A Review of Groundwater Arsenic Contamination in Bangladesh: The Millennium Development Goal Era and Beyond

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Priyanka Chowdhury¹  Safayet Khan¹  Mahfuzar Rahman¹  Fakir Md. Yunus¹  Abul Hasnat Milton²  Sumaira Hussain² 

[1] BRAC Research and Evaluation Division, 75 Mohakhali, BRAC Centre, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh;Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics (CCEB), School of Medicine and Public Health, The University of Newcastle, NSW 2308, Australia;

关键词: review;    arsenic;    Bangladesh;    Millennium Development Goal;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijerph13020215

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Arsenic contamination in drinking water has a detrimental impact on human health which profoundly impairs the quality of life. Despite recognition of the adverse health implications of arsenic toxicity, there have been few studies to date to suggest measures that could be taken to overcome arsenic contamination. After the statement in 2000 WHO Bulletin that Bangladesh has been experiencing the largest mass poisoning of population in history, we researched existing literature to assess the magnitude of groundwater arsenic contamination in Bangladesh. The literature reviewed related research that had been initiated and/or completed since the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) under four domains: (1) extent of arsenic contamination; (2) health consequences; (3) mitigation and technologies and (4) future directions. To this means, a review matrix was established for analysis of previous literature based on these four core domains. Our findings revealed that several high-quality research articles were produced at the beginning of the MDG period, but efforts have dwindled in recent years. Furthermore, there were only a few studies conducted that focused on developing suitable solutions for managing arsenic contamination. Although the government of Bangladesh has made its population’s access to safe drinking water a priority agenda item, there are still pockets of the population that continue to suffer from arsenic toxicity due to contaminated water supplies.

【 授权许可】

Unknown