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Bangladesh Arsenic Water Crisis
Joan Stephenson, PhD
JAMA. 2002;288:1708.
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| Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings. |
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Many of the millions of people in Bangladesh who are being poisoned by arsenic-tainted well water could be spared by simply using water from nearby uncontaminated wells, according to a study by researchers from Bangladesh and the United States.
While only about half of the nearly 5000 wells in the Araihazar district met Bangladesh standards for drinking water, 88% of people with tainted wells lived within 100 m of a safe well, and 95% within 200 m, the researchers discovered. While simple in theory, however, there are potential social barriers to achieving wide-scale well switching. Most wells are privately owned, and women are discouraged from venturing unaccompanied beyond their bari, or cluster of related households.
But the practice could offer a short-term option that could save millions from arsenic-related cancers and other ills making the option worth exploring. "Our findings indicate that well-switching should figure more . . . [Full Text of this Article]
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