Mystery of world's worst mass poisoning solved

News Type: Event — Seeded on Mon Nov 16, 2009 1:43 PM EST

Article Source: Raw Story

odd-news, environment, bangladesh, worst-mass-poisoning

Researchers have pinpointed the source of what is probably the worst mass poisoning in history, according to a study published Sunday.

For nearly three decades scientists have struggled to figure out exactly how arsenic was getting into the drinking water of millions of people in rural Bangladesh.

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4.8

{"commentId":10703570,"authorDomain":"luckydog"}

luckydog

Now to fix the problem. Is there an effective filter for arsenic?

{"commentId":10703570,"threadId":"725630","contentId":"3507316","authorDomain":"luckydog"}

5 votes

#1 - Mon Nov 16, 2009 1:45 PM EST

{"commentId":10705503,"authorDomain":"Pvt-Public"}

Pvt-Public

There are filters available, and since June 2008 at least one person has been trying to help.

http://www.america.gov/st/foraid-english/2008/June/20080608151007xjyrreP0.2713892.html

{"commentId":10705503,"threadId":"725630","contentId":"3507316","authorDomain":"Pvt-Public"}

5 votes

#1.1 - Mon Nov 16, 2009 3:07 PM EST

{"commentId":10706086,"authorDomain":"dungbeetlemania"}

dungbeetlemania

I have read of those filters, I hope they get them out there. Shame, imagine knowingly drinking arsenic-laden water.

{"commentId":10706086,"threadId":"725630","contentId":"3507316","authorDomain":"dungbeetlemania"}

5 votes

#1.2 - Mon Nov 16, 2009 3:29 PM EST

{"commentId":10707337,"authorDomain":"luckydog"}

luckydog

Amen to that DBM and thanks Pvt-Public for a great link. I have never heard of these filters. Seems like this is one of those problems that could easily be solved by throwing money it at and at a great cost to benefit ratio.

{"commentId":10707337,"threadId":"725630","contentId":"3507316","authorDomain":"luckydog"}

3 votes

#1.3 - Mon Nov 16, 2009 4:27 PM EST

{"commentId":10707659,"authorDomain":"animallovernwriter"}

Auteur 1536

Very interesting.

{"commentId":10707659,"threadId":"725630","contentId":"3507316","authorDomain":"animallovernwriter"}

3 votes

#1.4 - Mon Nov 16, 2009 4:40 PM EST

{"commentId":10710897,"authorDomain":"hsquared"}

hsquared-1401940

Good work by Prof. Hussam:

More than 90,000 such filters are in use in Bangladesh producing more than a billion liter of safe drinking water for the affected people.

Pictures. (Note PDF file)

We sometimes spend millions and billions to do something and it be complicated, when given an opportunity, someone may find a cheaper and much simpler solution.

{"commentId":10710897,"threadId":"725630","contentId":"3507316","authorDomain":"hsquared"}

3 votes

#1.5 - Mon Nov 16, 2009 7:04 PM EST

{"commentId":10715637,"authorDomain":"nkycarbon"}

iconoclasm

The Sono sounds great.

For places that can't get 20 pounds of iron for it I wonder if an increase in the amount of activated carbon/charcoal/biochar would make a shorter lasting filter but a cheaper one that could be repopulated with locally sourced biochar.

{"commentId":10715637,"threadId":"725630","contentId":"3507316","authorDomain":"nkycarbon"}

4 votes

#1.6 - Mon Nov 16, 2009 11:01 PM EST

{"commentId":10708314,"authorDomain":"tim-little"}

CodeSculptor

There are filtering methods for the affected water, and there are technologies to even help avoid the tainted water (for the most part) (digging deeper and flushing)...

For those affected, the recovery will be difficult. Arsenic is a toxin that affects how cells produce and use energy. Chelation therapy could work, but it's dangerous, and would only be used in cases where the risk of doing the therapy would be lower than the risk of waiting for the arsenic to clear naturally. Also, chelation only really helps in the earliest stages, so almost nobody in this situation would be helped. And no facilities could seriously manage chelation of more than a handful of people at once.

{"commentId":10708314,"threadId":"725630","contentId":"3507316","authorDomain":"tim-little"}

2 votes

#2 - Mon Nov 16, 2009 5:08 PM EST

{"commentId":10708879,"authorDomain":"tlnoel"}

tracey-602481

I wonder if filling in the ponds would be a viable option.

{"commentId":10708879,"threadId":"725630","contentId":"3507316","authorDomain":"tlnoel"}

1 vote

#3 - Mon Nov 16, 2009 5:35 PM EST

{"commentId":10709441,"authorDomain":"luckydog"}

luckydog

The ponds are a flood control measure so no I don't think at this point it would help.

{"commentId":10709441,"threadId":"725630","contentId":"3507316","authorDomain":"luckydog"}

3 votes

#3.1 - Mon Nov 16, 2009 6:00 PM EST

{"commentId":10722282,"authorDomain":"tlnoel"}

tracey-602481

That's what I was thinking. Fill in the ponds and die from flooding. Leave the ponds and die from poisoning. Hopefully, science can find a workable solution.

{"commentId":10722282,"threadId":"725630","contentId":"3507316","authorDomain":"tlnoel"}

2 votes

#3.2 - Tue Nov 17, 2009 10:33 AM EST

{"commentId":10708928,"authorDomain":"cleveland-steamer"}

Cleveland Steamer

Maybe if they stopped @!$%#ting in the same water they bathe/do laundry in and drink from? Could be a start.

{"commentId":10708928,"threadId":"725630","contentId":"3507316","authorDomain":"cleveland-steamer"}

2 votes

#4 - Mon Nov 16, 2009 5:38 PM EST

{"commentId":10716799,"authorDomain":"dungbeetlemania"}

dungbeetlemania

This has nothing to do with human waste at all, it is arsenic poisoning.

{"commentId":10716799,"threadId":"725630","contentId":"3507316","authorDomain":"dungbeetlemania"}

4 votes

#4.1 - Tue Nov 17, 2009 12:30 AM EST

{"commentId":10722461,"authorDomain":"cleveland-steamer"}

Cleveland Steamer

Ok, well maybe if they stopped dumping trash in the water then.

{"commentId":10722461,"threadId":"725630","contentId":"3507316","authorDomain":"cleveland-steamer"}

1 vote

#4.2 - Tue Nov 17, 2009 10:40 AM EST

{"commentId":10725475,"authorDomain":"dungbeetlemania"}

dungbeetlemania

Did you read the article? The arsenic comes from the soil above the ground water. It is naturally occurring...

{"commentId":10725475,"threadId":"725630","contentId":"3507316","authorDomain":"dungbeetlemania"}

3 votes

#4.3 - Tue Nov 17, 2009 12:23 PM EST

{"commentId":10710888,"authorDomain":"kodanda"}

kdpgrahi

Ponds are everywhere in the world, but the poisoning in Bangladesh only? Mass poisoning is nowhere reported so far( other than Bangladesh). How?

{"commentId":10710888,"threadId":"725630","contentId":"3507316","authorDomain":"kodanda"}

2 votes

#5 - Mon Nov 16, 2009 7:04 PM EST

{"commentId":10714746,"authorDomain":"luckydog"}

luckydog

As I understand it kdpgrahi, it is the soil that contains the arsenic. Normally not a problem there but when the ponds were created for flood control it allowed the soil below the surface level which was apparently rich in arsenic to leach the mineral into the ground water.

Bangladesh is a very low lying country and flooding is a big big problem. Throw in extreme poverty and few natural resources and you have a perfect storm.

{"commentId":10714746,"threadId":"725630","contentId":"3507316","authorDomain":"luckydog"}

3 votes

#5.1 - Mon Nov 16, 2009 10:15 PM EST

{"commentId":10726142,"authorDomain":"kodanda"}

kdpgrahi

apparently rich in arsenic to leach the mineral into the ground water. Actually I wanted to know why the soil of only Bangladesh is rich in arsenic. I am sure there is no arsenic mines in Bangladesh. And the intensity of fertilizer application is very low in comparison to other countries even near by China.

{"commentId":10726142,"threadId":"725630","contentId":"3507316","authorDomain":"kodanda"}

4 votes

#5.2 - Tue Nov 17, 2009 12:46 PM EST

{"commentId":10726544,"authorDomain":"hsquared"}

hsquared-1401940

This wiki article might help... Arsenic contamination of groundwater.

The world always makes the assumption that the exposure of an error is identical with the discovery of truth -- that the error and truth are simply opposite. They are nothing of the sort. What the world turns to, when it is cured on one error, is usually simply another error, and maybe one worse than the first one. H.L Mencken

{"commentId":10726544,"threadId":"725630","contentId":"3507316","authorDomain":"hsquared"}

3 votes

#5.3 - Tue Nov 17, 2009 1:01 PM EST

{"commentId":10738771,"authorDomain":"kodanda"}

kdpgrahi

Thanks hsquared-1401940, the link produced good results for me, to my query. I think the actual source of arsenic is not explored yet. It would be cheaper to plug the source than other means of purification.

{"commentId":10738771,"threadId":"725630","contentId":"3507316","authorDomain":"kodanda"}

2 votes

#5.4 - Tue Nov 17, 2009 9:21 PM EST

{"commentId":10739812,"authorDomain":"hsquared"}

hsquared-1401940

It would be cheaper to plug the source than other means of purification

There may be many reasons for the presence of arsenic in Bangladesh and at the levels it is occurring. One hypothesis I read was the extensive use of coal to heat with, in regions of China bordering the Himalayas. The coal that has been used for several decades in that region is laced with arsenic. Prevailing winds in that region, during winter months move south and southeast over the mountains, carrying soot deposits. As spring thaws occur, the water containing arsenic is carried by the Brahmaputra river into the delta area, settling into the soil in amounts above normal. (Note: I cannot now find the link to that article. Regrettably, I did not bookmark it, so when I closed firefox, I lost it. I cannot remember the search terms for google, either.)

Of course that is just a hypothesis, one of many out there. The point is that there are many potential causes, so saving lives dictates cleaning the water. Unfortunately a by-product of that effort eases the pressure to determine root cause, imho.

{"commentId":10739812,"threadId":"725630","contentId":"3507316","authorDomain":"hsquared"}

2 votes

#5.5 - Tue Nov 17, 2009 10:19 PM EST

{"commentId":10740168,"authorDomain":"hsquared"}

hsquared-1401940

Did find this link, although not the one I found earlier...

Some human activities also lead to arsenic pollution such as burning arsenic-rich coal in the southwestern Chinese provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou. Source

Then I ran across this one about bedrock.

The introduction of arsenic into drinking water can occur as a result of its natural geological presence in local bedrock. Arsenic-containing bedrock formations of this sort are known in Bangladesh, West Bengal (India), and regions of China

When humans are implicated in causing or exacerbating arsenic pollution, the cause can almost always be traced to mining or mining-related activities.

I'll keep looking, but maybe not tonight.

{"commentId":10740168,"threadId":"725630","contentId":"3507316","authorDomain":"hsquared"}

3 votes

#5.6 - Tue Nov 17, 2009 10:40 PM EST

{"commentId":10714081,"authorDomain":"MinnieApolis"}

MinnieApolis

The two million Bangladeshis (affected by arsenic-tainted water) will thank you for identifying the source of the toxin. Now to start a new water project that won't make things worse this time.

{"commentId":10714081,"threadId":"725630","contentId":"3507316","authorDomain":"MinnieApolis"}

2 votes

#6 - Mon Nov 16, 2009 9:44 PM EST

{"commentId":10715332,"authorDomain":"efucci"}

bitemore

I'm glad that filters can help, but this is a tragedy that should never have happened, and which can theoretically happen anywhere... at least part of the problem is solved: they know the how and the why, so all they need to do now is prevent any additional poisonings.

Great seed, luckydog!

{"commentId":10715332,"threadId":"725630","contentId":"3507316","authorDomain":"efucci"}

4 votes

#7 - Mon Nov 16, 2009 10:43 PM EST

{"canLink":false,"threadId":"725630","isPrivate":false}

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