Seth H. Frisbie

Public health strategies for western Bangladesh that address arsenic, manganese, uranium, and other toxic elements in drinking water.

Background More than 60,000,000 Bangladeshis are drinking water with unsafe concentrations of one or more elements. Objectives Our aims in this study were to evaluate and improve the drinking water testing and treatment plans for western Bangladesh. Methods We sampled groundwater from four neighborhoods in western Bangladesh to determine the distributions of arsenic, boron, barium, chromium, iron, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, lead, antimony, selenium, uranium, and zinc, and to determine pH. Results The percentages of tube wells that had concentrations exceeding World Health Organization (WHO) health-based drinking water guidelines were 78% for Mn, 48% for U, 33% for As, 1% for Pb, 1% for Ni, and 1% for Cr. Individual tube wells often had unsafe concentrations of both Mn and As or both Mn and U. They seldom had unsafe concentrations of both As and U. Conclusions These results suggest that the ongoing program of identifying safe drinking water supplies by testing every tube well for As only will not ensure safe concentrations of Mn, U, Pb, Ni, Cr, and possibly other elements. To maximize efficiency, drinking water testing in Bangladesh should be completed in three steps: 1) all tube wells must be sampled and tested for As; 2) if a sample meets the WHO guideline for As, then it should be retested for Mn and U; 3) if a sample meets the WHO guidelines for As, Mn, and U, then it should be retested for B, Ba, Cr, Mo, Ni, and Pb. All safe tube wells should be considered for use as public drinking water supplies.

World Health Organization discontinues its drinking-water guideline for manganese.

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) released the fourth edition of Guidelines for Drinking-Water Quality in July 2011. In this edition, the 400-µg/L drinking-water guideline for manganese (Mn) was discontinued with the assertion that because “this health-based value is well above concentrations of manganese normally found in drinking water, it is not considered necessary to derive a formal guideline value.” Objective: In this commentary, we review the WHO guideline for Mn in drinking water—from its introduction in 1958 through its discontinuation in 2011. Methods: For the primary references, we used the WHO publications that documented the Mn guidelines. We used peer-reviewed journal articles, government reports, published conference proceedings, and theses to identify countries with drinking water or potential drinking-water supplies exceeding 400 µg/L Mn and peer-reviewed journal articles to summarize the health effects of Mn. Discussion: Drinking water or potential drinking-water supplies with Mn concentrations > 400 µg/L are found in a substantial number of countries worldwide. The drinking water of many tens of millions of people has Mn concentrations > 400 µg/L. Recent research on the health effects of Mn suggests that the earlier WHO guideline of 400 µg/L may have been too high to adequately protect public health. Conclusions: The toxic effects and geographic distribution of Mn in drinking-water supplies justify a reevaluation by the WHO of its decision to discontinue its drinking-water guideline for Mn.

Exposure to multiple metals from groundwater—a global crisis: Geology, climate change, health effects, testing, and mitigation

This paper presents an overview of the global extent of naturally occurring toxic metals in groundwater. Adverse health effects attributed to the toxic metals most commonly found in groundwater are reviewed, as well as chemical, biochemical, and physiological interactions between these metals. Synergistic and antagonistic effects that have been reported between the toxic metals found in groundwater and the dietary trace elements are highlighted, and common behavioural, cultural, and dietary practices that are likely to significantly modify health risks due to use of metal-contaminated groundwater are reviewed. Methods for analytical testing of samples containing multiple metals are discussed, with special attention to analytical interferences between metals and reagents. An overview is presented of approaches to providing safe water when groundwater contains multiple metallic toxins.

Multiple inorganic toxic substances contaminating the groundwater of Myingyan Township, Myanmar: Arsenic, manganese, fluoride, iron, and uranium

In South Asia, the technological and societal shift from drinking surface water to groundwater has resulted in a great reduction of acute diseases due to water borne pathogens. However, arsenic and other naturally occurring inorganic toxic substances present in groundwater in the region have been linked to a variety of chronic diseases, including cancers, heart disease, and neurological problems. Due to the highly specific symptoms of chronic arsenic poisoning, arsenic was the first inorganic toxic substance to be noticed at unsafe levels in the groundwater of West Bengal, India and Bangladesh. Subsequently, other inorganic toxic substances, including manganese, uranium, and fluoride have been found at unsafe levels in groundwater in South Asia. While numerous drinking water wells throughout Myanmar have been tested for arsenic, relatively little is known about the concentrations of other inorganic toxic substances in Myanmar groundwater. In this study, we analyzed samples from 18 drinking water wells (12 in Myingyan City and 6 in nearby Tha Pyay Thar Village) and 2 locations in the Ayeyarwaddy River for arsenic, boron, barium, beryllium, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, fluoride, iron, mercury, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, lead, antimony, selenium, thallium, uranium, vanadium, and zinc. Concentrations of arsenic, manganese, fluoride, iron, or uranium exceeded health-based reference values in most wells. In addition, any given well usually contained more than one toxic substance at unsafe concentrations. While water testing and well sharing could reduce health risks, none of the wells sampled provide water that is entirely safe with respect to inorganic toxic substances. It is imperative that users of these wells, and users of other wells that have not been tested for multiple inorganic toxic substances throughout the region, be informed of the need for drinking water testing and the health consequences of drinking water contaminated with inorganic toxic substances.

The Nature and Extent of Arsenic-Affected Drinking Water in Bangladesh

The people of Bangladesh used to rely on surface water for drinking, which was often infected with cholera and other life-threatening diseases. To reduce the incidences of these diseases, millions of tubewells were installed in Bangladesh over the last 27 years. This recent transition from surface water to groundwater has significantly reduced deaths from water-borne pathogens; however, recent evidence suggests disease and death from arsenic and potentially other metals in groundwater are impacting large areas of Bangladesh.

Emergence and growth of cabbage seedlings in plastic, peat, paper, and newspaper containers

Abstract Cabbage (Brassica oleracea) seeds were germinated and grown for 35 days in an organic standard substrate contained in either plastic, peat, paper, or newspaper containers to determine whether the container material might affect growth. Days to emergence, days to first leaf, and developmental morphological traits and physiological characteristics were monitored. Differences in evaporation and pH of water in contact with the containers were measured in separate experiments. Evaporation was lowest from plastic and highest from peat containers, while pH was lowest with water in contact with peat containers. Plant growth was fastest and most robust in plastic containers as demonstrated by their shoot height, stem diameter, and root and shoot dry weights. Seedlings grown in newspaper containers presented exceedingly poor growth and showed signs of stress.