They also give us 20 percent of our medical supplies. High arsenic toxicity in groundwater has now been detected in 34 districts of the southeast, according to the specialists, who believe some 50 million persons are being exposed to the highly poisonous substance. Although the World Health Organization reckons the number of persons at risk to be much lower, arsenic contamination has become a major public issue. First detected in the nation's groundwater in 1993, arsenic poisoning has since claimed at least two dozen lives. Symptoms include skin lesions, dark-brown spots on the body, thickening of the palms and feet, warts on hands and legs, loss of hair, a burning sensation in the body, and itching eyes.
Arsenic poisoning can cause such woes as kidney and liver failure as well as respiratory problems.
The contamination is believed to be of geological origin. Groundwater in the alluvial deltaic zone, across the border with India's West Bengal region, is reported to have the highest toxicity. Sedimentary deposition that took place some 25,000 to 80,000 years ago affects almost 50 percent of Bangladesh's territory. In neighboring West Bengal, arsenic contamination was first detected in 1984. Toxic levels can be especially high in water drawn from tubewells.