are discussed in this paper. The health, agricultural, and social effects of the arsenic poisoning are highlighted. In addition, a number of urgent needs are given for combating the arsenic disaster. Key words: Agriculture, arsenic mobilization, arsenic poisoning, drinking water, health crisis, social implications, tube-wells.

Arsenic contamination in groundwater and its proposed remedial measures

Arsenic contamination occurs in groundwater of Bangladesh mainly from the alluvial and deltaic sediments. Arsenic contamination of groundwater in Bangladesh was first detected more than a decade ago and the ’shallow tubewells’ were reported as the main source of arsenic contaminated water. From the nutritional and metabolic points of view, arsenic is likely to adversely affect human health and nutrition. Up to now, several studies have been carried out on this context; however, inadequate knowledge on arsenic sources, mobilization and transport still remains as a constraint due to lack of data, information and technological advances. Thus, a review study has been undertaken on the sources of arsenic, its causes, mobilization, transport, effects on human health, arsenic test procedures and removal methods, in the context of groundwater contamination in Bangladesh, and finally sustainable remedial measures of arsenic have been proposed. This study suggests that laboratory facilities for testing of arsenic and effects of enhanced groundwater pumping, phosphate fertilizer etc., need to be updated, expanded and studied. This review work is significant to further knowledge improvement, as the topic is general and worldwide. It can be concluded that the integration of the proposed remedial measures with the national geographic information system interface database relating to arsenic for analysis, production of hazard maps, and dissemination on television show for the planners, engineers, managers, field supervisors and affected people, can reach at the sustainable solution for mitigating arsenic and associated problems successfully in Bangladesh.

Impacts of arsenic contamination in groundwater: case study of some villages in Bangladesh

The contamination of groundwater in Bangladesh by arsenic is a widespread and serious environmental problem, affecting mainly the rural population who rely extensively on groundwater for drinking and cooking. The study conducted survey work in a few affected villages of the Northwest region in Bangladesh. The household survey gathered information on the respondents (affected by arsenic) water usage and sources, knowledge of the arsenic problem, changes in the source of water for drinking and cooking, arsenic mitigation technologies and socio-economic information on the households. The survey work shows that percentage of male patient is higher than female patient among the same level of household income in each study villages. Prevalence of arsenicosis is more among poorer sections and it is directly related to the poverty situation of the community. People know more about the health problems caused by arsenicosis but lack knowledge about mitigation aspects. In one of the study areas, every year an extra 4% tubewell is getting contaminated by arsenic. Arsenic contamination in groundwater also affects the environment and the ecology negatively. The NGOs have been found contributing to a knowledge creation process in the village community as the villagers are showing marked behavioral changes in water-use practice.

Can information alone change behavior? Response to arsenic contamination of groundwater in Bangladesh

We study how effectively information induces Bangladeshi households to avoid a health risk. The response to information is large and rapid; knowing that the household's well water has an unsafe concentration of arsenic raises the probability that the household changes to another well within one year by 0.37. Households who change wells increase the time spent obtaining water fifteen-fold. We identify a causal effect of information, since incidence of arsenic is uncorrelated with household characteristics. Our door-to-door information campaign provides well-specific arsenic levels without which behavior does not change. Media communicate general information about arsenic less expensively and no less effectively.

Rural communities' preferences for arsenic mitigation options in Bangladesh

In the context of arsenic contamination of groundwater in Bangladesh, this paper analyses rural people's preferences for arsenic-free drinking water options. A particular focus is on rural households' willingness to pay for piped water supply which can provide a sustainable solution to the arsenic problem, and how the preference for piped water supply compares with that for various other household/community-based arsenic mitigation technologies. The analysis is based on data collected in a survey of over 2700 households in rural Bangladesh. Six arsenic mitigation technologies were selected for the study: three-kolshi (pitcher) method, activated alumina method (household-based and community-based), dugwell, pond sand filter and deep tubewell (handpump). The survey results indicate that, after taking into consideration the initial and recurring costs, convenience, associated risks and the advantages and disadvantages of each selected technology, the preference of the rural people is overwhelmingly in favor of deep tubewells, followed by the three-kolshi method. The analysis reveals a strong demand for piped water in both arsenic-affected and arsenic-free rural areas, and scope of adequate cost recovery. Between piped water and other arsenic mitigation technologies, the preference of the rural people is found to be predominantly in favor of the former.

Arsenic contamination of groundwater in Nawabganj, Bangladesh, focusing on the relationship with other metals and ions

Serious arsenic contamination of groundwater in Bangladesh has been frequently reported and is of great concern. In this research, repeated water sampling from the same 10 tubewells in Nawabganj municipality, Bangladesh, was conducted and analysed, focusing on the seasonal variation of water quality and the relationship among arsenic and other metals and ions. For the seasonal variation of water quality, arsenic and iron concentrations were higher in the rainy season in general although the tendency was not consistent and it depended on the tubewell and the time. Correlation between arsenic and iron could not be observed in this study (r = -0.01) when using all cases. This was because no correlation was observed in the higher arsenic concentration range. Arsenic removal by co-precipitation with coexisting iron is known as one of the locally applicable techniques in Bangladesh, but the result from this study suggests that some additional treatments such as the extra injection of iron should be performed in some cases, especially where the arsenic concentration is high. The correlation between arsenic and other substances was also analysed. As a result, manganese (r = 0.37), molybdenum (r = 0.33) and sulfate ion (r = -0.33) significantly correlated with arsenic (p < 0.05). The negative correlation between arsenic and sulfate ion implies the dissolution of arsenic into groundwater under reductive conditions although there are some exceptional cases.

Valuing the Arsenic Contamination of Groundwater in Bangladesh

The use of groundwater in Bangladesh has in the past been promoted as a means of avoiding waterborne diseases associated with the consumption of untreated surface water. Unfortunately, the recent discovery of high levels of naturally occurring arsenic in groundwater in Bangladesh used for drinking purposes has led one international agency to describe the situation as a major public health emergency. Arsenic ingestion is associated with an elevated risk of various cancers. Epidemiological dose–response functions combined with survey estimates of arsenic concentrations in groundwater, and the number of households in Bangladesh relying on groundwater for drinking are used to derive an estimate of annual mortality and morbidity cases attributable to arsenic contamination. The estimated health impacts include 6500 fatal cancers and 2000 non-fatal cancers. Aggregate willingness to pay to avoid these health impacts is estimated to be $2.7 billion annually using purchasing power parity exchange rates. The methodology and results presented in this paper may have application to other countries.

Arsenic Contamination of Groundwater in Bangladesh

Arsenic Contamination of Groundwater in Bangladesh

Demand-based water options for arsenic mitigation: an experience from rural Bangladesh

A supply of safe drinking water is a recognized global concern. The arsenic contamination of groundwater in Bangladesh and other countries has furthered this concern. Lack of appropriate water options is one of the main barriers to the supply of safe drinking water for 30–60 million people who are exposed to the risk of drinking arsenic-contaminated water in Bangladesh. This paper describes the experience from a water supply programme for arsenic mitigation based on demand and participation of 30,000 rural people in Srinagar, a subdistrict of Bangladesh. About 85% of the 912 tubewell water samples tested had an arsenic content higher than 0.05 mg/l. The project promoted 11 options including groundwater, surface-water and rainwater-harvesting household-based options as well as community managed technologies. Most people, particularly women, wanted piped water, and hand-operated deep tubewells were also requested. Four cluster-based motorized piped water systems, 20 home-based arsenic-removal options (two types) and an arsenic-removal filter plant were installed. The public contributed about 49, 25 and 20% of the installation costs of piped water, home-based options and filter options, respectively, and 100% of all operation and maintenance costs. The household options and filter plant were abandoned within a few weeks. Reportedly, those options required too much attention, discharged small volumes of water at low rates, were difficult to maintain, and discharged poor-quality water. The proportion of families (54%) that drank arsenic-contaminated water during the final survey was significantly lower than in the baseline survey (87%). For arsenic-affected areas, it is recommended that a cluster-based piped water system be given proper consideration when selecting appropriate water options rather than household-based options or the development of new low-cost options.