9 research outputs found
Arsenic Contamination in Groundwater: A Global Perspective with Emphasis on the Asian Scenario
The incidence of high concentrations of arsenic in drinking-water has
emerged as a major public-health problem. With newer-affected sites
discovered during the last decade, a significant change has been
observed in the global scenario of arsenic contamination, especially in
Asian countries. This communication presents an overview of the current
scenario of arsenic contamination in countries across the globe with an
emphasis on Asia. Along with the present situation in severely-affected
countries in Asia, such as Bangladesh, India, and China, recent
instances from Pakistan, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Cambodia, etc. are
presented
An Eight-year Study Report on Arsenic Contamination in Groundwater and Health Effects in Eruani Village, Bangladesh and an Approach for Its Mitigation
Based on several surveys during 1997-2005 and visits of a medical team
to Eruani village, Laksham upazila, Comilla district, Bangladesh, the
arsenic contamination situation and consequent clinical manifestations
of arsenicosis among the villagers, including dermatology, neuropathy,
and obstetric outcome, are reported here. Analysis of biological
samples from patients and non-patients showed high body burden of
arsenic. Even after eight years of known exposure, village children
were still drinking arsenic-contaminated water, and many of them had
arsenical skin lesions. There were social problems due to the symptoms
of arsenicosis. The last survey established that there is a lack of
proper awareness among villagers about different aspects of arsenic
toxicity. The viability of different options of safe water, such as
dugwells, deep tubewells, rainwater harvesting, and surface water with
watershed management in the village, was studied. Finally, based on 19
years of field experience, it was felt that, for any successful
mitigation programme, emphasis should be given to creating awareness
among villagers about the arsenic problem, role of arsenic-free water,
better nutrition from local fruits and vegetables, and, above all,
active participation of women along with others in the struggle against
the arsenic menace
Application of digital technologies in health insurance for social good of bottom of pyramid customers in India
Comment on “Limited Temporal Variability of Arsenic Concentrations in 20 Wells Monitored for 3 Years in Araihazar, Bangladesh”
Groundwater arsenic contamination in Ganga-Meghna-Brahmaputra plain, its health effects and an approach for mitigation
The authors’ survey of the Ganga–Meghna–Brahmaputra (GMB) plain (area 569,749 km2; population >500 million) over the past 20 years and analysis of more than 220,000 hand tube-well water samples revealed groundwater arsenic contamination in the floodplains of the Ganga–Brahmaputra river (Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Assam) in India and the Padma–Meghna–Brahmaputra river in Bangladesh. On average, 50 % of the water samples contain arsenic above the World Health Organization guideline value of 10 μg/L in India and Bangladesh. More than 100 million people in the GMB plain are potentially at risk. The authors’ medical team screened around 155,000 people from the affected villages and registered 16,000 patients with different types of arsenical skin lesions. Arsenic neuropathy and adverse pregnancy outcomes have been recorded. Infants and children drinking arsenic-contaminated water are believed to be at high risk. About 45,000 biological samples analyzed from arsenic-affected villages of the GMB plain revealed an elevated level of arsenic present in patients as well as non-patients, indicating that many are sub-clinically affected. In West Bengal and Bangladesh, there are huge surface water in rivers, wetlands, and flooded river basins. In the arsenic-affected GMB plain, the crisis is not over water scarcity but about managing the available water resources.
An Eight-year Study Report on Arsenic Contamination in Groundwater and Health Effects in Eruani Village, Bangladesh and an Approach for Its Mitigation
Based on several surveys during 1997-2005 and visits of a medical team
to Eruani village, Laksham upazila, Comilla district, Bangladesh, the
arsenic contamination situation and consequent clinical manifestations
of arsenicosis among the villagers, including dermatology, neuropathy,
and obstetric outcome, are reported here. Analysis of biological
samples from patients and non-patients showed high body burden of
arsenic. Even after eight years of known exposure, village children
were still drinking arsenic-contaminated water, and many of them had
arsenical skin lesions. There were social problems due to the symptoms
of arsenicosis. The last survey established that there is a lack of
proper awareness among villagers about different aspects of arsenic
toxicity. The viability of different options of safe water, such as
dugwells, deep tubewells, rainwater harvesting, and surface water with
watershed management in the village, was studied. Finally, based on 19
years of field experience, it was felt that, for any successful
mitigation programme, emphasis should be given to creating awareness
among villagers about the arsenic problem, role of arsenic-free water,
better nutrition from local fruits and vegetables, and, above all,
active participation of women along with others in the struggle against
the arsenic menace