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Arsenic affects productivity

Research reveals

Star Report
Arsenic does not only affect health but also productivity of Bangladeshis, a research revealed yesterday.
The research found that through eliminating arsenic from all water consumed, income of a Bangladeshi male could increase by $54, equivalent to Tk 4,430, and female $27, equivalent toTk 2,215, annually.
Three professors — Mark M Pitt of Brown University, Mark R Rosenzweig of Yale University and Nazmul Hassan of Dhaka University - carried out the research on “Economic Cost of Arsenic Contamination".
The research findings were disclosed yesterday at IGC South Asia Growth Conference 2012 at Sonargaon Hotel in the capital.
The study showed that through drinking, cooking, and irrigation, 57 million Bangladeshis are exposed to arsenic levels overWorld Health Organisation's standard.
The researchers detected presence of arsenic in well water in 59 districts out of 64, the highest arsenic poisoning of a population in world history.
“Young men with higher concentrations of retained arsenic not only have lower education attainment but are also significantly less likely to have a skilled occupation or become entrepreneurs,” found the research.
“Removing half the average level of arsenic from this subpopulation (young) would increase the proportion of men in skilled occupations by 24 percent,” it said.
The study was based on the latest round of a large-scale survey of 13,000 people in nearly 3,000 households.
In Bangladesh, tube wells, which often contain arsenic contaminated water, provide the principal source of drinking water for most households.
The study says that eating food grown and cooked in arsenic-contaminated water allows the element to be ingested along with other nutrients.
“The levels of retained arsenic in the rural Bangladesh population are nearly 20 times those measured in subjects residing in the United States,” it said.
The research says understanding how arsenic affects health and income will allow future cost-benefit analysis of government programmes aimed at alleviating levels of arsenic exposure.
The researchers found that replacing tube well as a source of cooking water would decrease retained arsenic by 18 percent.