The Daily Star  February 16, 2004  



                        'Over 60pc population still exposed to arsenic contamination'
                        Speakers tell conference
                        Staff Correspondent

                        More than 60 percent of the population drawing water 
                        from tubewells are still exposed to arsenic 
                        contamination, said the speakers at an international 
                        conference on arsenic yesterday.
                        They said even after seven years of deliberation, the 
                        public sector and the development partners are still 
                        debating over the mitigation problem. 
                        The three-day conference was organised jointly by Dhaka 
                        Community Hospital and School of Environmental Studies 
                        of Jadavpur University of India in the city. 
                        In his opening speech, Prof Mahmudur Rahman, 
                        co-ordinator of Dhaka Community Hospital Trust, said 
                        seven years have passed since we called for formulating 
                        a concrete policy on addressing the arsenic problem but 
                        no progress is noticed.
                        In his paper on 'Health Water and Environmental Issues,' 
                        Prof Quazi Quamruzzaman, chairman of DCH, said many 
                        seminars on arsenic contamination were held ignoring the 
                        social problems of those suffering from arsenic 
                        contamination. 
                        He said the government and development partners should 
                        come forward to help and rehabilitate the arsenic 
                        victims. 
                        Unicef Chief in Bangladesh Morten Geirsing said "We are 
                        very concerned about the quality of water samples being 
                        tested from tubewells by some NGOs." Do the tests really 
                        attain minimum standard?" he asked.
                        Prof Willard Chappel of the University of Colorado, USA 
                        said, "I have witnessed groundwater arsenic problem in 
                        many countries. But in terms of number of people exposed 
                        to the contamination, Bangladesh is the worst. I am 
                        sorry to say that not enough has been done to mitigate 
                        the problems."
                        Besides, Dr David Christiani on 'Arsenic Exposure', 
                        Deoraj Harry Caussy on 'Health Impact of Arsenic 
                        Contamination' and Baosham Zheng on 'Arsenic 
                        Contamination Problem in China' presented papers at the 
                        day-long session. 
                        The conference is being attended by about 150 
                        representatives including 30 foreign scientists. 
                        Water experts, chemists, biologists, geologists, medical 
                        practitioners and soil scientists from home and abroad 
                        also called for urgent action to develop guidelines on 
                        the treatment of arsenic patients and their 
                        rehabilitation in the face of the groundwater arsenic 
                        contamination in the country.
                        They also called for immediate shift to surface water as 
                        an alternative source of drinking water in the face of 
                        arsenic contamination problem.
                        Studies on people exposed to long term use of arsenic 
                        contaminated water, presented at the conference 
                        yesterday, indicated serious effects from drinking the 
                        poisoned water. 
                        The studies found many people in West Bengal suffered 
                        neuropathy or neurological problems due to arsenic in 
                        central nervous system in human body.
                        Another study, also in West Bengal, found serious 
                        outcomes from drinking contaminated water among pregnant 
                        women. There are evidences of significant rise in 
                        spontaneous abortions and still birth, it revealed.