A Review of Groundwater Arsenic Contamination in Bangladesh: The Millennium Development Goal Era and Beyond

Fakir Md. Yunus, Safayet Khan, Priyanka Chowdhury, Abul Hasnat Milton, Sumaira Hussain and Mahfuzar Rahman
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Fakir Md. Yunus: BRAC Research and Evaluation Division, 75 Mohakhali, BRAC Centre, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh
Safayet Khan: BRAC Research and Evaluation Division, 75 Mohakhali, BRAC Centre, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh
Priyanka Chowdhury: BRAC Research and Evaluation Division, 75 Mohakhali, BRAC Centre, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh
Abul Hasnat Milton: Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics (CCEB), School of Medicine and Public Health, The University of Newcastle, NSW 2308, Australia
Sumaira Hussain: Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics (CCEB), School of Medicine and Public Health, The University of Newcastle, NSW 2308, Australia
Mahfuzar Rahman: BRAC Research and Evaluation Division, 75 Mohakhali, BRAC Centre, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh

IJERPH, 2016, vol. 13, issue 2, 1-18

Abstract: Arsenic contamination in drinking water has a detrimental impact on human health which profoundly impairs the quality of life. Despite recognition of the adverse health implications of arsenic toxicity, there have been few studies to date to suggest measures that could be taken to overcome arsenic contamination. After the statement in 2000 WHO Bulletin that Bangladesh has been experiencing the largest mass poisoning of population in history, we researched existing literature to assess the magnitude of groundwater arsenic contamination in Bangladesh. The literature reviewed related research that had been initiated and/or completed since the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) under four domains: (1) extent of arsenic contamination; (2) health consequences; (3) mitigation and technologies and (4) future directions. To this means, a review matrix was established for analysis of previous literature based on these four core domains. Our findings revealed that several high-quality research articles were produced at the beginning of the MDG period, but efforts have dwindled in recent years. Furthermore, there were only a few studies conducted that focused on developing suitable solutions for managing arsenic contamination. Although the government of Bangladesh has made its population’s access to safe drinking water a priority agenda item, there are still pockets of the population that continue to suffer from arsenic toxicity due to contaminated water supplies.

Keywords: review; arsenic; Bangladesh; Millennium Development Goal (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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