Open AccessStudies examine Bangladesh arsenic contamination problem
Author(s) -
Zielinski Sarah
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
eos, transactions american geophysical union
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.316
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 2324-9250
pISSN - 0096-3941
DOI - 10.1029/2006eo030003
Subject(s) - arsenic , arsenic contamination of groundwater , contamination , environmental health , environmental science , population , water contamination , guideline , toxicology , geography , environmental protection , environmental chemistry , water resource management , medicine , biology , chemistry , ecology , organic chemistry , pathology
Between 35 and 77 million Bangladeshis (out of a population of 125 million) are at risk of drinking water contaminated with arsenic levels above the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline of 0.01 milligrams per liter (mg/1), according to the WHO. A British Geological Survey study in 1998 found that 35 percent of shallow tubewells sampled had arsenic levels above 0.05 mg/1 (the maximum concentration allowed in Bangladesh) and 8.4 percent had levels above 0.3 mg/1. Some recent research focusing on this problem could help Bangladesh provide clean water to these people.