Arsenicosis in Bangladesh - poisoning of a population in search of pure drinking water

 

In order to control epidemic of diarrhoeal diseases about 4 million tube wells were installed countrywide in 1960 in Bangladesh. in 1980s- arsenic contamination in tube well water was suspected in 1993 -first ever case of arsenic poisoning was detected and recognized in1996
‘Bangladesh is in the midst of a mass poisoning in the history, dangerous level of arsenic has been found in ground water, entering million of people sip by sip as they drink from over 4 million tube wells’ N Y Times, 10.11.98 ‘Arsenic in drinking water poses the highest cancer risk ever found… this is really a medical emergency’. N Y Times, 10.11.98 61 out of 64 districts, 270 out of 464 sub-districts are affected. No of contaminated tube well is 1.44 m, population exposed is 66m, total case detected more than 38000. 

58% of the patients are suffering from mental agony 13% from fear of premature death, 55% girls face difficulty in getting marries, 37% patients facing restriction in sharing house commodities, 30% rejected from job, 20% had reduced payment.The most alarming role of chronic arsenic poisoning is carcinogenicity which may occur decades after exposure. chronic ingestion of inorganic arsenic causes bladder, lungs or skin rashes.

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