Much of the surface water of Bangladesh is microbially unsafe to drink. Since independence in 1971, approximately 2,500,000 tubewells have been installed to supply microbially safe drinking water to the people of Bangladesh. Unfortunately, vast areas of this 120,000,000 person country contains groundwater with arsenic concentrations above the World Health Organization (WHO) drinking water standard of 0.01 mg/L. Chronic arsenic poisoning attributed to groundwater ingestion was first diagnosed in 1993. Currently, 2,953 cases of chronic arsenic poisoning have been identified in Bangladesh (1). These diagnoses include melanosis, leuco- melanosis, keratosis, hyperkeratosis, dorsum, non-petting oedema, gangrene, and skin cancer (1). An estimated 50,000,000 Bangladeshis are currently at risk of disease and death from chronic arsenic poisoning (1 and 2).
The Government of Bangladesh with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) implemented the following study to determine the nature, extent, and treatment of arsenic-affected groundwater in Bangladesh. The purposes of this eight week study in Bangladesh were to: