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'Over 60pc population still exposed to arsenic contamination'

Speakers tell conference

STAFF CORRESPONDENT
'Over 60pc population still exposed to arsenic contamination'
More than 60 percent of the population drawing water from tubewells are still exposed to arsenic contamination, said the speakers at an international conference on arsenic yesterday.
They said even after seven years of deliberation, the public sector and the development partners are still debating over the mitigation problem.
The three-day conference was organised jointly by Dhaka Community Hospital and School of Environmental Studies of Jadavpur University of India in the city.
In his opening speech, Prof Mahmudur Rahman, co-ordinator of Dhaka Community Hospital Trust, said seven years have passed since we called for formulating a concrete policy on addressing the arsenic problem but no progress is noticed.
In his paper on 'Health Water and Environmental Issues,' Prof Quazi Quamruzzaman, chairman of DCH, said many seminars on arsenic contamination were held ignoring the social problems of those suffering from arsenic contamination.
He said the government and development partners should come forward to help and rehabilitate the arsenic victims.
Unicef Chief in Bangladesh Morten Geirsing said "We are very concerned about the quality of water samples being tested from tubewells by some NGOs." Do the
tests really attain minimum standard?" he asked.
Prof Willard Chappel of the University of Colorado, USA said, "I have witnessed groundwater arsenic problem in many countries. But in terms of number of people exposed to the contamination, Bangladesh is the worst. I am sorry to say that not enough has been done to mitigate the problems."
Besides, Dr David Christiani on 'Arsenic Exposure', Deoraj Harry Caussy on 'Health Impact of Arsenic Contamination' and Baosham Zheng on 'Arsenic Contamination Problem in China' presented papers at the day-long session.
The conference is being attended by about 150 representatives including 30 foreign scientists.
Water experts, chemists, biologists, geologists, medical practitioners and soil scientists from home and abroad also called for urgent action to develop guidelines on the
treatment of arsenic patients and their rehabilitation in the face of the groundwater arsenic contamination in the country.
They also called for immediate shift to surface water as an alternative source of drinking water in the face of arsenic contamination problem.
Studies on people exposed to long term use of arsenic contaminated water, presented at the conference yesterday, indicated serious effects from drinking the poisoned water.
The studies found many people in West Bengal suffered neuropathy or neurological problems due to arsenic in central nervous system in human body.
Another study, also in West Bengal, found serious outcomes from drinking contaminated water among pregnant women. There are evidences of significant rise in spontaneous abortions and still birth, it revealed.