Revisiting the Village Where Arsenic Contamination of Underground Water Was First Discovered in Bangladesh: Twenty-Five Years Later

Abstract

A survey was conducted in an As-affected village of Bangladesh—the first discovery of As contamination in the country—to assess the current situation and how implementation activities have worked to mitigate the problem. The As testing showed that the levels were less than the Bangladesh standard (50 µg/L) in all shallow tube-wells throughout the village. The questionnaire survey was conducted in the village as well as a neighboring As-affected village for comparison. The results revealed that there was a significant number of people using shallow tube-wells in both villages despite knowing that these wells could be contaminated with As and that safe water was available through a pipeline water supply. About 70% of responding households possessed their own water sources, mostly shallow tube-wells, and owners were less likely to choose tap water for drinking purpose than nonowners. In the village where As contamination was first reported, those individuals with a higher level of education and strong ties with neighbors were more likely to use shallow tube-well water for drinking purposes rather than tap water. This study suggests several measures to mobilize people to get safe water, namely providing subsides to install private taps, supplying public taps, and marketing and distributing handy water quality tests for households.