The Arsenic Crisis

Some background into the problem:

Millions of people in rural Bangladesh are now exposed to the risk of arsenic poisoning. Arsenic contamination of groundwater was first reported in 1996, in areas of Bagerhat, Satkhira and Kushita. All these areas are in the Southwest of Bangladesh, near the border of the Indian state of West Bengal. Since the discovery of arsenic contaminated ground water, more than 10 000 people have been diagnosed with arsenic related illnesses. However it has been estimated by the Bangladesh government that up to 65% of the country's population live in areas that have arsenic tainted areas. Given this very large number of the population that could potentially be affected by arsenic contaminated ground water. The true number of people that have been affected by arsenic is yet to be fully understood. Efforts have been made by the government of Bangladesh as well as numerous NGO's to evaluate the extent of the problem, as well as the number of Arsenic victims. And also to look into ways of solving this problem. However, due to lack of funding and resources, an effective evaluation of the problem, as well as an effective solution have yet to be made.

"Efforts have been made by the government of Bangladesh as well as numerous NGO's to evaluate the extent of the problem, as well as the number of Arsenic victims."

Arsenic is a white, semi-metallic powder found in nature. Some of its compounds, arsenite and arsenate, are highly toxic and can cause skin cancer, kidney and liver failure, respiratory problems, and in extreme cases, death. Other ailments include dark brown spots on the body, thickening of the palms and feet, and warts on hands and legs. Colourless, tasteless and naturally occurring in the sub-soils, arsenic has been seeping into the region's groundwater for years. For long, the arsenic compounds called arsenic sulfides were submerged in groundwater and remained inert. But with the advent of intensive irrigation in the 1960's the aquifiers started to drop, exposing the poisons to oxygen for the first time. Once oxidized, arsenic sulfides become water- soluble. They percolate from the sub-soils into the water tables during every monsoon flood"1

Arsenic contamination of ground water is also a problem in India in the state of West Bengal. Bangladesh shares a border with West Bengal. The first cases of arsenic contaminated water appeared in 1978 in West Bengal. Many theories tried to explain the causes of the arsenic contaminated water, such as pesticides, insecticides, and industrial waste. However these theories proved to be wrong. It is likely that mineral ores from the Himalayas have been deposited in the Ganges river delta over the period of thousands of years. The school of Environmental Studies (SOES) Jadavpur University, near Calcutta in India, started an investigation in 1988. The study said that for centuries, a 450 kilometer stretch of arsenic had been deposited in rich silt clay some 70 to 200 feet below the surface in an area covering about 35 000 square kilometers.2 The occurrence of Arsenic affected groundwater has become a major problem in both West Bengal and South Eastern areas of Bangladesh.

KBP

I volunteered to go to Bangladesh for the Kansai Bangladesh Project (KBP) a Japan-based NGO. KBP helped with my airfare as well as my accommodation while I was there. The purpose of my visit to Bangladesh was to have a look at some of the projects that KBP were doing, and also to look at some projects that other NGO's were involved in.

Currently KBP is involved with several different projects in Bangladesh. These include:

My visit to arsenic affected villages in Bangladesh:

In January I had a look at the Arsenic crisis that affects areas of Bangladesh and Eastern India. I visited several Arsenic effected villages in Southwestern Bangladesh, and met with and spoke to many Arsenic victims. The problem is a huge one. Many people in Bangladesh are drinking arsenic contaminated water. Either they are unaware of the problem and how to avoid it. Or they are aware of the problem and unable to avoid drinking the water as there is no alternative.

"Many people in Bangladesh are drinking arsenic contaminated water. Either they are unaware of the problem and how to avoid it. Or they are aware of the problem and unable to avoid drinking the water as there is no alternative"

The symptoms of arsenic victims are severe, widespread, and often fatal. I spoke to those people who were sick themselves, or members of their family who were sick. Most had loved ones who had died from Arsenic related illnesses.

I was able to have a look at a local NGO, BAIC (Barenda Advancement Integrated Committee) this is quite a young NGO, only 10 years old, but they are working with many problems in their local community. HIV/Aids, human trafficking, drug rehabilitation and Arsenic, among others. Most importantly, they are in their for the long haul, unlike many of the international NGO's that have come and gone from the area, had initial success but had no long term commitment and so their efforts have been wasted in the long run.

With the help from members of BAIC, in particular the founder, and executive Director of BAIC, Md. Esha. I was taken to the village of Chakboharom. This village has approximately 10 000 people. Of the 10 000 people in the village, about 50 people have shown symptoms of arsenic poisoning. However most of the tube wells in the village are contaminated with arsenic, and almost all the people from the village drink from these wells. Because arsenic poisoning can take months or even years to become fatal, or even for symptoms to emerge, the true amount of people that have become affected is yet to become known. Often the people affected are misdiagnosed, as the symptoms can vary. And there is often inadequate treatment after people are shown to have symptoms. If diagnosed early, patients can be relieved of mild symptoms by switching to pure arsenic-free drinking water. However as many patients are not diagnosed until they are showing serious symptoms. And then they are often forced to continue to drink the affected water, many unnecessary deaths occur from arsenic related illnesses.

"arsenic poisoning can take months or even years to become fatal, or even for symptoms to emerge"

At Chakboharom village I was shown, and spoke to 22 members of the village who had symptoms of Arsenic poisoning. The Arsenic poisoning of these people is a result of prolonged exposure to arsenic affected tube-wells used by the villages for their dinking water, as well as cooking, cleaning and irrigation of their crops.

The people I saw had varied symptoms of Arsenic poisoning, including:

Other symptoms of Arsenic poisoning include:

According to the village elder, Niazuddin Tomise Uddin, 50 members of the village are showing symptoms of Arsenic poisoning. Those people who have shown symptoms have begun to drink filtered water. Since using filtered water, there has been no increase in symptoms. However those people without symptoms of arsenic poisoning continue to use the wells that have been tested, and shown to be contaminated by arsenic. Until these people have begun to show symptoms, it is unlikely that they will stop using the wells.

Several programs have been introduced, by the government of Bangladesh and numerous NGO's to detect the contaminated wells and in some cases supply means of filtering the contaminated wells. A UNDP funded program was initiated in June 1997 to look at arsenic mitigation. Tube wells were tested for arsenic, and those found to be contaminated were painted red.3 Despite this, lack of education about the dangers of drinking arsenic contaminated water, and a lack of an alternative mean that many people still use the contaminated wells.

I was shown 3 types of mitigation techniques that had been donated by NGO's in the past to Chakboharom village.

The first was a set of four filters that were three and a half years old. Called ELCAN filters, they can supply up to 25 families with clean water. They use a sand filter technique to filter the water removing the arsenic, making it safe to drink. These filters however were all broken. And with no spare parts available the villages were unable to fix them, and have continued to use contaminated water.

The second type of filter was a deep well, designed to collect water past 30 feet, where there is no arsenic contamination. This well can supply up to 50 families with safe drinking water. However, this well was donated by a foreign NGO two years ago, and broke within a few months. Again with no means to fix the wells by themselves, and the NGO having left Bangladesh, the well remains useless and the villages have gone back to drinking arsenic contaminated water.

The third type of technique is again a filter to make the existing arsenic contaminated water safe to use. This filter is called a Sono filter. The Bangladesh government has approved the Sono filter. And has been developed by a Canadian company. It is designed to filter the arsenic through sand leaving the water safe to use. The sand can later be discarded and is easy to replace. One filter will supply five families with safe cooking and drinking water. The program has been started by BAIC, and is an ongoing and long- term program aimed at supplying every member of this village with safe cooking and drinking water.

The program is a community-based program. Each filter costs 2000 Taka, (approx $35 US dollars) BAIC supply half the cost and the families that will use the filter will raise the other half. The money that the family raises can be paid in 10 installments and goes into a bank account to be used to buy the next round of filters for the villages.

So far 27 filters have been supplied. With approximately 1000 filters needed to supply the whole village.

BAIC is a locally run NGO, started and managed by local community members. What makes this program the best of the three I looked at is that BAIC, unlike the other NGO's will remain working with the community in the long term. So issues like maintenance of the filters can be handled and the filters will not go unused.

1 Quamrul Islam Chowdhury, Bangladesh State of Arsenic 2000, UNDP, 2000, pp13

2 Quamrul Islam Chowdhury, Bangladesh State of Arsenic 2000, UNDP, 2000

3 Quamrul Islam Chowdhury, Bangladesh State of Arsenic 2000, UNDP, 2000

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