ARSENIC CONTAMINATION AND HUMAN HEALTH: A SOCIOECONOMIC STUDY IN SOME SELECTED AREAS OF BANGLADESH

Arsenic contamination of groundwater is a case of mass poisoning in Bangladesh. In order to examine the nature and extent of the problem, household survey was conducted in both arsenic contaminated and non-contaminated areas. The selected arsenic `hot spots' were Faridpur and Lakshimpur while the arsenic free area was Gazipur. One village from each of the three locations was purposively selected and the number of households considered as samples was 250. The analysis showed that severity of arsenic related diseases was more acute in the poor village of Lakshimpur area (where about 50% of the household members were suffering from arsenic related skin diseases) compared to Faridpur while in Gazipur there was no case of any patient suffering from arsenic related diseases. Further, the impact of arsenic problem was found to be extended from immediate health effect to extensive social and economic hardship especially for the poor. On the other hand, access to health care facilities as well as access to save drinking water and even access to information about arsenic mitigation programs were seriously lacking particularly in Lakshimpur. Special attention from the Government, private and NGOs is needed to meet the urgent need of supplying arsenic free water to save lives of the millions of people living in the arsenic contaminated areas of Bangladesh.