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Arsenic Contamination

2 lakh people face cancer threat a year

Says WHO report

Ershad Kamoi
Five years after the approval of the National Policy for Arsenic Mitigation and Implementation Plan, two lakh people still face the threat of cancer annually due to drinking of arsen ic-contaminated water in Bangladesh, says a report of World Health Organisation (WHO).
The national policy has set the target of providing arsenic-free water by 2010 in the worst affected communities although millions of people are still drinking arsenic-contaminated water which is causing cancer of skin, lung and bladder, as well as low birth weight and many other physical and neurological deficiencies.
The groundwater at 270 upazilas of the country is severely contaminated by arsenic.
According to the Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE), 80 to 100 percent tubewells at 8540 villages are arsenic-contaminated.
In Bangladesh the acceptable level of arsenic in drink-
ing water has been set by the government at 50 parts per billion (PPB) while the approved global WHO standard is 10 PPB.
However, in many parts of the country the arsenic level is up to 500 PPB, said a DPHE report.
"Although the UN-endorsed national arsenic mitigation policy was approved by the government, over 85 million people from different classes across the country are at risk of arsenic. But so far no holistic measure has been taken in (he light of the policy." Dr Kazi Kamruzzaman, chairman of Dhaka Community Hospital, told The Daily Star citing the recent WHO report.
The government approved the national arsenic mitigation policy in 2004 after seven years of continuous lobbying followed by national and international conferences and hundreds of publications in print media and extensive coverage by television and radio.
The National Policy for Arsenic Mitigation and Implementation Plan includes some specific short-
term and long-term action plans to mitigate the problem.
But nothing fruitful has been initiated in the light of the policy except forming some committees.
“Prescribed by the donors, the DPHE has gone for some quick solutions such as installing deep tubewells which has
just created scope for corruption, " said Dr Kamruzzaman.
On the other hand, the DPHE, which is the government agency responsible for providing safe water across the country, claims that it has not received any fund to initiate programmes such as emergency response
programme’ mentioned in the national policy except for Dhaka, Narayanganj, Khulna and Chittagong.
Commenting on the current initiatives to mitigate arsenic problem a high official of the government preferring anonymity said, "We have marked red paint on the arsenic-contaminated tubewells after a survey apart from initiating several awareness generating programmes and installing deep tubewells."
"But we cannot do the survey annually due to manpower crisis. At the same time private users do not approach us for testing before installing tubewells. They don't even like to use other alternative safe water sources such as upgraded version of ring well, rainwater harvesting and pond sand filter," he added.
The experts demanded that the government takes a holistic approach immediately to meet the crisis following the national arsenic policy, as it can reduce the harvest and may sneak into the food chain.
"Recent studies show that arsenic-contaminated
groundwater used for irrigation can contaminate the rice stalks, which is used for feeding animals. Thus arsenic can also enter the food chain. Moreover, arsenic-contaminated water decreases the rate of harvest," said Prof Mahmudur Rahman, who has published more than 15 articles on the country's arsenic problem.
Prof Mahmud demanded a detailed research on the nature of arsenic contamination and its impact on public health immediately.
"We don't have proper prevalence study on this issue. There is an urgent need for research. We still don't know exactly how many people are suffering from cancer, skin lesions or gangrene. Moreover, agencies or donors are not taking responsibility for patient management or arranging for research on the long-term ill effects of arsenic, "he said.
However, the experts believe that immediate implementation of the National Policy for Arsenic Mitigation can provide a better solution to this national crisis.