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Muhammad Mahadi.
Environmental Science Discipline
1. Introduction:
The landmass of Bangladesh is connected to the Indian Ocean through a 700 km, long
coastline. The coastal zone is marked by a vast network of river systems, an ever dynamic
estuary, a drainage path of a huge basin covering also parts of India, Nepal, Bhutan and
China and a saline waterfront penetrating inland from the sea.
The boundaries of a coastal area change over time for management purposes, as the
issues to be forged become more extensive or complex and require more far-ranging
solutions. Coastal zone recognized administrative boundaries in Bangladesh. The coastal
zone represents an area of transition where terrestrial and marine environments interact to
form unique environmental conditions.
The coastal zone (CZ) covers 19 districts facing or having proximity to the Bay of Bengal
and the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Total Bangladesh area is 147,570 Km2 of which 47,203 Km2 falls under coastal zone. This
is roughly 32% of the whole country. According to 2001 census, total population of
Bangladesh is 123,151,246 of which 34,846,215 live in coastal area. This is
approximately 28% of the total population of Bangladesh. The national population
density of Bangladesh is 861/Km2 whereas; population density in the coastal area is
959/Km2. From 1901, coastal population increases in following manner:
Year Population
1901 7.2 million
1991 24 million
1998 32 million
2001 34 million
2050 50 million (projected)
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Arsenic Contamination in Coastal Zone of Bangladesh
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Environmental Science Discipline
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Arsenic Contamination in Coastal Zone of Bangladesh
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The WHO Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality are intended as a basis for the
development of national standards in the context of national environmental, social,
economic and cultural conditions. The last edition of WHO guidelines for drinking water
quality (1993) established 0.01 mg/l as a provisional guideline value for arsenic in
drinking water.
WHO has had a public position on arsenic in drinking water since 1958 when the first
version of International Standards for Drinking-Water was published. In this instance the
term "standards" was used to be applied to the suggested criteria of water quality. It
established 0.20 mg/l as an allowable concentration in the category of toxic substances
which, if present in drinking-water supplies at concentrations above certain levels, may
give rise to actual danger to health. The updated standards set the maximum permissible
limit of arsenic in drinking water for Bangladesh and India as 0.05 mg/L.
1
2
35. Origin and Causes of Arsenic in Groundwater aquifer in
Bangladesh
4
A number of causal explanations for the occurrence of arsenic in groundwater have been
considered. Broadly, they fall in two categories:
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• REB Power Poles: Arsenic compounds have been used in wood preservatives as
chromate copper arsenic (CCA) for years. A study in this regard by
NRECA/ICDDR,B concluded that the wooden pylons, capable of releasing only
very small quantities of arsenic, may only pollute on an extremely localized scale,
but these poles can, in no way, be linked to the extensive contamination of
groundwater.
• Industrial Wastes: Industrial wastes can be responsible for localized high arsenic
contamination of groundwater. Again, the widespread nature of the contamination
and the fact that most of the arsenic contaminations are found in areas where no
or little industrial activities take place rule out this hypothesis.
• Mining and Mineral Processing: It can be the source of arsenic pollution in the
proximity of the mining areas. But, in Bangladesh, absence of metal mines
invalidates the application of the concept.
In natural waters, arsenic is usually found in one of four chemical associations, which
occur in more-or-less predictable geological and climatic settings, and each of these is
associated with a characteristic cause, or mobilization mechanism. These water types and
mobilisation mechanisms are themes that recur throughout the book because they
determine not only where arsenic is found, but also how it may be avoided, how it affects
agriculture, and how it may best be treated. The four mechanisms are described below
in order of decreasing importance:
• Reductive dissolution: occurs when iron oxides, onto which arsenic is adsorbed,
break down under the influence of decaying organic matter (which consumes
oxygen sources) and dissolve, thereby releasing arsenic in the process. The
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• Geothermal: waters from deep, sometime volcanic, sources leach arsenic from the
country rocks. The waters are distinguished primarily by elevated temperature,
and usually also by a correlation of arsenic with chloride.
In Khulna division at least 67.84 per cent tubewells have been affected with arsenic
contamination. It has posed .as a health hazard of the people of the people of Khulna
division. Out of 1,213 arsenic affected tubewells, 838 tubewells have been marked as
dangerous and its percentage in 46.87. The authorities concerned said, zero point zero
five milligram arsenic in a liter of water is acceptable, but if its quantity is more than that
it is unfit for human consumption.
In Khulna district 393 tubewells have been examined and presences of arsenic in 199
tubewells have been detected. Water of 126 tubewells have been found dangerous.
In Bagerhat district 115 tubewells water have been examined and presence of arsenic was
found in 79 tubewells. A total of 58 tubewells out of 79 have been declared dangerous.
In Jessore district 389 tubewells have been examined. Arsenic was found in 257
tubewells.Out of them 185 tubewells have been declared unfit for taking water.
In Narail district 82 tubewells have been examined and presence of arsenic was found in
61 tubewells. A total of 50 tubewells have been declared as unfit.
In Jhenidah district 64 tubewells have been examined. Presence of arsenic was found in
42 tubewells, out of which 27 tubewells have been declared unfit for use.
In Magura presence of arsenic was found in 42 tubewells, out of which 35 tube- wells
have been declared dangerous.
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In Kushtia 162 tubewells were examined and presence of arsenic was found in 105
tubewells. A total of 64 tubewells have been declared dangerous and unfit for use.
In Chuadanga district 144 tubewells have been examined and presence of arsenic was
found in 109 tubewells. A total of 68 tubewells have been declared unfit for use.
In Meherpur 71 tubewells have been examined where presence of arsenic has been found
in 61 tubewells. A total of 35 tubewells contained excessive quantity of arsenic and those
are declared unfit for use.
Source:The Daily Star -July 19, 1998-Arsenic detected in many tubewells in Khulna division
In Chandpur is among the five districts in the country severely affected by arsenic
contamination of groundwater. A preliminary survey by the Department of Public Health
and Engineering (DPHE) showed that water of about 40 per cent of the tubewells tested
so far in Chandpur contained arsenic and 83 per cent of those 40 per cent had
concentration of arsenic above the permissible level of 0.05 mg per litre, according to
sources in the DPHE. On an average, there are about 30 tubewells in a village in the
district. But no arsenic contamination was found in deep tubewell water.
Siurce:The Daily Star -November 10, 1997 -Arsenic affected Chandpur - Villagers don't know what to do next
Arsenic detected in water in Jhalakati, High level arsenic contamination was found in
waters of four shallow tubewells in the district, according to a report of Public Health
Engineering Department. Water of four shallow tubewells in Nalchhiti, sadar and Rajapur
thanas contained arsenic above the acceptable level of 0.01 milligram.
Source:The Daily Star- Sept 26; 1997
Until 1998, a total of 31,651 water samples were tested by field and laboratory tests by
different organizations. Out of these, 30,742 were collected from shallow wells (<200 m)
and 909 from deep wells (>200 m). It has been found that 7,942 samples out of the
30,742 from shallow wells and 34 samples out of the 909 from deep wells are
contaminated with the percentages 25.8 and 4, respectively. The arsenic contaminated
districts of Bangladesh are shown in Figure 3. From Figure 3, it is apparent that all the
surveyed districts (61 out of 64) show the presence of arsenic contamination. However,
nine contaminated districts out of 61 show that a very limited percentage (<1%) of wells
are contaminated.
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Three districts (i.e., Rangamati, Khagrachhari, and Bandarban) were not surveyed by any
organization. One reason may be that these three districts are mainly hilly areas, with
8.73 percent of the total area of Bangladesh and only 0.92 percent of the total population.
Another reason may be that no primary symptoms of arsenic patient were found there. In
Bangladesh, there are 64 districts and 490 thanas. Out of 465 thanas of the surveyed 61
districts, 54 were not surveyed at all by any organization. Figure 3 shows that almost the
whole of the country is contaminated with arsenic. The severe problem is in the southern
(coastal area) and northeast parts of the country. The badly affected districts are
Brahmanbaria, Comilla, Feni, Narayanganj, Sariatpur, Narail, Satkhira, and Nawabganj.
The disastrous situation is in the districts of Laksmipur, Noakhali, Madaripur and
Chandpur (Figure 3). The Ganges, Megna, and Atri Floodplains, the tidal regions and the
coastal plains are the major physiographic regions vulnerable to arsenic contamination. In
April 2000, SOES and DCH jointly published a report on Bangladesh groundwater
arsenic contamination (SOES-DCH, 2000), which shows figures different from those in
the BGS report. Figure 4 shows arsenic contaminated districts according to the SOES-
DCH survey. The main difference between the combined analysis (Figure 3) and the
SOESDCH survey (Figure 4) is that Figure 3 shows all 61 sur-veyed districts were
contaminated with concentration of > 0.05 mg/L, whereas Figure 4 shows seven
completely safe districts (i.e., Panchagarh, Thakurgaon, Dinajpur, Naogaon,
Moulabibazar, Patuakhali, and Cox’s Bazar), and seven districts (i.e., Nilphamari,
Lalmonirhat, Gaibanda, Joypurhat, Dhaka, Barguna, and Bhola) were over the WHO
safety limit but under the maximum permissible limit. Three no-surveyed districts of
combined analysis (Khagrachhari, Rangamati, and Bandarban) were found contamination
free by the SOES-DCH survey.
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Figure-3
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Muhammad Mahadi.
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Arsenic Contamination in Coastal Zone of Bangladesh
Muhammad Mahadi.
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About 51% of groundwater sampled have found more than 0.01 mg/l
arsenic (WHO standard), while 35% of groundwater sampled have been
found more than 0.05 mg/l arsenic (Bangladesh standard). About 30
million people are either directly or indirectly exposed from arsenic
contamination with varying degrees of risk. Under the Bangladesh
Arsenic Mitigation Water Supply Project (BAMWSP), so far 13,48,362
tube-wells used for drinking water source have been tested for arsenic,
48% of which contains arsenic above 0.05 mg/l.
The data collected by the governmental bodies, NGOs and private organizations reveal
that a large number of populations in Bangladesh are suffering from melanosis, leuco-
melanosis, keratosis, hyperkeratosis, dorsum, non-petting oedema, gangrene and skin
cancer18. Melanosis (93.5%) and keratosis (68.3%) are the most common presentations
among the affected people. Patients of Leucomelanosis (39.1%) and hyper-keratosis
(37.6%) have been found in many cases. Few cases of skin cancer (0.8%) have also been
identified among the patients seriously affected by the arsenicals (arsenite and arsenate).
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Arsenic Contamination in Coastal Zone of Bangladesh
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Environmental Science Discipline
The occurrence of arsenic diseases depends on the ingestion of arsenic compounds and
their excretion from the body. It has been reported that 40% to 60% arsenic can be
retained by the human body. It indicates that the level of hazards will be higher with the
greater consumption of arsenic contaminated water. The daily consumption of arsenic
contaminated water is very high in Bangladesh, especially in villages. The villagers
consume about five liters water per day due to manual labor. Moreover, they consume
plenty of rice-water and all of their foods are also cooked using arsenic polluted water.
Therefore, the people of villages in the affected areas are getting more arsenic than
expected. So far SOES and DCH had analyzed 11000 hair, nail, urine and skin-scale
samples collected from the affected villages in Bangladesh. The analysis shows that
around 90% of people have arsenic in their hair, nail and urine above the normal level.
The normal concentration of arsenic in hair is 0.08-0.25 mg/kg and 1 mg/kg indicates the
toxiclevel. The normal arsenic content in nails is 0.43-1.08 mg/kg and the normal amount
of arsenic in urine ranges from 0.005 to 0.040 mg/day. Table shows that the arsenic
contents in hairs, nails, urine and skin scales of the affected people are very high in
Bangladesh.
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Arsenic Contamination in Coastal Zone of Bangladesh
Muhammad Mahadi.
Environmental Science Discipline
There are several factors may have been responsible for triggering off the arsenicrelated
diseases in Bangladesh. The primary reason appears to be the malnutrition, a state that
describes 80 percent of the population of Bangladesh. Having less immunity, a huge
number of people are suffering from the chronic arsenic poisoning. Many People have
died, many are dying and many will die of arsenic diseases. In brief, the majority of the
people in Bangladesh are grappling with the massive health crisis caused by the arsenic
diseases
Combined exposure from food and water can significantly increase the disease burden
from arsenic. In many affected areas, moderately high levels of arsenic are found in
natural soils. Arsenic may be taken up through the roots of plants to accumulate in the
edible parts. Where soil is the only source of arsenic, uptake by plants declines over time.
However, greater problems may develop where arsenic in irrigation water accumulates in
the soil and leads to increasing uptake by plants. In general, as a proportion of dry mass,
leafy vegetables and some spices may take up the most arsenic, but when adjusted for
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dietary intake, grains such as rice make the largest contribution to human exposure. In
some Asian countries this can be a larger source of exposure than drinking water. High
concentrations of arsenic in soil can be toxic to rice, and can dramatically reduce yields.
This worrying phenomenon has recently been recognised in South Asia ( Duxbury and
Panaullah, 2007), but as Reed and Sturgis (1936) noted ‘Arsenic toxicity in soils is no
new problem’.
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Arsenic Contamination in Coastal Zone of Bangladesh
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Environmental Science Discipline
Although a number of treatment technologies exist that are capable of efficient removal
of arsenic from water, but the socio-economic conditions that prevail in Bangladesh do
not permit the implementation of most of them on the cost ground. Individual households
or small groups have their own or community tube-wells. Therefore, solution to the
problem of arsenic contamination, in most situations, in Bangladesh demands the
development technology/ technologies that can be implemented at household or small
community level relatively at a very lower cost. Recently a number of researches have
been conducted to identify such novel technologies for arsenic removal to implement in
rural isolated communities. A brief overview of some of these documented technologies
is presented here.
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Arsenic Contamination in Coastal Zone of Bangladesh
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Arsenic Contamination in Coastal Zone of Bangladesh
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Environmental Science Discipline
The DPHE, with support from Dutch Government, constructed 3 arsenic and iron
removal plants for piped water supply system in small municipalities, where arsenic co-
exits with iron in tube-well water. In these plants, groundwater is pumped over a series of
cascades to aerated water and then passes through filtration unit which removes iron and
arsenic precipitates. Iron and arsenic removal efficiencies of 18-DTP (1999) arsenic
Most of the AIRP plants shown here have good arsenic removal performance and have
been treating water to the satisfactory level except in those areas, where arsenic
concentrations are high. It is evident from field survey that these AIRP plants are well
accepted by the community. Thus, some of the above described arsenic and iron removal
plants have good potentials for small isolated communities and densely populated
communities respectively where arsenic co-exists with iron at suitable concentrations.
Table-5
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Environmental Science Discipline
that this technology was effective in reducing arsenic levels to less than 50 μg/L in case
of 80% to 95% of the samples tested.
11.7 Pitcher treatment
A pitcher filter unit or small sand filters at the household level can clarify surface water
containing impurities. This method of water purification was primarily in use by the rural
people of Bangladesh. With the introduction of tube wells for village water supply these
processes of water treatment have been phased out at household level. Raw water is
poured in the top pitcher and filtered water is collected from the bottom one. Other
pitchers contain same filtration media, sands and brick chips. This system has been tried
to remove arsenic from groundwater, collected from contaminated tube-wells. Sono 3-
pitchers filter uses zero valent iron filling and coarse sand in the top pitcher, charcoal and
fine sand in the middle pitcher. The bottom pitcher is used to store treated water. The
arsenic removal efficiencies of this system are in the range of 59% to 95% but it depends
on the maintenance of the system and the quality of water. But if batches are left for too
long, dissolved iron concentrations become unacceptably high (Ramaswami et al, 2000).
The rapid assessment of this technology by BAMWSP, DFID and WaterAid(2001)
showed that this technology was effective in removing arsenic, but the system may be
quickly clogged if groundwater contains excessive iron.
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Environmental Science Discipline
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12. Recommendations:
4. It is highly recommended that every donor projects in arsenic mitigation bylaw ensure
community participation for smooth running in future.
8. An estimate of annual arsenic use in agriculture is required and the short-term or long-
term environmental impact of arsenic use in cultivation should be assessed.
9. The population exposed to the arsenic contamination should be advised about the
arsenic in drinking water, the sources of arsenic-free water, and the importance of
compliance with treatment programs including the nutrition.
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