DIFFERENCE OF OPINION AMONG EXPERTS ON
THE SOURCE OF ARSENIC CONTAMINATION
IN GROUND WATER IN BANGLADESH:
IMPACT ON MEASURES AND POLICY
Two decades of relentless efforts made by
the Government of Bangladesh, the UNICEF and
other non-government organizations
succeeded in making more than 90 percent of the
people in Bangladesh use tube well water
for drinking and cooking in order to be safe from
water-borne diseases such as diarrhea and
cholera. However, recently, it has been found
that tube wells of 59 out of 64 districts
of the country are affected by arsenic contamination.
According to the World Health Organization
(WHO), the highest permissible amount of
arsenic per liter of water is .01 p.p.m.
The permissible limit declared by the Bangladesh
authorities is .05 p.p.m./liter. Even if we
take into account the permissible limit given by
the Bangladesh Government, 75 million
people are at risk of losing their health and dying
within a few decades as result of being
poisoned with arsenic. If one continues to drink
arsenic contaminated water or food for ten
years or more, he or she is likely to be attacked
by melanosis, leuco-melanosis, keratosis,
ulcer, gangrene, skin cancer, lung cancer, liver
cancer, kidney cancer and bladder cancer,
which eventually lead to gradual and painful
death. So far, 100 deaths of arsenicosis
are known to have occurred. At present, there are
7000 people who have been diagnosed as
arsenicosis patients. The source of arsenic
contamination is thought to be natural and
geological in nature. However, there is
controversy among scholars regarding the
processes through which the contamination
occurs. Some theories even appear to be
contradictory. For example, one of the most
prominent theories states that the
oxidation of pyrites and arsenopyrites is responsible for
arsenic contamination, where as another
theory claims that reduction of oxyhydroxides is
the actual source of the problem. These two
theories are quite contradictory to each other.
Controversies in theories must be resolved
in order to take appropriate measures to save
the affected people. Measures based on
wrong theories are likely to make the bad situation
even worse. In the present paper, we
reflect on the different explanations given by theorists
and interview experts (by e-mail) regarding
their opinions on this problem in order to
clarify the issues related to the source of
the arsenic contamination. By doing so, we try to
find out appropriate measures to be undertaken and also suggest for future policy planning.