A Winter of Fear
--- Field Report on Arsenicosis Patients with Cancer
Sachie Tsushima Asia Arsenic Network House No. 57, Road No. 13 Block-E, Banani Dhaka-1213 Bangladesh Phone: (880-2) 9894493 E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.org
In Bangladesh arsenic contamination of groundwater is found in 61 districts out of the total 64. About 5 million tube wells were tested in arsenic-prone 271 upazilas out of the total 470, and more than 1.44 million tube wells (about 30%) were found with arsenic exceeding the Bangladesh permissible level of 50g/L. In 8,540 villages more than 80% of the tube wells were arsenic–contaminated. So far 38,430 arsenicosis patients have been detected, and it is estimated that 30-35 million people are at risk of arsenic toxicity through drinking contaminated water. It was in 1994, over twelve years ago, that the first group of arsenicosis patients was identified in Bangladesh. Since exposure to low level arsenic through drinking water for a long period, say, 2 to 10 years, may cause arsenicosis (with higher concentration the symptom may appear earlier), the number of patients will certainly go up unless alternative safe water sources are provided immediately. The Asia Arsenic Network (AAN), a Japan based NGO, has been conducting varies mitigation projects in Bangladesh with emphasis on protection of people against arsenicosis by providing safe drinking water devices. Its activities include the regular monitoring of arsenicosis patients by Patients Support Coordinator and periodical medical check-ups by experts. Those experts, having observed the changes in skin symptoms of the same patients for a several years now, fear that the
number of cancer cases will increase in the near future. A study recently carried out in 5 arsenic-affected upazilas revealed that more than two third of the arsenic victims were from poor families and more than half could not work as they used to do before development of arsenicosis.
The groundwater arsenic problem in Bangladesh was widely recognized after the international conference jointly organized by Dhaka Community Hospital and School of Environmental Studies, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, in February 1998. After this conference, two reports were published in the ‗Guardian‘, a London daily, featuring interviews of international funding organizations and arsenic experts. In that report, the World Bank‘s local chief said, ―Tens of Millions of people are at risk‖. In the same report, WHO predicted that within a few years, one death in 10 adults across much of southern Bangladesh could be from cancers triggered by arsenic.
●Abdul Aziz, Marua Village, Jessore District My mobile phone rang at midnight on 18 December 2005. It was from a friend of mine who was staying in Jessore as a member of a research team from Japan. She has been conducting various researches on social aspects of the arsenic contamination problem in Marua village of Chowgachha Upazila, Jessore district, for some years now. ―A brother of Rokeya‘s husband is suffering from lung cancer and hospitalized in Dhaka. He and his family are very worried since his three brothers died from lung cancer. Can you please help him?‖, she said. Rokeya had skin cancer on her right palm and it had been removed by amputation in December 2000 with financial support from the Asia Arsenic Network (AAN). Her husband, Altaf Hossain, too, had some Bowen‘s (pre-cancerous skin lesion) excised with AAN‘s financial support. They were cordial to receive visitors in Marua and told them their experiences and sufferings, emphasizing how dreadful arsenic poisoning is. Altaf Hossain died from heart attack in January 2004, but
Rokeya is commendably determined to relate her experiences to anyone who visits her, showing her half-sized right hand with no ring and small fingers. On 20th December I visited Abdul Aziz, ―the brother of Rokeya‘s husband‖, at Naznur Hospital in the Dhanmondi area. Dr. Ekhlasur Rahman, Director of the Yamagata Dhaka Friendship Hospital (YDFH), kindly accompanied me. Aziz‘s cabin was on the third floor. He was stitting on 