Arsenic levels in water wells a cause for concern

Published: 21/09/2008 05:00

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VietNamNet Bridge - A Central Hygiene and Epidemiology Institute professor has warned that the widespread use of drilled well water in Vietnam threatens to expose an increasing number of people to arsenic, a carcinogenic chemical.

VietNamNet Bridge - A Central Hygiene and Epidemiology Institute professor has warned that the widespread use of drilled well water in Vietnam threatens to expose an increasing number of people to arsenic, a carcinogenic chemical.

Prof. Dang Duc Phu raised the warning at a workshop on special treatment of arsenic in water, held in Hanoi on September 17.

Phu said the number of drilled water wells every year in Vietnam is equivalent to Thailand’s 20 year-long figure and the amount is likely to double by 2010.

He added that whilst drilled well-water does not contain bacterium it is not hygienic chemically.

Le Van Cat, Head of the Chemical and Environment Service under the Vietnam Chemistry Institute, reported that the country is home to a large number of arsenic-affected localities and ranks second in the world behind Bangladesh in the number of people living in areas of high arsenic density.

Samples of water taken from a vast area of the Ma river in the central region and underground water resources in the northern mountainous province of Son La, the midland province of Phu Tho, Hanoi, and several provinces on the Red River have all contained a high density of arsenic. The density rates there surpass both international and national limits set for standard water for daily use.

Ha Nam is home to the most water resources highly affected by arsenic, exposing some 300,000 out of the provincial population of almost 1 million to the chemical.

According to scientific studies, long term use of arsenic-contaminated water may result in cases of skin, lung or liver cancers or congenital deformities.

Initial symptoms of arsenic exposure include tiredness and an alteration in skin colour or pigmentation. However, in Vietnam , instances of arsenic-related diseases remain low, said Cat.

Since the 1990s, the Government has conducted a number of scientific projects and surveys on arsenic levels in underground water resources and formulated an arsenic map of the nation.

Along with the Government efforts, residents have taken extra precautions by using methods to remove arsenic from water in their daily use, such as purifying water with sand or sunlight. Such methods may eliminate between 70 - 80 percent of arsenic from the water
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(Source: VNA)

Update from: http://english.vietnamnet.vn//tech/2008/09/804776/

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