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Arsenic in drinking water: a natural killer in Bangladesh and beyond

Jack C Ng and Michael R Moore
Med J Aust 2005; 183 (11): . || doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2005.tb00034.x
Published online: 5 December 2005

An urgent alternative watershed management strategy is needed

The world has vast natural reservoirs of geological arsenic. The ubiquitous nature of this element means that in some countries arsenic contaminates drinking water, enters the food chain and imposes significant human health risks. Globally, up to 100 million people are at risk of exposure to excessive levels of naturally occurring arsenic in well water or groundwater.1 The countries where arsenic levels in drinking water supplies exceed acceptable levels include Argentina, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Chile, China, Hungary, India, Mexico, Nepal, Peru, Romania, Taiwan, the United States and Vietnam.1,2


  • National Research Centre for Environmental Toxicology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD.


Correspondence: 

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  • 3. British Geological Survey. The groundwater arsenic problem in Bangladesh — background to phase 2. Available at: http://www.bgs.ac.uk/arsenic/bangladesh/home.html (accessed Oct 2005).
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  • 5. Smith AH, Lingas EO, Rahman M. Contamination of drinking-water by arsenic in Bangladesh: a public health emergency. Bull World Health Organ 2000; 78: 1093-1103.
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  • 9. The National Health and Medical Research Council, Agricultural and Resource Management Council of Australia and New Zealand. Australian drinking water guidelines — National Water Quality Management Strategy. Canberra: NHMRC/ARMCANZ, 1996 (amended 2001). Available at: http://www.mincos.gov.au/pdf/nwqms/aust_drinking_water_guidelines.pdf (accessed Oct 2005).
  • 10. Morales KH, Ryan L, Kuo TL, et al. Risk of internal cancers from arsenic in drinking water. Environ Health Perspect 2000; 108: 655-661.
  • 11. Biswas BK, Dhar RK, Samanta G, et al. Detailed study report of Samta, one of the arsenic-affected villages of Jessore district, Bangladesh. Curr Sci 1998; 74: 134-145.
  • 12. Chen Y, Ahsan H. Cancer burden from arsenic in drinking water in Bangladesh. Am J Public Health 2004; 94: 741-744.
  • 13. World Bank. World Development Indicators Database. Available at: http://www.worldbank.org/data/databytopic/GDP.pdf (accessed Oct 2005).

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