Evaluation of two drinking water intervention trials in Bangladesh

摘要

Arsenic (As) is a ubiquitous element in the earth. Inorganic As is a human carcinogen. Unfortunately it has been found in elevated levels in the natural water body which is often a major source of drinking water in many parts of the world including Bangladesh (Mukherjee & Bhattacharya, 2001; Ng et al., 2003). In Bangladesh, there are over 10 million tube-wells of which about 50% have As concentrations exceeding the WHO recommended guideline value of 10 μg/L for drinking water and are likely to result in significant health and economic burden. This calamity has attracted international attention regarding methods to mitigate As in drinking water to acceptable safe levels. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of two relatively inexpensive mitigation interventions, namely the three-pitcher filters and dug-wells. The efficacy was monitored by measurements of water and urinary As speciation. The bioavailability of the As-rich sludge from the filter system was also measured and safe disposal proposed.