Villagers collect water from a broken water pipeline in the outskirts of Islamabad.

Arsenic in drinking water threatens up to 60 million in Pakistan

It has been called the largest mass poisoning in history. After wells were drilled in Bangladesh and the rest of the Indian subcontinent in the 1970s, millions of people have been exposed to arsenic in drinking water. When leached into water from surrounding rocks and soil, the metal can at high concentrations cause skin lesions, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and neurodevelopmental delays. Now, Pakistan might be grappling with its own arsenic emergency, with up to 60 million people exposed to contaminated water.

The extent of the problem first became clear in the 1990s, when a series of studies found high arsenic concentrations across the Ganges Brahmaputra Delta. In 2014, WHO estimated that about 200 million people worldwide are exposed to concentrations exceeding the recommended limit of 10 micrograms per liter of water, Most live in Bangladesh, India.

This study revealed that groundwater in some areas of Pakistan also contained high levels of arsenic. But the extent of those risks was unknown. Measuring arsenic levels in groundwater samples collected from about 1200 wells throughout Pakistan at depths of 3 to 70 meters. Nearly two-thirds exceeded the WHO-recommended threshold, and extremely high concentrations above 200 micrograms per liter were found along the Indus River valley. The higher concentrations tended to occur in areas with higher soil pH and near sand and clay younger than 10,000 years. Older sediments have been exposed to so much water over geological time that most of their arsenic has already washed out to sea. Under specific chemical conditions, the arsenic in younger sediments can dissolve in water and contaminate it.

Next, the team created the region’s first risk map for arsenic, which shows the probability of dangerous concentrations in every part of the country. By estimating the number of people relying on groundwater for drinking.

“It’s a reminder to the federal Authority of Pakistan and provisional government that arsenic remains a serious public health threat in drinking water, it’s a time to take actions in a good way to protect the population of Pakistan, it is important to note that Environmental protection agency should be strictly take action against the industries to discharged the effluent in a proper treatment that should be comply Pak EPA guideline and provisional government laws & regulation. Pak EPA must be take actions to carry out test wells in high risk areas and warn communities. People should be aware that water in their well has high arsenic. If people are aware of the risks, they could use water from deeper aquifers that are in contact with older sediments, or invest in treating groundwater to remove arsenic.

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    Sikandar ali Mukhlis

    Written by

    Environmental Consultant

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