Too many children were dying of diarrhea from drinking surface water contaminated with bacteria.
- A tubewell became a prized possession: it lessened the burden on women, who no longer had to trek long distances with their pots and pails; it reduced the dependence on better-off neighbors; and most important, it provided pathogen-free water to drink.
- By the early 1990s 95%of Bangladesh’s population had access to “safe” water, virtually all of it through the country’s more than 10 million tubewells
- The solution was a tubewell: A simple, hardy, hand-operated pump that sucks water through a pipe from a shallow underground aquifer.
- 30 percent of Bangladesh’s tubewells are known to yield more than 50 micrograms of arsenic per liter of water, with 5 to 10 percent providing more than six times this amount.
- at least 35 million people, almost one quarter of the population, are drinking potentially fatal levels of arsenic.
- the first stage of arsenicosis, are black spots on the upper chest, back and arms. Palms of the hands or soles of the feet become hard and lose sensation. Also suffer from conjunctivitis, bronchitis and, at very high concentrations of arsenic, diarrhea and abdominal pain
- the second stage, white spots appear mixed up with the black, legs swell, and the palms and soles crack and bleed, neural problems appear in the hands and legs, and the kidneys and liver start to malfunction.
- third stage, cancer shows up
- The U.S. National Research Council concluded in 1999 that the combined cancer risk from ingesting more than 50 micrograms of arsenic per liter of water could easily lead to one in 100 people dying of cancer.
- human activity is aggravating the arsenic problem
- The long-term solution might instead lie in deep tubewells, which extract water from aquifers 200 meters or farther underground
- Bangladeshis are also eating grain that is irrigated with pumped underground water two or three times a day. The arsenic content in rice varies from 50 to 180 parts per billion (50 parts per billion=50 micrograms per liter. A few vegetables contain 100 parts per million of arsenic.
- $290 million will fund an integrated five year testing, mitigation and monitoring program for arsenic all over Bangladesh.
- even the poorest nations— perhaps especially the poorest—should check the quality of their water constantly.
Summary:
In Bangladesh, their water supply got contaminated with bacteria and were dying because of it. The solution was a tubewell: A simple, hardy, hand-operated pump that sucks water through a pipe from a shallow underground aquifer. The tubewell became successful because women don't have to hike for so many miles, reduced the dependence in the neighbors, and it provides pathogen-free water to drink. Then, 95% of had access to clean water and all of them uses more than 10 million tubewells. But, their water got contaminated with arsenic water and it causes many diseases to people living in Bangladesh. 30% of Bangladesh’s tubewells are known to yield more than 50 micrograms of arsenic per liter of water, with 5 to 10 percent providing more than six times this amount. Also, at least 35 million people, almost one quarter of the population, are drinking potentially fatal levels of arsenic. There is another problem regarding arsenic in their water, that Bangladeshis are also eating grain that is irrigated with pumped underground water two or three times a day. The arsenic content in rice varies from 50 to 180 parts per billion (50 parts per billion=50 micrograms per liter. A few vegetables contain 100 parts per million of arsenic. The most horrible problem that a person can happen is that they will have cancer because of their high arsenic level in their bodies. The solution for that is might instead lie in deep tubewells, which extract water from aquifers 200 meters or farther underground, that is a long term solution. But even doing this process is very difficult and it will take a couple of years to have clean water. $290 million will fund an integrated five year testing, mitigation and monitoring program for arsenic all over Bangladesh. The poorest nation or region should check their water quality constantly to help them get rid of the problem regarding to drink contaminated water and getting a high risk of cancer.
My Reflection:
After reading the article, people waste their water like leaving the faucet running, throwing water bottles away with water inside, etc. They need to think that there are people who don't have access to clean water and suffering greatly because of it. But now, the poor regions have now access to clean water but some of them don't. We need to donate or help them build a well to have access to clean water, but we need to teach them how to check their water constantly because it might get contaminated and it will be a big trouble if its contaminated. Everyone should have access to clean water, we should help the person in need. WATER IS IMPORTANT!