Towards an Arsenic Safe Environment in Bangladesh - Unicef

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EMERGINGTHREATSThough considerable attention was initially focused on the arsenic issue, thisproblem has received little attention by both Government and developmentpartners over the last five years. However, recent scientific findings call for urgentaction:• The recognition that in addition to cancers, arsenic can lead to significantlyincreased mortality from heart attacks and other cardio-pulmonary diseases.• The recognition that in addition to cancers, arsenic can impair the intellectualfunction of children.• The possibility that arsenic from groundwater used for irrigation can reducecrop yield.• The possibility of arsenic from ground water entering the food chain throughits accumulation into rice, the rice straw that is used as animal fodder, as wellas in other crops.Though more research needs to be undertaken to ascertain the full impact of thesefindings in the Bangladesh context, the potential consequence justifies that proactiveaction should be taken to reduce exposure to arsenic from drinking waterand to develop coordinated implementation plans for arsenic mitigation in health,agriculture, water supply and water resources sectors.
HEALTHWhile skin lesions are the best-known symptom of arsenicosis they are not lifethreatening. Furthermore, many people exposed to arsenic will never show skinlesions but may still go on to develop lung, cardiovascular disease and cancer asa direct consequence of this exposure. Children are particularly vulnerable toarsenic poisoning, and are much more likely to face adverse health impacts thanadults. There is an increasing body of evidence that prenatal arsenic exposure isassociated with significant morbidity and mortality later in life due to lung,cardiovascular disease and cancer. The commonly reported symptoms of chronicarsenic exposure are melanosis, keratosis, ulcer, gangrene, peripheral vasculardisorder, chronic lung disease, kidney failure, liver failure, cardiac diseases, skincancer, and a number of internal cancers. Arsenic leads to very high excessdeaths; there is high latency for cancers but less for heart attacks; and for bothcancers and heart attacks, men are more vulnerable than women.Figure 2: Human exposure pathways to Arsenic 1Estimates of the economic impact of poor health arising from arsenic ingroundwater in Bangladesh suggest that the cost of inaction is extremely high.The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) output lost due to illness and people becomingunable to work is estimated to be US$23 billion while the cost of treating arsenicrelateddiseases is estimated to be much lower at US$0.6 billion for a constantdiscount rate of 10% over a 50-year period. This suggests that while the costs tothe health care system are large, the costs to the economy due to loss inproductivity are at least an order of magnitude greater.1 Arsenic may also enter the human food chain via arsenic-contaminated animal fodder and frommilk provided by As-affected cattle08/09
Page 1: TOWARDS ANARSENIC SAFEENVIRONMENTIN
Page 4 and 5: INTRODUCTIONIt was thought that Ban
Page 6 and 7: WHAT HAS BEENDONEAfter the detectio
Page 8 and 9: THE POLICY AND INSTITUTIONALFRAMEWO
Page 12 and 13: The primary treatment for arsenic p
Page 14 and 15: FOODSECURITYThe continuous build up
Page 16 and 17: KEYACTIONSSeveral key actions have
Page 18 and 19: CONCLUSIONDuring the 1980s and 1990

Towards an Arsenic Safe Environment in Bangladesh - Unicef

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