Human health risks and socio-economic perspectives of arsenic exposure in Bangladesh: A scoping review

The Influence of Underlying Stresses from Environmental Hazards on Resilience in Bangladesh: A System View

“…This concentration is four times the Bangladesh standard and 20 times over the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline value (WHO 2018). It was estimated that in 2012 about 19 million people in Bangladesh were still exposed to arsenic concentrations above the national standard of 50 lg/L, with fifty out of the 64 districts in the country having an arsenic concentration in the groundwater exceeding this level (Rahman et al 2018). A total of 39 million people were exposed to arsenic concentrations above the WHO provisional guideline value of 10 lg/L (BBS/UNICEF 2015).…”

“…These include symptoms of skin, cardiovascular, renal, hematological, and respiratory disorders (Smedley and Kinniburgh 2002), together with melanosis, skin cancer, peripheral neuropathy, gastrointestinal disorders, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancers of internal organs-depending on the level of exposure (UNICEF et al 2010;Murcott 2012). Arsenic poisoning will impair the intellectual function of children, reduce their cognitive abilities and IQ, and negatively impact their future well-being and educational potential (Wasserman et al 2007;UNICEF et al 2010;Rahman et al 2018). Arsenicosis patients can face ostracism, social discrimination, and exclusion as society deems them as dangerous people.…”

“…Arsenicosis patients can face ostracism, social discrimination, and exclusion as society deems them as dangerous people. Hence patients will often conceal symptoms (Ahmad et al 2007;Rahman et al 2018). Women and children and the poorest segments of the population are the most vulnerable (Chowdhury et al 2006).…”

“…Despite over 25 years of efforts to make progress towards the mitigation of the arsenic hazard, improvement is nowhere near satisfactory (Feroze Ahmed and Ahmed 2014;Pearshouse 2016;Rahman et al 2018). Physical infrastructure can provide a range of solutions ranging from adopting alternative water sources or removal of arsenic through filters and chemical treatment.…”

“…The impact of these shocks is felt especially by the poorest segments of the population, and their vulnerability is compounded by the number of environmental hazards prevalent in Bangladesh (Ayeb-Karlsson et al 2016). Slow-onset natural hazards have driven migration from northwest rural Bangladesh (Kabir, Serrao-Neumann, et al 2018;Rahman et al 2018) as the most hazard-prone riparian rural households are unable to cope with the impacts of climate change and associated environmental hazards due to a lack of adaptation options along with their poor socioeconomic conditions (Alam et al 2018).…”