29m people exposed to arsenic
Speakers tell seminar
Staff Correspondent
At least 29 million people of the country are exposed to arsenic and 60 percent of the exposed population are yet to have access to safe water, speakers at a seminar said yesterday.Though people of 61 districts across the country have been drinking highly arsenic contaminated water and arsenicosis is found in almost 40,000 people, pace of mitigation is too slow compared to the magnitude of the problem in the country, observed the speakers. Mailman School of Public Health and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, USA and Department of Geology of Dhaka University, Bangladesh jointly organised the seminar at a city hotel titled 'Concerning the health effects and geochemistry of arsenic' to disseminate the findings of a research. The new findings include pregnant women pass arsenic to the fetus during pregnancy and babies are born with the same blood arsenic levels as their mothers, deficiency in dietary Folate and A vitamin is extremely common in Bangladesh that causes a diminished ability to eliminate arsenic. The study also revealed that folic acid supplementation to deficient adults actually facilitates the metabolism and elimination of arsenic and leads to a significant lowering of blood arsenic concentrations. The concentrations of Arsenic and Manganese are higher in shallow aquifers than in deep aquifers, speakers said adding that significant progress has been made but bringing the arsenic agenda to the forefront is a must as it is clearly impacting the health of adults and children alike. Addressing the seminar as the chief guest, Vice Chancellor of Dhaka University Prof SMA Faiz said both the geologists and officials of health department should work together to solve the arsenic-related problems in the country. Associate Dean of Mailman School of Public Health of Columbia University Professor Joseph H Graziano and Country Representative of UNICEF Louis Georges Arsenault also spoke at the inaugural session. Later, papers on 'Sources and health impacts of arsenic exposure and mitigation strategies were presented by Prof Kazi Matin Ahmed of Dhaka University, Dr Habibul Ahsan, Dr Joseph H Graziano, Dr Alexander van Geen, Dr Mahfuzur Rahman and Dr Martin Stute of Columbia University, Dr Feroze Ahmed of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) and Dr Salamat Khandaker of World Health Organisation (WHO) from different perspectives. Prof AKM Nurul Anwar, Prof Ainun Nishat, Prof AMR Mushtaque Chowdhury and SM Ihtisamul Haque moderated different sessions.
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