Bangladesh: 'Largest mass poisoning in history' (Arsenic)

[Shiloh]

Source: http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2010/06/18/14446211.html


'Largest mass poisoning in history'
By Julie Steenhuysen, REUTERS


CHICAGO - Tens of millions of people in Bangladesh have been exposed to toxic levels of arsenic from drinking contaminated groundwater, putting them at risk of an early death, U.S. researchers said Friday.

They said more than 20 percent of deaths in a 10-year study of 12,000 Bangladeshis were caused by arsenic exposure from contaminated drinking water.

"Tens of millions of people there are at high risk of dying early. Something needs to be done urgently to reduce the exposure to arsenic for this population and find alternative, safe drinking water sources," said Dr. Habibul Ahsan of the University of Chicago Medical Center, whose study appears in the Lancet.

Arsenic causes cancer and is toxic to the liver, skin, kidney and the cardiovascular system.

snip.

The World Health Organization said in a statement the exposure was "the largest mass poisoning of a population in history..."

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Bangladesh: 'Largest mass poisoning in history' (Arsenic)

Source: http://www.eurasiareview.com/201009037692/arsenic-poisoning-of-water-in-bangladesh.html



Eurasia Review newsletter

Arsenic Poisoning Of Water In Bangladesh
Friday, 03 September 2010 12:25
Written by RSIS

Arsenic poisoning of water is a serious problem in Bangladesh. It has significantly negative physical and social impact. There is an urgent need for the government to take effective steps to salvage the situation.

By Arpita Mathur


ONE OF the major targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is to halve, by 2015, the proportion of the global population without sustainable access to safe drinking water. While the MDG Report 2010 appears to indicate significant progress to this end, there are still parts of the developing world which do not have access to even basic needs like clean water and are exposed to serious health hazards. In locating such threats and concerns, particularly in South Asia, the most noteworthy problem is the presence of arsenic in drinking water in Bangladesh.

The Problem

A recent study published in Lancet in July 2010 amply corroborates the fact that 35 to 77 million people in Bangladesh are affected by arsenic through drinking water. The problem is also afflicting a number of other countries including India (West Bengal), Argentina, Mongolia and Chile. What makes this issue critical in Bangladesh is the fact that more than 90 percent of the dependence for drinking water is on groundwater, which remains highly arsenic-laced...