Health and socioeconomic effects of groundwater arsenic contamination in rural Bangladesh: new evidence from field surveys.

This report discusses the health and socioeconomic problems that have recently emerged in the Bangladesh countryside because of arsenic contamination of the groundwater. A survey found that men in rural households are generally found to be more susceptible to arsenicosis than women. The survey also indicated that villagers with lower annual income are more likely to experience arsenicosis. About 60 percent of the respondents indicated a willingness to pay up to a dollar of their monthly income for safe water. More than 70 percent of women were found to be willing to walk for five minutes to collect safe water. Awareness campaigns conducted over the last decade seem to have been effective for villagers. Overall, findings from the survey paint a picture of a gradually evolving social and health scenario in rural Bangladesh that health officials must heed to safeguard the public health of the rural public.

[1]  Amvrossios C. Bagtzoglou,et al.  Geostatistically based management of arsenic contaminated ground water in shallow wells of Bangladesh , 2007 .

[2]  J. Perrin,et al.  Constraints on sustainable development of arsenic-bearing aquifers in southern Bangladesh. Part 1: A conceptual model of arsenic in the aquifer , 2002, Geological Society, London, Special Publications.

[3]  M. Thirlwall,et al.  Arsenic in groundwater: Testing pollution mechanisms for sedimentary aquifers in Bangladesh , 2001 .

[4]  K. Ahmed,et al.  Arsenic poisoning of Bangladesh groundwater , 1998, Nature.

[5]  T. Inaoka,et al.  Males in rural Bangladeshi communities are more susceptible to chronic arsenic poisoning than females: analyses based on urinary arsenic. , 2001, Environmental health perspectives.

[6]  S. Islam,et al.  Groundwater dynamics and arsenic contamination in Bangladesh , 2006 .

[7]  J. Kaluarachchi,et al.  ARSENIC IN THE SHALLOW GROUND WATERS OF CONTERMINOUS UNITED STATES: ASSESSMENT, HEALTH RISKS, AND COSTS FOR MCL COMPLIANCE 1 , 2006 .

[8]  Roelof Versteeg,et al.  Spatial variability of arsenic in 6000 tube wells in a 25 km2 area of Bangladesh , 2003 .

[9]  D. Chakraborti,et al.  Arsenic in ground water in six districts of West bengal, India: the biggest arsenic calamity in the world. Part 2. Arsenic concentration in drinking water, hair, nails, urine, skin-scale and liver tissue (biopsy) of the affected people. , 1995, The Analyst.

[10]  M. M. Hoque,et al.  Demand-based water options for arsenic mitigation: an experience from rural Bangladesh. , 2004, Public health.

[11]  Charles F. Harvey,et al.  Arsenic Mobility and Groundwater Extraction in Bangladesh , 2002, Science.

[12]  Charles F. Harvey,et al.  Arsenic in groundwater in Bangladesh: A geostatistical and epidemiological framework for evaluating health effects and potential remedies , 2003 .

[13]  Prosun Bhattacharya,et al.  Arsenic in groundwater in the Bengal Delta Plain: slow poisoning in Bangladesh , 2001 .

[14]  Faisal Hossain,et al.  Spatial pattern of arsenic contamination in shallow wells of Bangladesh: regional geology and nonlinear dynamics , 2006 .

[15]  D. Chakraborti,et al.  Arsenic in groundwater in six districts of West Bengal, India , 1996, Environmental geochemistry and health.

[16]  F. Hossain,et al.  Statistical characterization of arsenic contamination in shallow tube wells of western Bangladesh , 2006 .

[17]  T. Ohguchi,et al.  Irrigation related arsenic contamination of a thin, alluvial aquifer, Madison River Valley, Montana, U.S.A. , 1988 .

[18]  J. Suriano,et al.  Groundwater contamination with arsenic and other trace elements in an area of the pampa, province of Córdoba, Argentina , 1989 .

[19]  B. Cvjetanović.  Health effects and impact of water supply and sanitation. , 1986, World health statistics quarterly. Rapport trimestriel de statistiques sanitaires mondiales.

[20]  B. Sengupta,et al.  Arsenic Contamination of Ground Water , 2008 .

[21]  D. Chakraborti,et al.  DETAILED STUDY REPORT OF SAMATA, ONE OF THE ARSENIC-AFFECTED VILLAGES OF JESSORE DISTRICT, BANGLADESH , 1998 .

[22]  M. Cebrián,et al.  The oxidation states of arsenic in well-water from a chronic arsenicism area of northern Mexico. , 1990, Environmental pollution.