Groundwater arsenic problem may worsen in Bangladesh

Bangladesh may find it difficult in future to cope with the growing arsenic problem in its groundwater due to reluctance of the concerned parties, including the government and NGOs, experts told an international symposium in the city yesterday.
“The concerned parties, including the government and NGOs, are reluctant about the severity of the arsenic problem in Bangladesh and it might make the matter worse in the future,” said Dr Dipankar Chakraborti, director of research of the School of Environment Studies, Jadavpur University, India.
The symposium titled 'Arsenic calamity of groundwater in Bangladesh: Contamination in water, soil and plants' was organised at a city hotel as part of a research programme of a group of scientists from Japan and Bangladesh. Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Masayuki Inoue was present at the function as the special guest.
The research team, led by Dr Kingshuk Roy, associate professor at Nihon University in Japan, has been conducting periodical field surveys on arsenic contamination in soil, water and plants in different parts of Bangladesh.
Dr Kingshuk was supported by Dr Nobuyuki and Dr Sadao Nagasaka, two of his colleagues from Nihon University, and MIM Zulfiqar of Social Development Foundation in Bangladesh.
Some findings of their survey conducted on plants species in different villages of Narayanganj showed some crops such as roots of water spinach (Pui shakh) and the roots of wax gourd (Chal kumra) having strong affinity to absorb arsenic from soil water.
According to the findings, contamination of agricultural food crops is a secondary contamination through the soil, water and plant continuum, and shows a weak correlation to water concentration in arsenic, but this does not mean that all crops are safe. “Some crops, such as arum, have been reported to be contaminated much more than the internationally allowable standards,” showed Dr Roy's research team in its findings.
About tube-well water, the scientists said in arsenic-affected areas there is still much confusion among the rural people about which tube-well is safe and which one is not. They said water from arsenic-affected tube-wells should not be used for irrigating homestead and agricultural crops.
According to them, a tube-well is not safe forever and needs regular check-ups. They said arsenic is now a great threat to the future generation of Bangladesh as it has emerged as the most vulnerable place when it comes to arsenic pollution and the spread of the problem has taken a serious turn.
The arsenic problem of groundwater in Bangladesh, the scientists said, is not only related to the geography and the geology, but also to the culture and patterns of water use. “So, it's time to stop the silent killer through coordinated efforts.”