Arsenic poisoning was first detected in Bangladesh in 1993 by the Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE). But the fact remained behind the screen till 1996. According to the latest surveys conducted at both Government levels, at least 53 out of the total 64 districts of Bangladesh are affected with Arsenic pollution.
More than 2 million Tube-wells are presently being used as the source of drinking water in Bangladesh. Out of those, only 50,000 have so far been brought under investigation by various Government and non-Government agencies. The rest are still beyond the survey. The actual picture of the severity of Arsenic pollution is yet to be revealed as the entire country could not be surveyed till now.
The Arsenic poisoning has mainly been detected through testing samples of tube-well water and human tissues-hair, nail, skin and urine. Regular intake of Arsenic at higher level through food and drinking water causes various diseases, especially skin diseases. Arsenic causes both physical and intellectual damage to the human beings.
Since the very beginning, Dhaka Community Hospital (DCH) has been playing the leading role in school of Environmental Studies (SOES) of Jadavpur University, Calcutta is actively collaborating with the DCH in the survey and research works in this field. On the part of Government, National Institute of Preventive and Social Medicine (NIPSOM), an organization engaged in health related activities, and the Department of Public health Engineering (DPHE) has taken the key role to identify the Arsenic patients and determine the extent and severity of the problem. In 1994, a national committee was formed to deal with Arsenic problem. Country's leading experts and the representatives of Environment Department, water Development Board, universities, WHO and UNICEF. In 1996 the Government abolished the national committee and formed three new committees. These are the national steering committee headed by Health Minister, Arsenic Technical Commute and Scientific Research Committee. But the Progress of Government activities to check Arsenic pollution is not satisfactory. Millions of people are facing the danger of Arsenic pollution and a large number of them are still in darkness about the problem.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has fixed a recommended value at 0.01 milligram Arsenic for per liter of water. It also set a maximum permissible limit of 0.05 mg/l. Under the survey, conducted by the DCH and SOES, tube-well water of suspected areas of Bangladesh were tested in laboratory. It is matter of great concern that in many cases the Arsenic concentration in the Groundwater crosses the WHO recommended value and maximum permissible limit.
The West Bengal State of India, which surrounds Bangladesh's west and north border, is also an Arsenic-affected zone because of the geological similarity. But the situation in Bangladesh is more alarming compared to West Bengal, according to experts. In West Bengal, SOES tested water samples of 40000 tube-wells in the affected area and found 58 tube -wells containing above 1.0-milligram Arsenic in per liter of water. On the other hand, some 6101 tube-wells were examined in the affected areas of Bangladesh by DCH-SOES and 75 tube-wells were found with such a high level of Arsenic concentration. Luxmipur, Nawabganj and Faridpur districts were identified as the most affected areas of the country where a large number of people have already been affected with various diseases caused by Arsenic poisoning.