Twenty-eight years have passed since the country first detected arsenic in drinking water, but no comprehensive study to gauge the intensity of arsenic contamination has been made. The government does not have any updated record on the number of arsenic patients in the country. Also, there is no exact data on how many persons develop arsenicosis or die because of the silent poison every year. According to 2012 data of the World Health Organization (WHO), Bangladesh’s arsenic contamination was the world’s worst mass poisoning. According to the data at least 43,000 people died because of arsenic poisoning every year in the country.
Soon after the presence of arsenic in tube-well water was detected in the early 90s, the Department of Public Health Engineering tested arsenic in tube-wells in 2003 all over the country except for Dhaka, Chattogram, Rajshahi, and Khulna zones. Under the Bangladesh Arsenic Mitigation Water Supply Project, the department conducted a nationwide screening covering 57,482 villages and found 29 per cent of the 4.95 million surveyed tube-wells arsenic contaminated. No such major screening was done ever since to know about the updated picture of arsenic contamination. The department’s annual report for 2019-2020 mentioned the presence of arsenic in tube-wells in 61 out of 64 districts. Experts have said the extent and intensity of arsenic in the country did not change since the very first detection, but the people have learnt how to avoid contaminated water. The department took up a project in 2019 to screen tube-wells in 3,200 unions out of 4,500 across the country to see the extent of the arsenic. It is likely to be completed this year. The tube-wells that produced contaminated water will be replaced under this project.
Chronic exposure to arsenic results in various ailments in the body, causing multiple dermatologic signs and even skin cancer, non-specific abdominal pain, and lung and bladder cancer. Arsenic mitigation is one of the most successful achievements for Bangladesh. However, we have still a long way to go and need to work especially in some remote areas where the problem still exists with serious health problems. The government in recent years stressed the need for research. We hope a detailed study would be done to assess the arsenic situation in the country.
