The Bangladesh Observer, June 6, 2004 28076 people of 59 dists are arsenic victims It is two decades or less, people en mass in rural areas started drinking tube well waters instead of surface waters as the means of getting rid of epidemic like diarrhea and other water related diseases, reports BSS. But now they face new problems, like arsenic contamination of tube well water which in some stages, is life threatening. Expert said arsenic, which slowly causes serious difficulties to health, even takes away lives. People don’t know, how arsenic contaminates tube well water, nor even they can understand whether it was contaminated or not because as taste of arsenic contaminated water is like normal water. But the water gets contaminated slowly, they pointed out. According to UNICEF, about 98 per cent of the people drink tube well water from approximately 80 lakh to one crore of tube wells. According to the latest statistics of the Directorate of Public Health and Engineering (DPHE), 59 out of 64 districts of the country have been affected with elevated level of arsenic in drinking water. The World Health Organization (WHO) sources informed that about 28,076 people from different districts have arsenic symptoms, while DPHE found 15,500 having arsenic related diseases. But arsenic contaminated tube wells were identified only in a number of upazillas out of 460. The DPHE conducted test of arsenic contaminated tube wells in 90 upazillas, while the UNICEF in 45. Tube wells in maximum upazillas still remained unidentified due to lack of infrastructure and shortage of experts and raw materials as well. There are several suggestions submitted to the government on how to mitigate arsenic contamination in drinking water. But the decision is yet to come, according to WHO sources. General Pharmaceuticals Limited (GPL), one of the leading medicine manufacturing units in Bangladesh, has progressed to advanced levels in finding easier and cheaper methods in detecting arsenic contamination in tube well waters. It also has initiated marketing of arsenic removal units to common people at a much convenient and reliable way. To address this problem, GPL had produced a special kit, which was helpful to determine the existence and extent of arsenic into the tube well easily, Managing Director of the company Dr Mominul Haq told BSS. “After performing a huge research work and investment, the company has invented a more developed, accurate and easily usable field test kit, known as GPL KIT, by which a non technical person can easily determine the existence and extent of arsenic in any tube well water,” he added. “We want to achieve expertise both in detection and mitigation of this serious toxicity,” Dr Momin, claimed. “GPL-Kit would save huge foreign currency and it is cost effective” Momin added. He said a “GPL could meet the requirement of the government, as it has the capacity of producing one lakh detection kits a year. It is equipped with logistic and technical supports.” “Arsenic toxicity has no effective treatment, but drinking of arsenic free water can help the arsenic affected people to get rid of the symptoms of arsenic toxicity.” “Prevention is better than cure,” Momin added. Arsenic could be removed from water in large conventional treatment plants, but a low-cost water treatment technology for arsenic removal is very much required for household use, Dr Momin said. Since the government has given special attention to eliminate arsenic contamination, it should exempt duties on imports of arsenic related materials so that arsenic kits and the removal units could be marketed at lower prices, Dr. Momin claimed.