Fact Sheet
On
ARSENIC #XX
June 2003
PREPARED BY:
Disaster Forum
5/8,
Mohammadpur,
Dhaka-1200,
Phone
# 017-524409
Editorial:
The discovery of arsenic in the groundwater presented the government with a challenge that was not only unforeseen, it was not within its realm of experience. Finding itself too ill-equipped to meet the challenge that comes with widespread poisoning, and in the knowledge that its health services were too inadequate for an emergency of this dimension, the government adopted the only course open to it - denial. Ten years or more later, it is still fumbling in its search for a solution, meanwhile the worst environmental disaster in history is gaining ground.
The outcome
of the case
against BGS now underway in
Arsenic-related illnesses, known collectively as arsenicosis, mainly affect people in their productive years and it is this loss of productivity that is damaging for the economy and will in time be reflected in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). But a far greater tragedy is that despite the passage of time, there has been no fresh thinking on what promises to be a massive social and environmental problem. It is also important to note that the number of affected people is on the increase.
The scattered and clustered distribution of arsenicosis patients must also be noted as this calls for a well-planned research programme to determine the factors behind it. Research can also determine the reasons why some people are affected and others not and why men are more affected than women. The outcome of such research could provide some of the answers or at least a better understanding of the problem. What this means in a nut shell is we still have a long way to go before we understand the problem well enough to be able to bring it under control.
Sylvia
Mortoza
Gawher
Nayeem Wahra
Sumaya
Noor
_______________________
Editorial
& Compilation Team
June
30, 2003
Forward
The main item in this
issue focuses on
the case against the British Geological Survey (BGS) now underway in
Other
topics:
·
The
Draft Policy for Arsenic Free
Drinking Water likely to be passed.
·
Water
Watch Protocol
·
The
World Bank
·
A New
Time Limit for Implementing the
BAMWSP Project?
·
Finalization
of the Water Quality
Surveillance Team
·
A
Survey That Shows People are
Indifferent to the Effect of Arsenic on Health.
·
Dupitila
Formations Free From Arsenic?
·
Arsenic
In The Food Chain.
·
Rainwater
Harvesting
·
Roundtable
on Arsenic.
·
The
·
Seminar
on Arsenic.
·
The
Asian Development Bank.
·
Well
Sharing.
LEGAL
ACTION REPORT
ARSENIC
Case Underway in
A HIGH COURT VICTORY FOR
BANGLADESHI ARSENIC VICTIMS: Natural Environment
Research Council:
Press release no. 7/03; Date: 8 May 2003
In a judgement given May 8, 2003 Justice Simon
dismissed
the defendant's application to strike out the arsenic victim's claims.
The Defendants sought to
argue that
they did not owe a duty of care to the victims, and that the case
should not
proceed to trial.
The Judge however found
the case too
complex in both law and fact to dispose of at this stage. In his
judgement, Mr
Justice Simon while dismissing the Defendant's application, concluded
that
“this case raises a novel point in the developing area of law on the
reliance
of technical reports and that there is a case for the Defendants to
answer,
which should be decided at a full trial.” The Court has not passed
judgement on
the merits of the claim however.
Leigh Day & Co and Mr.Alexander
Harris
represented the two Bangladeshi residents, Binod Sutradhar and Lucky
Begum, who
allege that BGS' failure to detect high levels of arsenic in ground
water has
endangered their lives.
The Claimants' case is
that had BGS
carried out the necessary tests they would have identified the very
high levels
of arsenic contamination in the water. Instead, they gave the water a
clean
bill of health and as a consequence the Claimants continued to drink
the water
that was highly contaminated for a further 5-6 years before the first
arsenic
victims were diagnosed. The Claimants
both suffer from arsenic related diseases.
The lead case, Mr Binod
Sutradhur, has
been diagnosed with painful ulcers on his hands and feet - typical of
arsenicosis - and is much more vulnerable to skin cancer and other
forms of
cancer.
Martyn Day of
Leigh Day & Co said: "The arsenic
poisoning in
The Natural Environment
Research
Council: (NERC) intends to apply to the Court of Appeal for leave to
appeal
against this decision.
INITIATIVE
Water Watch
Protocol Finalised
In a big step forward to
fight the
dreaded arsenic contamination of groundwater, the long awaited 'water
quality
surveillance protocol for rural water supply options in
The protocol provides for the monitoring and periodic tests of water quality in various drinking water options. The DPHE would conduct tests to detect arsenic, iron, manganese, chloride, nitrate, zinc, hardness, colour, odour, pH (acidity), electric conductivity and turbidity. The protocol also recommended tests for bacteria and pesticides in water.
In cases of water options
like pond
sand filter and rainwater harvesting (RWH), the protocol suggests tests
for
arsenic and nitrate every six and three months respectively. For iron,
manganese and chloride, it recommended tests every six months, for
pesticide
once a year and for bacteria, colour and odour investigations every 15
days. For other water options like
hand-pumped tube-wells, deep tube-wells, arsenic removal plants and dug
wells,
the frequency of tests would vary from three to six months.
In many areas, the
concentration of
arsenic, iron, manganese, chloride and nitrate in the water exceeds
WHO-recommended limits, thus exposing people to serious health hazards.
Up to
now however, regular tests could not be conducted largely due to an
shortage of
laboratories and fund crisis. Three laboratories for water tests are
being set
up at
Under the new protocol,
water samples
from hand-pumped tube-wells and deep tube-wells will be collected from
different areas and tested at the laboratories. Similar tests will also
be done
before sinking new deep tube-wells.
A member of the task force that finalized the protocol, said, "This is for the first time the country will have a set standard for water quality."
The protocol however
ignores tests for
certain chemicals -- uranium, barium, molybdenum, antimony, cadmium and
chromium - already detected in
groundwater at many places at levels higher than the
WHO-recommended
limits. Officials said such tests were not recommended now due to a
lack of
facilities but they would be done in future.
According to a
countrywide study by
the DPHE and the British Geological Survey (BGS), an alarming
proportion of
inorganic chemicals like uranium, manganese, boron, sulphur, fluoride,
phosphorus remains in the groundwater in many places. The study
concluded that
35 per cent of water samples collected from hand-pumped tube-wells in
61
districts showed arsenic contamination beyond the WHO-recommended
limits. Other
studies initiated in 1998-1999 revealed various levels of contamination
of
groundwater, in some cases very high.
National
Policy for Arsenic Mitigation
The need for a national
plan was felt
for some time as isolated efforts by donors and other organisations
have not
proven to be very effective. The UNICEF, DANIDA, UNDP, Swiss
Development
Corporation and the World Bank have been working individually and as
such, the
LGRD and Cooperatives Minister Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan initiated the
formation of
an umbrella plan.
He said the WB and other
donor
agencies appreciated this initiative of the government and have agreed
to work
under the plan. The worst affected areas will be given priority for
implementation of the national plan. The
minister further said the government has also planned to ensure the
supply of
arsenic-free water through pipeline in all villages of the country in
stages.
The government has
undertaken this
comprehensive programme to mitigate the arsenic problem and ensure a
countrywide supply of safe drinking water. Official sources said the
programme
has been taken up in view of the fast growing demand for safe drinking
water
due mainly to rapid urbanisation, population growth and increased
public
awareness against the contamination of water by arsenic.
The cabinet was to
approve the draft
of the much-awaited National Policy for Arsenic Mitigation at an
inter-ministerial meeting on May 12, 2003. According to sources at the
Local
Government and Rural Development Ministry (LGRD), the proposed policy
highlights emergency steps to provide alternative safe drinking water
options
to arsenic affected areas, rehabilitation of serious arsenic poisoned
patients
and research activities on arsenic in the food chain.
The proposed Policy would
set a
guideline for mitigating the effect of arsenic both on humans and
environment
in a suitable way. Under the policy, all tube wells and irrigation
wells would
be screened and monitored regularly to identify contamination. Arsenic
patients
and people at risk would also be identified to provide proper remedy. "Special Priority will be given to
surface water options over groundwater sources. The options, in order
of
priority include dug well, pond sand filter, rainwater harvesting, deep
hand-tube wells, arsenic removal by using chemicals, and piped-water
supply
system" confirmed an official. The policy outlines necessary steps to
ensure alternative water supplies.
It said villages with
more than 80
percent of contaminated tube wells would come under emergency steps.
Besides
pockets of high contamination having high number of arsenic patients in
villages with otherwise low level of arsenic in water might also get an
emergency response. Villages that have between 40 and 80 percent of the
wells
contaminated would get medium term response. For long term response,
only
proven and sustainable technology options would be promoted. For municipal or urban water supply, the
policy placed emphasis on providing treated surface water or bringing
safe
water from distant sources as an alternative option but in that case,
removal
of arsenic sludge is a must.
About treatment of
arsenic patients,
the draft policy provides for specific case management and a database
on
national prevalence of arsenicosis or arsenic contamination on humans.
For
serious arsenic patients there would be provision for treatment at all
public
hospitals. Besides, seriously affected
patients would be rehabilitated, it said. The policy also proposed
establishment of well-equipped laboratories and steps to appoint
international
expertise in areas where local expertise is yet to develop. All
stakeholders
would work within the framework of the policy, and government agencies
would
administer the policy in a coordinated way, it said. A team of experts
under
the supervision of LGRD Minister has prepared the draft.
The World Bank country
director
Frederic T Temple has assured all necessary assistance in implementing
projects
for supplying arsenic-free drinking water through pipeline throughout
the
country. The assurance came when he called on the LGRD and Cooperatives
Minister Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan at his office in the city.
During the meeting Frederic Temple discussed
matters of mutual interests with the Minister. Local Government
Secretary AYBI
Siddiqui, World Bank environment expert Paul J Martin and adviser
Shubrata Dhar
were present on the occasion, said an official release.
PROJECT
The Bangladesh Arsenic
Mitigation Water Supply Project
(BAMWSP) may be extended for another three years.
The project was
undertaken five years
ago to prevent the arsenic menace In 1998 the government had taken an
initiative for mitigating arsenic problem named "Bangladesh Arsenic
Mitigation Water Supply Project " (BAMWSP). Initially the proposed cost
of
the project was Taka 178 crore. Donor agencies supposed to provide 135
crore
Taka and the rest 43 crore Taka would be provided from the government’s
own
fund. Later the cost was increased to Taka 192 crore.
The Department of Public Health Engineering
(DPHE), a section of LGED Ministry, was in charge of completion of this
project. The proposed work was supposed to be completed by 2001 but the
implementing authority failed to complete the work in time and the
funding
agency extended the duration of the project up to June 2003. Earlier it
was
extended for nine months after its expiry in September 2002.
In the extended period
only a few
works like the screening of tube wells, identification of patients,
providing
arsenic free water on an emergency basis, furnishing the laboratory of
Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE), building a new
laboratory and
mass awareness activities have been completed at an expenditure of Taka
92
crore. But the major portion of the work was incomplete.
Observing the slow progress the World Bank
(WB) threatened to withdraw the money after which a team of experts
from WB
headquarters in Washington, US, came to review the progress and
expressed their
satisfaction but local officials were still unhappy with the pace of
the
project as it was supposed to provide alternative sources of safe
drinking
water to the arsenic affected areas. However mitigation actions are
still very
limited in scope and only a few upazilas have been provided with
mitigation
services. Tubewell testing has been completed in 147 out of 268
upazila.
According to sources, the
WB and its
co-financiers have placed two conditions for lending further credit for
the
project. These conditions are: giving priority to the community demand
for safe
water options instead of imposing mitigation services, and leaving the
financial management to community leaders themselves. The government
has
already accepted the first condition but expressed doubts about
community
leaders ability to handle financial resources effectively since the
question of
accountability will arise. It has proposed that community leaders be
trained in
the handling financial resources and only after training given the
authority to
handle such matters.
According to sources, the
WB mission
held several meetings with government officials and stakeholders
including the
secretary of the local government division and the chief engineer of
the DPHE.
The extended BAMWSP project is expected to receive an additional amount
of
about Taka 80 crore, including funds from the government exchequer.
Sources
also said a separate fund might be allocated for mitigation of arsenic
in water
supplied in the towns.
GRANT
The Government of Japan
will provide 184 million Yen equivalent to Tk
8.60 crore for a UNICEF-funded
arsenic mitigation project in
...
Ziaul Haq Zia said the
grant would help
in completion of the work of blanket testing, patient identification
and the
provision of safe drinking water options in 14 upazilas of 8 districts. The Department of Public Health Engineering
is working to implement the project with the technical assistance from
UNICEF. Referring to two Japanese
projects on arsenic in
VIEWS
People
Still Indifferent about the Effect of Arsenic on Health
In May 2003 Dr. M.I.
Zuberi, of
This write-up aims to
inform our readers of the current situation of
arsenic contamination and mitigation efforts in rural
During his visit Dr
Zuberi saw there
were some dug-wells provided by the Christian Commission for
Development in
Bangladesh (CCDB) with the help of Christian Aid’.
There were also some Rainwater Harvesting
Tanks provided by IDE. But unfortunately there is no water in either
the
dug-wells or the tanks.
He observed that women
were coming to
the dug-wells for water but finding them empty they went instead to
‘red’
painted tube wells and filled their pitchers with contaminated water.
When
asked, a woman said they have been doing this for several weeks now
ever since
the dry season began.
Dr. Zuberi's team visited
several
houses in two villages and found several dug-wells did not contain any
water.
As a result most households were compelled to drink arsenic
contaminated water.
They organized several meetings with the villagers and found the
villagers were
aware of the situation; but said they
have no alternative but to drink the contaminated water!
Dr.
Zuberi advised the villagers to use arsenic removing filters, but when
they
went to buy some they were not able to do so. And as a consequence their little children, would-be mothers,
young growing sons and daughters, are all forced to drink
arsenic contaminated water knowing well the
consequence.
A later report by
Dr.Zuberi says:
After seeing my report, the dug wells at village Uporajarampur have
been
renovated by CCDB, and I give thanks for their prompt action. All but
one dug
well now has water and the people are happy but one dug well in
Dr. Zuberi said: “What I
have seen in
the villages Rajarampur and Uporajarampur two villages of Chapai
Nawabganj
district; - the area where arsenic was first detected in Bangladesh –
is,
although numerous teams, agencies, scientists have visited this area,
today
villagers are reluctant to talk to anyone. They say ‘you come and talk,
take
photographs; nothing has been done’”
.
The scenario existing at
Rajarampur is
exceptionally grave. This very large, thickly populated village has
been
affected very badly by arsenic. There are now many patients suffering
from
arsenicosis but only four dug-wells and two arsenic free tube-wells are
available. Proshika installed an Arsenic
Treatment Plant, but that has been out of order for some time. The
result is
there is heavy pressure on the few sources available and many families
do not
bother to collect drinking water from any of these sources. Instead
they use
the contaminated tube wells. A similar situation exists in the
neighboring
In some cases we observed
the
negligence of the villagers because they do not want to collect water
from a
distance of 1/4 Km. Some collect only enough water for drinking but
they are
cooking with the arsenic contaminated water.
They often drink this water too.
Dr. Zuberi said he observed that the level of awareness is low,
and they
tended to give little importance to the possibility of arsenic toxicity.
As solar disinfection of
surface water
(SWD) and solar oxidation and removal of arsenic (SORAS) can be adopted
easily
as a cheap and reliable safe water option in villages, Dr. Zuberi’s
team is
introducing these alternatives in the villages they visited but it will
take
time and effort to convince the villagers of the reliability and safety
of the
method. They are thinking to adopt a ‘community-based programme to
introduce
SWD and SORAS in arsenic affected villages’ and need the participation,
support
and awareness generating materials (papers, pictures, data, and charts)
for an
effective and immediate outcome.
A completely different
picture has
been reported by one of the team members from Ulipur Village of Bogra
however.
He said that the villagers removed the ‘RED’ paint from the tube wells
and were
drinking the water. Most of the villagers gave no importance to the
alarming
arsenic - and did not even want to waste their time in talking about
it. He somehow
managed to interview one Mr Abul Hossain of the village who said when
arsenic
was detected he re-sunk his tube-well three times but failed to get rid
of the
dreadful poison. The local Department of Public Health Engineering
(DPHE)
earlier selected four members of his family for training on arsenic
mitigation
and provided three pitcher filters for arsenic removal however they did
not use
the water from these pitchers and instead used the water from the
contaminated
tube-wells!
There have already been
five deaths in
the village (two women and three men) due to arsenic poisoning. Each
and every
member of his family had symptoms of arsenic toxicity on their body:
They had
warts on their hands and feet; swollen belly. Not one of them can now
work as
they feel too weak and short of breath.
During the first week of
May 2003, Dr.
Zuberi visited some villages in Pabna where CCDB has been working for
arsenic
mitigation. There he came to know that one Mr. Sohrab Pramanik of
Rajapur
village (Pabna) did not allow workers to paint his tube well ‘RED’ even
knowing
that it is contaminated by arsenic. Workers had tested the water twice
in his
presence but they failed to persuade him to stop drinking the water
with the
result that he was still drinking the water and forcing his family to
continue
to drink the water from the contaminated tube well.
Dr Zuberi also visited
villages just
two kilometers away from Rajshahi University Campus. The villagers of
Kismat
Kukhundi said that several of their tube-wells were labeled ‘red’, and
many
others were untested. They sampled the water and found three with
arsenic as
high as 616 ppb! There were several tube wells thought to be free from
arsenic
and they were using those but this option would soon run out also.
Many tube wells around
the city of
- All options for safe
drinking water
should remain open; they should be standardized and monitored, but
availability
and affordability of viable options is more important. At any cost the
people
MUST get safe water.
- Labeling tube wells red
should be
compulsory and there should be legal obligation; it is better to remove
or seal
them.
- Mitigation and
awareness creation
should be an ‘emergency crisis’ activity, all possible resources and
persons
should be involved.
- Participation of
village people and
women is essential, a ‘must’ for rapid success.
- Action is what is
needed.
Policymaking and decision taking has already eaten up too much valuable
time
and caused irreparable losses.
- Nutritional intervention and removal of
arsenic from the
body are also much-needed interventions. These will save the body from
the
arsenic load and future harm and enable the affected people to regain
their
ability to work, otherwise millions will lose their jobs and work
affecting the
country’s economy and creating a burden on society.
Secondly, those family
heads using
contaminated tube well water are feeding it to infants, children, and
would-be
mothers. ”We have seen little boys and girls affected, and we have seen
expectant mothers drinking arsenic-water," said Dr. Zuberi.
He also suggested that
expectant
mothers are drinking arsenic contaminated water as research reports say
abortion rates are significantly higher in contaminated areas. This
means there
is a constant case for mandatory sealing of contaminated wells, but
before
doing that, safe water sources must be provided to all contaminated
villages.
Awareness building at the community level and advocacy at the
decision-making
level are both important.
The Dupitila formations
are found at
600 to 900 feet depths depending on different areas of the country. The
formation in this part of the region is in progress since the
Pleistocene
period, that is the first epoch of the Quaternary period including the
great
ice age from about 1,700,000 to 8000 years ago.
Quaternary period is the
last of the
period of geological time, it includes the Pleistocene and Holocene
epochs,
that is the last 2,00,000 years and is still in progress. Mr Nurun Nabi
of the
Bangladesh Geological Survey said local geologists should come forward
to
assist the authorities in mapping the entire Dupitila formation of the
country
to facilitate the evolution and introduction of a national tube well
protocol.
Geologist Kazi Matin said
the tube
wells at present are being mostly installed on the need basis, which
might hurt
the underground aquifer and create another environmental hazard.
With experts saying the
Dupitila
formations are free from arsenic contamination, there is a hope that
with the
mapping of the Dupitila formation, a first step towards doing something
in real
terms to ensure a pure drinking water supply to the arsenic
contaminated
areas. Extensive mapping of the
Dupitila formation, arsenic free geological layer should be done for
safe
groundwater extraction in the country.
Rainwater harvesting
(RWH) system is
in recent times, gaining ground in different parts of Sylhet district.
It is
gathered that rain water harvesting plants set up in different parts of
the
district have ensured arsenic free water for a large number of people,
particularly in the rural areas. Due to the initiative of NGO Forum, a
leading
NGO, Rainwater Harvesting plants have been set up in various parts of
the
district
Colin Davis, Chief WES
UNICEF says: At
UNICEF we believe that rainwater is probably one of the most suitable
options
for
Speakers at a recent
seminar in the
city called for the supply of safe drinking water to people of all
strata to
check water-borne health hazards. The
seminar on "New drinking water
quality management systems that could be applied for arsenic mitigation"
was attended by representatives of the Bangladesh Government, World
Bank (WB),
UNICEF, Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE) and other
concerned
agencies interested in Arsenic and water quality. Held at
The new management
framework is based
on the principles of `Hazard Analysis' and `Critical Control' points
used
internationally in the food industry, and the international quality
management
system (ISO 9001). Dr Nadebaum, a
Technical Director of Bangladesh-Australia Centre for Arsenic
Mitigation, said,
"The new approach uses a risk-based approach and ensures that the major
risks in any water supply system are identified and controlled at the
most
appropriate point in the system. The approach can reduce costly
monitoring of
water quality."
The new framework was
developed in
This centre has been
established
within the
LGRD and Cooperatives
Minister Abdul
Mannan Bhuiyan said the real field level services had to be expanded
with the
highest efficiency and effectiveness for mitigating the miseries of the
arsenic
victims of the country.
While speaking at a
roundtable on "Safe Water Supply and Arsenic
Mitigation'' organised by the Local Government Division, the
Minister said,
"There has been enough work for awareness creation, but we have failed
to
provide the necessary information regarding the proper treatment of the
victims
of arsenic contamination." The minister also said the problem of
arsenic
contamination has been overplayed.
It is not as grave as has
been
described by some but it still has to be tackled with a more practical
approach. The minister underlined the need for adopting appropriate
technology
for providing safe drinking water on a priority basis so as to face the
arsenic
problem in a pragmatic way.
The minister told the
roundtable that
the biggest arsenic mitigation project funded by the World Bank had
some
defects like the non-involvement of the public health department who
are
responsible for supplying pure drinking water. He said these defects
are being
removed from the large project and it would be implemented with
sincerity and
transparency soon. Bhuiyan said the local experts should be involved in
research and other works for the mitigation of the arsenic problems.
The roundtable was told
that 30
million people of the country are drinking arsenic contaminated water
from 27
per cent tube wells across the country. State minister for LGRD and
Cooperatives Ziaul Huq Zia and Local Government Secretary AYBI Siddiqui
spoke
on the occasion. Joint Secretary of Local Government Division Syedur
Rahman
presented the keynote paper.
Source : BSS
With financial support
from the Asian
Development Bank 'FEMCOM' a non-government organization, produced a
television
film to raise awareness about arsenic poisoning, its symptoms and how
it can be
prevented. The project involves the production of 5 25-minute episodes
of a
telefilm entitled, "Water is Life, Water is Death." The final product
will be broadcast on TV and disseminated to community groups and NGOs.
5, 25-minute episodes of
a
telefilm. The episodes will show i) how
water is tested for arsenic contamination, ii) alternative sources of
safe
drinking water, iii) symptoms of arsenicosis iv) cures for arsenicosis,
v)
social costs of arsenicosis, vi) the role men and women play in
managing
drinking water supplies, and vii) social support for victims of
arsenicosis.
The film is intended for
general
audiences in
In the story many "cases"
like this come forward and the social issues are dealt with. In the process engineers test the water in
tube wells, mark the affected ones with red paint and the “clean” ones
green. Doctors treat those patients who
are in the primary stages of the disease. Then there is a discussion
and
demonstration of the less expensive local foods, nutrition issues, the
need for
testing the tube wells every six months and the low cost technology
with
pitchers and buckets for reducing contamination.
The film has been
developed along the
lines of a Bangladeshi movie and not as a documentary or an educational
video.
It is set in the rural areas and incorporates information and messages
along
the way as a part of the story. The film
is in Bangla (Bengali) with plans for adding English subtitles. Some
channels in