Millions of Bangladeshis drink arsenic-tainted water every day

(Baonghean.vn) - Nearly 20 million Bangladeshis are still using arsenic-contaminated drinking water every day despite millions of wells being tested safe, a recent report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on April 6.

Hanufa Bibi, 45, holds a bucket of water drawn from a village well in Chandipur, Bangladesh. Photo: AP.

The latest research shows that about 43,000 people in Bangladesh die each year from arsenic-related diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular diseases and lung disease.

According to the Bangladesh government, 5 million village wells were tested between 2000 and 2003. However, by 2003, an estimated 20 million local people were still drinking arsenic-contaminated water.

"Bangladesh has failed to take basic steps to eliminate arsenic from the drinking water of millions of poor rural people," said Richard Pearshouse, a researcher at HRW. "Millions of Bangladeshis will die from arsenic poisoning unless the government and international donors join forces to tackle the problem."

However, a Bangladesh government spokesman said: “The pollution situation has improved significantly. The government has implemented a large-scale programme to improve the water supply from boreholes and the problem is that awareness is limited. People in rural areas do not follow the government’s instructions. So it will take a long time to completely eliminate arsenic poisoning.”

Jay Mondal (front) pictured in 2004, suffering from skin diseases caused by arsenic poisoning in Nonaghata Uttrpara village in West Bengal, India. Photo: Guardian.

Arsenic contamination of water is relatively common in Asia, mainly in countries such as India, China, Vietnam and Cambodia. It has been occurring for thousands of years, when arsenic-rich rocks eroded from the Himalayas and were naturally deposited in low-lying areas.

The first cases of arsenic poisoning were reported in the early 1990s. In 1995, an international conference in Kolkata brought the problem to world attention. Between 1999 and 2006, governments, international donors and NGOs spent hundreds of millions of pounds to reduce arsenic contamination. The World Bank funded the installation of around 13,000 wells in rural areas between 2004 and 2010.

Thanh Hien

(According to Guardian)