Arsenic free water a distant dream for villagers

Arsenic free water a distant dream for villagers

Tangail, BANGLADESH, March 30 - Sixty-five-year-old Hajura Begum of this remote area - a three-hour drive from Dhaka –is confused over the discovery of high concentrations of arsenic in her tubewell. Begum, like hundreds of other people in her village was happy when the officials had installed these tubewells 20 years ago for drinking water.A few years ago, when the officials told her not to drink the tubewell water, she was very upset. "First they tell us we should drink this water and then now they say its poisonous," says the frail lady clearly depicting the level of poverty in which she lives in. "How can they expect us to follow what they want?," she questions.

Waters of a great number of tubewells in all 11 upazilas in this district have been found contaminated with the deadly arsenic. Local Department of Public Health and Engineering (DPHE) conducted a study a few years ago finding that 420 tubewells are arsenic contaminated.

The affected areas are Delduar, Nagarpur, Mirzapur, Shakipur, Basail, Gopalpur, Ghatail, Madhupur and Tangail Sadar Upazila. DPHE checked the water of tubewells in these areas and sealed off all the 420 tubewells.

Looking at a larger scenario, it was during the 1970s that efforts to bring safe drinking water to Bangladesh’s rural population led to distributing tubewell water to 97 per cent of the population. However, after undrinkable levels of arsenic were detected in 1993 and then confirmed in 1995 the population was told not to drink the tubewell water."It is estimated that nearly half of the total tubewells here are contaminated with undrinkable limits of arsenic," said Shahid Mohan, co-ordinator of Pratikka – a NGO working in the rural sector. Tubewells are the main source of potable water in 59 out of 64 districts here.He adds that it will take many years before the situation will be under control. "We are working continuously but it is a tough task to bring safe water to the people," he says.

Bangladesh was where arsenic contamination in underground water was first detected in this region. An estimated 20 million of 125 million people are assumed to be drinking contaminated water - the largest mass poisoning in history. Contamination is mainly in the southwest, middle, and northeast parts of the country. The problem is big. The poor people are suffering the most and they need alternative sources of safe drinking water fast.

They do know they should not drink the water but have no alternative source. For instance, 40-year-old Shahib Uddin says that the officials have just told him to drink boiled water from the ponds.

"How can we do that?," he says. Uddin, whose family lives in Gopalpur Upazila says that a few of his neighbors have already developed symptoms of arsenic related diseases. "We just do not have enough money to buy fuel to boil the water," he adds.

Many people in this areas, he says, are collecting water from ponds and other water bodies now after being panicky due to arsenic menace. Meanwhile, DPHE had also taken up a program to set up 1,000 feet deep tubewells in arsenic affected areas.

"But poor people can not afford the higher cost of installation of such tubewells," says 28-year-old Fazlul Hoque of Mizrapur village. "The authorities concerned should spend the required amount of money for this purpose to protect poor people from arsenic contamination," he says.

Locals have no choice but to drink deadly arsenic

Locals have no choice but to drink deadly arsenic

NAWALPARASI, March 7 - Thirty-three-year-old Gyan Prasad Kami, of Kunuwar village in Ramgram municipality has already

developed hard patches on his feet and hands because of drinking water containing high level of arsenic from his tubewell.

He had been drinking water from his tubewell for the past 15 years. Even his wife Bijuli has shown similar symptoms. "It’s been three years since my skin was affected," said Kami.

The levels of arsenic in his drinking water was 200 parts per billion (ppb) - four times higher than the national standard and 20 times more than the standard recommended by the World Health Organisation. The national standard for arsenic in water is 50 ppb and the WHO recommended standard is 10 ppb.

There are 15 members in his joint family of whom four have developed skin hardening and discoloring of skin.

After undrinkable levels of arsenic were found in Kunuwar, the 70 tubewells which had been built to solve the water and sanitation problems were sealed off. The 110 households in this area now use only one locally dug well.

Rajesh Shrestha, a field monitor of the United Nation’s Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Nawalparasi district, said that about 15 per cent of the tube-wells in the election constituency three and four have arsenic content beyond drinkable limits. A handful of people in these areas are already showing signs of health problems due to long term drinking of high levels of arsenic.

Drinking arsenic-contaminated water over a long period results in various health problems including skin problems (such as color changes on the skin, and hard patches on the palms and soles of the feet). It can also lead to skin cancer, cancers of the bladder, kidney and lung, and diseases of the blood vessels of the legs and feet.

Similarly, 35-year-old Daya Sagar of Goini village in

Sunuwar has discolored skin on both his hands and feet. He has been drinking water from the public tubewell for the past six years.

It has already been three years since such symptoms came to the fore. Even his wife has developed similar symptoms. "After high levels of arsenic have been found in our village we have been drinking other water," said Sagar.

Forty-year-old Baune Devi and her husband Chatra Narayan Chawdhary also have been affected. Their two girls and six other family members have developed slight discoloring of skin and hardening of feet and hands.

They live in a joint family comprising 20 persons. But they face difficulty in getting access to safe drinking water.

All the tubewells in Goini community are past the drinkable levels. After arsenic was found in high concentration here, the 100 households have been sharing three dug wells.

The most important remedial action is prevention of further exposure by providing safe drinking water. Low arsenic water is only needed for drinking and cooking. Arsenic contaminated water can only be used for laundry and bathing.

For the 500 people in Goini, the three wells and the arsenic filters have not ceased their problems. "I was given painkillers after my hand began to pain," said Baune Devi, showing tablets that have been clearly given by a doctor who does not understand that arsenic related health problems cannot be cured.

Arsenic threat gets real in Terai belt

Arsenic threat gets real in Terai belt

BIRGUNJ, March 6 - An ongoing study aided by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on arsenic content in water in the Terai belt is uncovering a problem bigger than it was previously thought to be.

According to Madav Pahadi, project officer at the Water and Environment Sanitation Section of UNICEF, the unfolding results show that between three to seven per cent of the Terai population will be immediately affected by arsenic contamination. "Strong mitigation measures need to be launched in this population," said Pahadi.

The study, being carried out jointly by the UNICEF and the Department of Water Supply and Sanitation (DWSS), is expected to get completed by April end.

The blanket testing, which includes both public and private tube-wells, will test 300,000 tube-wells in the Terai region. Already 200,000 tube-wells have been tested thus far.

Each tube-well in the eight Terai districts — Nawalparasi, Saptari, Siraha, Sarlahi, Rautahat, Parsa, Kapilvastu and Kanchanpur— are being marked to ascertain the safety of the drinking water. Their positions have also been marked through global positioning system (GPS).

The problem of arsenic content is not uniform even within the districts under study, though. According to the UNICEF field monitors, the level of arsenic content vary from zero to as high as 500 part per billion (ppb) in the same locality.

The national standards for arsenic in water is 50 ppb and the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended standard is 10 ppb. "Arsenic may be found in water that flows through arsenic-rich rocks," said Sudan Panthi, Chief Engineer at the Water Quality Unit, DWSS.

The DWSS is now in the process of cross checking the water from the tested tube-wells in the laboratories. Once these reports come in, then a national document ~ ~ will be prepared on the arsenic contamination, followed by immediate mitigation measures in the most affected areas.

Rajesh Shrestha, a field monitor in Nawalparasi district, said that about 15 per cent of the tube-wells in election constituency three and four have arsenic content beyond drinkable limits. In the election constituency four, the percentage reaches 18 per cent. Moreover, in the Goini community and in Pratapur village in this district, all the tube-well water has been found to have arsenic content beyond the permissible limit.

Dhruba Shrestha, field monitor of Kapilvastu district, said that around three per cent of the tube-wells have been found to have undrinkable water.

Similarly, Padmaja Shrestha, field monitor of Parsa District said that 2.1 per cent of the tube-wells tested in this district have arsenic contamination that is above national standards.

She also said that in Basantapur and Muli up to 23 per cent of the tube-wells have high arsenic contamination of up to 500 ppb. Shrestha also informed that Bara district has been affected more severely with 11 per cent of the total tube-wells containing above 50 ppb.

In Tharanagar village of Bara, she said, 50 per cent of the tube-wells have high level of arsenic content.

Drinking arsenic-rich water over a long period results in various health problems including skin problems (such as color changes on the skin, and hard patches on the palms and soles of the feet). It can also lead to skin cancer, cancers of the bladder, kidney and lung, and diseases of the blood vessels of the legs and feet. Diabetes, high blood pressure and reproductive disorders are also sometimes associated with arsenic consumption.

Mitigation measures are already underway in the Terai districts, although in small scale. The ongoing schemes like sharing safe tube-wells, arsenic filters and using improved dug wells are already making impact but they won’t be adequate enough to meet the needs of the people.

" We hope that this report will trigger strong mitigation measures in the most affected areas," said Pahadi.