Arsenic contamination in Bangladesh

In the early 1990s high arsenic concentrations were reported in groundwater in certain parts of Bangladesh. The situation is a serious concern and poses a significant health risk to those exposed.

To date, 25 million people are estimated to have been exposed to arsenic. 59 out of the 64 districts have arsenic contaminated water and over 7000 patients have been identified.

WaterAid has tested all the tubewells it has funded in Bangladesh for arsenic and tests all new tubewells as a matter of course. To date around 2% of WaterAid funded tubewells have shown arsenic at concentrations greater than the allowance limit. In these cases we have helped communities to find alternative safe sources.

WaterAid arsenic reports

WaterAid Bangladesh has compiled two reports (Arsenic 2000, Arsenic 2002) which detail the situation relating to arsenic in groundwater.

These overviews of the arsenic issue in Bangladesh are primarily for agencies, organisations and individuals who are not water sector specialists and who want an informed summary of current knowledge on:

• The background to the arsenic contamination issue
• The potential scale of the problem
• The work of 35 organisations active in arsenic mitigation
• The instrumentation methods for the detection of arsenic
• The arsenic mitigation options
• The way forward

A primary objective of the documents is to promote co-ordination and information sharing between organisations and to highlight the need for prompt action with regard to arsenic mitigation.

Much of the required information for immediate arsenic mitigation interventions is available, but collation of inter-agency data is urgently required, as is a pro-active approach to the development of a timely, national mitigation strategy.

WaterAid and its partner organisations in Bangladesh intend to disseminate the collated information in various formats and languages, with a particular focus on participatory information media for NGOs supporting communities affected by arsenic contamination.

We hope that these reports will be built upon with further sections on the chemistry of arsenic in groundwater and new mitigation technologies as they emerge from research and testing, plus regular updates on arsenic mitigation programmes' progress and learning.

Arsenic 2002 - An overview of Arsenic Issues and Mitigation Initiatives in Bangladesh. January - 2003 (  PDF 1Mb)

Arsenic 2000 - An overview of the arsenic issue in Bangladesh (  PDF 1Mb)

The views and recommendations expressed are solely those of WaterAid.

The rapid assessment of household level arsenic removal technologies

This report seeks to provide the first scientifically based independent, comparative assessment of the performance and acceptability of a range of arsenic removal technologies at the household level.

The project has been carried out in conjunction with the Bangladesh Arsenic Mitigation Water Supply Project (BAMWSP), with the financial backing of the UK Department for International Development (DFID).

The output from this project is a comprehensive source of information on technologies for future use by BAMWSP and by any agencies, government or non-government, in recommending the use of some of the technologies currently available in Bangladesh. [WS Atkins]

Phase I report ( PDF 722Kb)

Phase II executive summary (  PDF 273Kb)

Phase II full report (  PDF 980Kb)

Phase II full report appendices (  PDF 636Kb)

Addendum ( PDF 34Kb)