November 2005 Newsletter
Page 5 of 7
Items of Interest
Book Review:
Venomous Earth: How Arsenic Causes the World's Worst Mass Poisoning
by Andrew A. Meharg (New York: Macmillan, 2005)
'Water that was meant to bring life has brought death', writes the author of this new book. 'The puncturing of the Earth's skin with tens of millions of wells has drawn out poison - not just any poison, but the most notorious of all: arsenic.' The peoples of Bangladesh and other countries, including Nepal, are suffering a killer crisis 'cruel beyond belief' from drinking water high in arsenic. As arsenic is tasteless and exhibits no immediate side effects, they often do not know they are drinking poison. Side effects include severe arsenical dermatosis and debilitating cancers. Meharg's book brings many of the issues to light.
Besides its physical effects, arsenic poisoning also results in various social, cultural and economic problems. It disables people and takes them out of the work force. The visible signs on the skin are so disfiguring that those who suffer from it are typically shunned. It causes families to break up and marriages to be annulled.
Andrew Meharg is a Professor of Biogeochemistry at the University of Aberdeen, and a specialist on environmental pollutants, including how arsenic interacts with plants and animals. In the book he discusses both how arsenic gets into drinking water and its history as a killer, as well as its use as a cosmetic and its alleged curative properties. His main focus is on the Bangladesh case, which the World Health Organization has called 'the largest mass poisoning of a population in history'.
There are 10 million affected tubewells in Bangladesh, and various aid agencies have spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to deal with it. The author's bitterness shows when he describes how some agencies dallied even after being told the horrendous details and potential effects of the crisis.
There is no one 'magic' solution, Meharg says, but he discusses several mitigation measures. They include filtering household drinking water, drawing water only from deep tubewells, and piping safe water long distances to the affected populations.
Meharg's account is insightful, revealing and disturbing. It is an important read for anyone involved in the mitigation of arsenic poisoned drinking water, or otherwise interested in the problem.
Information Sources on the Internet
From time to time we will highlight Internet sources for the study of arsenic poisoning. Soon, Nepal will have its own arsenic information website. Meanwhile, here are 4 other informative websites:
IPCS INCHEM (for articles from intergovernmental organizations, posted by the International Programme on Chemical Safety)
The International Programme on Chemical Safety (for discussion of chemical safety and environmental health criteria, from the World Health Organization)
United Nations Synthesis Report on Arsenic in Drinking Water (for a UN report on arsenic in drinking water, prepared in cooperation with various United Nations agencies, from the Administrative committee on Coordination's Sub-committee on Water Resources)
Arsenic in Drinking Water (WHO Fact Sheet No.210)
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