Arsenic Poisoning through Drinking Water from Groundwater Sources

Rain water collected in a tank or jar like this one provides arsenic-free water (Photograph courtesy, UNICEF/Shehzad Noorani) 

 

Millions of people in Bangladesh (and in West Bengal, India) are affected by arsenic poisoning, which causes skin lesions, cancer, and eventually death, because of their dependence on arsenic-contaminated groundwater for their drinking water supply. Similar symptoms have also surfaced in Inner Mongolia, China, which if unchecked could grow into a disaster of catastrophic proportions there too. 

• Background

• Conference on  Solving Arsenic Crisis in Asia and the Pacific Region, 2-4 May 

 

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