Assessment of Arsenic Contamination of Groundwater and Health Problems in Bangladesh

Md. Khalequzzaman, Fazlay S. Faruque and Amal K. Mitra
Additional contact information
Md. Khalequzzaman: Department of Geology & Physics, Lock Haven University, Lock Haven, PA 17745, USA
Fazlay S. Faruque: Office of Research, University of Mississippi Medical Center, 2500 North State Street, Jackson, MS 39216, USA
Amal K. Mitra: Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Southern Mississippi, Box 5122, Hattiesburg, MS 39406, USA

IJERPH, 2005, vol. 2, issue 2, 1-10

Abstract: Excessive amounts of arsenic (As) in the groundwater in Bangladesh and neighboring states in India are a major public health problem. About 30% of the private wells in Bangladesh exhibit high concentrations of arsenic. Over half the country, 269 out of 464 administrative units, is affected. Similar problems exist in many other parts of the world, including the Unites States. This paper presents an assessment of the health hazards caused by arsenic contamination in the drinking water in Bangladesh. Four competing hypotheses, each addressing the sources, reaction mechanisms, pathways, and sinks of arsenic in groundwater, were analyzed in the context of the geologic history and land-use practices in the Bengal Basin. None of the hypotheses alone can explain the observed variability in arsenic concentration in time and space; each appears to have some validity on a local scale. Thus, it is likely that several bio-geochemical processes are active among the region’s various geologic environments, and that each contributes to the mobilization and release of arsenic. Additional research efforts will be needed to understand the relationships between underlying biogeochemical factors and the mechanisms for arsenic release in various geologic settings.

Keywords: Arsenic; Bangladesh; bio-geochemical processes; groundwater; health problems (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2005
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/2/2/204/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/2/2/204/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:2:y:2005:i:2:p:204-213:d:2731

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().