India Today report
People in 12 districts of Bihar are grappling with an unusual enemy: water. Thousands who depend on underground water from local wells or gushing from hand pumps have now been told that what they drink could in fact be poison.
High levels of arsenic have been found in the underground water across the state. Arsenic is a toxin that dissolves in the bloodstream, rendering the victim susceptible to diseases of the skin, bones and also cancer of the liver, kidney, gall baldder and the intestines.
A study by Bihar’s Public Health and Engineering Department (PHED) shows that of the 38 districts in the state, as many as 12 have an average arsenic content of 500 parts per billion (ppb) against the World Health Organisation norm of 10ppb.
Other than Patna, the places that have been severely affected include districts like Bhojpur, Bhagalpur, Vaishali, Katihar, Samastipur, Darbhanga, Buxar, Khagaria, Munger, Saran and Begusarai.
Arsenic, an odourless and tasteless metalloid, occurs naturally in the environment and is sometimes a by-product of agricultural and industrial activities.
Officials using testing kits in Maner, Patna“Arsenic is a toxic substance. The point of concern is that its impact on one’s health becomes evident only after prolonged consumption,” says state PHED Minister Prem Kumar.
To make matters worse, the response of the state Government has been lackadaisical towards the problem.
There are various theories that try to explain increased levels of arsenic in water, some of them being oxidation, deteriorating conditions of the aquifers and increased organic inflow. But according to experts, the rise cannot be ascribed to man-made reasons alone.
There are geographical reasons behind it as well. “If you draw a line on the map of Asia along the arsenic-affected regions of Bangladesh, West Bengal, Bihar, the Gangetic plains of Uttar Pradesh, Nepal and Assam, you would actually be touching the flood plains of Ganga-Meghna-Brahmaputra belt,” says Ashok Kumar Ghosh, professor at the department of environment and water management, at AN College, Patna.
Scientific evidence suggests that naturally-occurring arsenic has travelled down from the Himalayas and seeped into the soil of the plains.
Researchers believe that Himalayan rivers carry sediments that are rich in arsenic, which makes it easy for the metalloid to seep into the groundwater along the rivers’ course.
Arsenic was there right from the beginning, but it was present in a composite form, which was insoluble in water. “With excessive consumption of groundwater and some chemical changes, the insoluble arsenic has got converted into a soluble component. This has increased its level in water,” says Ghosh.
A warning about contaminated water in Ara, BhojpurThe study further establishes that older tubewells have greater chances of contamination. A similar pattern of tubewell contamination has also been observed in West Bengal and Bangladesh. “There is a health pandemic, but our system is fractured,” says an NGO official.
The village-level health officials are not concerned about the quality of water provided to the villagers. “We need to establish a link between arsenic cleaning and the cleaning of our water sources. Only then can we avail fruitful results,” adds the official.
India Today report
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Monday, September 22, 2008
Community deying slow Death, Death & Cries in Eastern U P
In Ballia issue of arsenic has many ramifications. Community as a whole has not been able to comprehend, response to this crisis owing to various factors. Lack of awareness is first among them. There has not been any concrete initiatives to take community in confidence. The other notable factors being absence of leadership, capacity building & sustained mobilization of affected people. Being a traditional society in fact, this has instead given rise to misconceptions like diseases spreading due to arsenic are, due to AIDS, etc.
In a unfortunate incident in keharpur, villagers even chased team of scientists.
This has also resulted in community being utterly out of sync with the water testing, sample collecting carried out by the authorities. So, initiatives by the authorities have not been so successful here.
Older persons, women and kids are most susceptible to arsenic related diseases. In some instances visitors are also found having developed visible sign of skin legions. No arrangements have been made at district HQ for Treatment of people suffering due to high intake of Arsenic. So they have to go to far off places for treatment. This is true for those who have little bit awareness. (Otherwise people do not suspect water).This has resulted in people selling their agricultural land, mortgaging and borrowing. It has been also found that some families have abandoned their houses and moved to safer places (migration). This has resulted in huge economic loss to community in Ballia
In this scenario for community there is compounded misbelieve.
The plethora of datas & theories add more to the confusion of community. Experiences from field give clear idea so as how the mitigation endeavors should go on. There is need to look beyond them and focus on the human side of the issue.
In a unfortunate incident in keharpur, villagers even chased team of scientists.
This has also resulted in community being utterly out of sync with the water testing, sample collecting carried out by the authorities. So, initiatives by the authorities have not been so successful here.
Older persons, women and kids are most susceptible to arsenic related diseases. In some instances visitors are also found having developed visible sign of skin legions. No arrangements have been made at district HQ for Treatment of people suffering due to high intake of Arsenic. So they have to go to far off places for treatment. This is true for those who have little bit awareness. (Otherwise people do not suspect water).This has resulted in people selling their agricultural land, mortgaging and borrowing. It has been also found that some families have abandoned their houses and moved to safer places (migration). This has resulted in huge economic loss to community in Ballia
In this scenario for community there is compounded misbelieve.
The plethora of datas & theories add more to the confusion of community. Experiences from field give clear idea so as how the mitigation endeavors should go on. There is need to look beyond them and focus on the human side of the issue.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Arsenic in U P waters
Arsenic in Ballia
Arsenic problem in Uttar Pradesh was first reported in 2003 by school of Environmental Studies, Jadhavpur University (SOES-JU). SOES-JU reported the Uttar Pradesh ground water arsenic contamination to be as grave as in West Bengal, Bihar and Bangladesh.
Ballia district is the easternmost part of UP state and borders with Bihar State in the east. It comprises an irregularly shaped tract extending westward from the confluence of the river Ganga and river Ghaghra. The geographical area is 3168 sq. km and the total population is 33 lakhs. There are 17 Development Blocks in Ballia and 1850 villages there.
UP Jal Nigam (UPJN), the key agency responsible for conducting survey and executing arsenic mitigation measures has tested 10151 hand pumps for arsenic in all 17 Blocks. UPJN has reported 1122 hand pumps in 12 Blocks to be contaminated with arsenic exceeding 50 µg/l. Though actual numbers can go far beyond these numbers. And the highest level of arsenic found in Ballia is 1390 ppb.5 Blocks are most severely affected. As far as mitigation measures are concerned, till date 250 deep hand pumps (up to 90 m) have been set up in the affected villages. (Though some of them have gone out of order and contrary to the claim 20-30 wells are yet to be installed.)
Death due to arsenic is not a recent phenonmemon. Arsenic affects the skin and the central nervous system,and causes acute poisoning and cardio-vascular diseases. It also harms the kidneys, lungs and the liver apart from other body organs. Adverse health effects of arsenic depend strongly on the dose and duration of exposure. Specific dermatological effects are characteristics of chronic exposure to arsenic. Salient dermatological features are melanosis (pigmentation) and keratosis (rough, dry, papular skin lesions), both may be spotted or diffuse. Chronic exposure to arsenic may also cause reproductive, neurological, cardiovascular, respiratory, hepatic, haematological, and diabetic effects in humans . Ingestion of inorganic arsenic is an established cause of skin, bladder, and lung cancer.
In Sughar Chapra, Rishidev Yadav’s family lost four people to arsenic poisoning in 1987. Ram Bahadur Singh has 6,310 ppb of arsenic in his body. Contrast this with the acceptable level of 10 ppb prescribed by the World Health Organisation. Likewise, an analysis of a blood sample taken from Ashok Singh, a resident a village in Ballia, revealed an arsenic level of 34.50 ppb. The ‘safe’ level is 1-4 ppb.
Laboratory analysis conducted by the CSE on water from handpumps and of the hair and nails of people living in the village revealed levels of arsenic much higher than what is considered safe. Between 4,800 ppb (parts per billion) and 6,300 ppb of arsenic was detected in the hair samples. There is no legal safe limit for arsenic in hair, but toxicologists say that between 80 to 250 ppb can be tolerated. Clearly, the levels in the findings are unacceptable
On several levels these reports can be verified. Though authorities in Ballia will ever remain callous the onus is on the common people and citizens to give this movement a push that will ultimately succeed.
Though there are thousand of theories, views and thoughts, the most effective way to bring a order will be to look at the Human side of story and focus on medication, awareness, testing of wells,and bringing more deeper dug wells to these people in Ballia .
Saurabh Singh, Inner Voice Foundation , Ballia
Arsenic problem in Uttar Pradesh was first reported in 2003 by school of Environmental Studies, Jadhavpur University (SOES-JU). SOES-JU reported the Uttar Pradesh ground water arsenic contamination to be as grave as in West Bengal, Bihar and Bangladesh.
Ballia district is the easternmost part of UP state and borders with Bihar State in the east. It comprises an irregularly shaped tract extending westward from the confluence of the river Ganga and river Ghaghra. The geographical area is 3168 sq. km and the total population is 33 lakhs. There are 17 Development Blocks in Ballia and 1850 villages there.
UP Jal Nigam (UPJN), the key agency responsible for conducting survey and executing arsenic mitigation measures has tested 10151 hand pumps for arsenic in all 17 Blocks. UPJN has reported 1122 hand pumps in 12 Blocks to be contaminated with arsenic exceeding 50 µg/l. Though actual numbers can go far beyond these numbers. And the highest level of arsenic found in Ballia is 1390 ppb.5 Blocks are most severely affected. As far as mitigation measures are concerned, till date 250 deep hand pumps (up to 90 m) have been set up in the affected villages. (Though some of them have gone out of order and contrary to the claim 20-30 wells are yet to be installed.)
Death due to arsenic is not a recent phenonmemon. Arsenic affects the skin and the central nervous system,and causes acute poisoning and cardio-vascular diseases. It also harms the kidneys, lungs and the liver apart from other body organs. Adverse health effects of arsenic depend strongly on the dose and duration of exposure. Specific dermatological effects are characteristics of chronic exposure to arsenic. Salient dermatological features are melanosis (pigmentation) and keratosis (rough, dry, papular skin lesions), both may be spotted or diffuse. Chronic exposure to arsenic may also cause reproductive, neurological, cardiovascular, respiratory, hepatic, haematological, and diabetic effects in humans . Ingestion of inorganic arsenic is an established cause of skin, bladder, and lung cancer.
In Sughar Chapra, Rishidev Yadav’s family lost four people to arsenic poisoning in 1987. Ram Bahadur Singh has 6,310 ppb of arsenic in his body. Contrast this with the acceptable level of 10 ppb prescribed by the World Health Organisation. Likewise, an analysis of a blood sample taken from Ashok Singh, a resident a village in Ballia, revealed an arsenic level of 34.50 ppb. The ‘safe’ level is 1-4 ppb.
Laboratory analysis conducted by the CSE on water from handpumps and of the hair and nails of people living in the village revealed levels of arsenic much higher than what is considered safe. Between 4,800 ppb (parts per billion) and 6,300 ppb of arsenic was detected in the hair samples. There is no legal safe limit for arsenic in hair, but toxicologists say that between 80 to 250 ppb can be tolerated. Clearly, the levels in the findings are unacceptable
On several levels these reports can be verified. Though authorities in Ballia will ever remain callous the onus is on the common people and citizens to give this movement a push that will ultimately succeed.
Though there are thousand of theories, views and thoughts, the most effective way to bring a order will be to look at the Human side of story and focus on medication, awareness, testing of wells,and bringing more deeper dug wells to these people in Ballia .
Saurabh Singh, Inner Voice Foundation , Ballia
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