GENEVA Sep! 8: Bangladesh Is facing the ’largest mass poisoning of a population in history because of arsenic contamination of its drinking water supplies, a study pub-Ushed by the World Health Or-^anlzation said today, reports

The research by Allan H Smith, professor of epidemiology at the University of California at Berkeley, said that between 33 and 77 million of Bangladesh’s 125 million population was at risk.

Smith predicted a big increase over the coming years In the number of cases of disease auv4 by arsenic. These ranged from skin lesions to cxnrvrs of the bladder, kidney. lung and skin to cardiovascular problems.

Bangladesh is grappling with the largest mass poisoning of a population in history because groundwater used for drinking has been contaminated with naturally occurring inorganic arsenic,"' said the study, published in WHO's monthly bulletin.

“The scale of this environmental disaster is greater than any seen before, wrote Smith “It Is beyond the accidents at Bhopal. India. In 1984 and Chernobyl. Ukraine, in 1986 "

The study' was based on visits to Bangladesh by Smith In 1997 and 1998 and adds to the warnings by the UN Chil-

WHO: Arsenic

From page 1 dren's Fund, the US government and other agencies, that Bangladesh is facing huge health risks because of the arsenic."

In the past three decades, the Bangladesh government has dug 5 million wells to provide drinking water and save millions of people from cholera, diarrhoea and other waterborne diseases. But the naturally occurring arsenic poison In the ground water now threatens to overturn these health benefits.

Bangladesh first reported the problem In 1993. The World Bank and UNICEF have pro-vidtxl Bangladesh more than 34 million dollars to help build alternative sources of drinking water such as storage of rain water or treatment of pond water.

Smith's study urged the government to do more to provide arsenic-free water. educate communities about the risks and treat and monitor patients.