National Policy for Arsenic Mitigation, 2004 Pays/Territoire Bangladesh Type du document Date 2004 Source FAO, FAOLEX Sujet Eau Mot clé Renforcement des capacités Réseau d'alerte/intervention d'urgence Eaux souterraines Substances dangereuses Politique/planification Lutte contre la pollution Eau potable Santé publique Eaux superficielles Normes de qualité de l'eau Approvisionnement en eau Recherche Pollution des eaux douces/qualité des eaux douces Aire géographique Asie, ASIE ET PACIFIQUE, Océan Indien, Pays les moins avances, Mer de l'Asie du Sud-Est, Asie du sud Résumé The country’s population heavily depends on ground water for drinking purpose. This drinking water has been reported in many areas to be contaminated by arsenic in levels above the Bangladesh National Standard of 50 parts per billion (ppb). Millions of people are exposed to arsenic in the country and thousands are already suffering from arsenicosis with many developing cancer and other complications. The Policy notes that arsenic contamination is geological and there is no known control at source as well as o proven treatment for arsenicosis, and that the primary option is to alternate supply of arsenic safe drinking water. The objectives of the Policy include to provide a guideline for mitigating the effect of arsenic on people and environment in a holistic and sustainable way; and to implement the National Water Policy 1998, National Policy for Safe Water Supply and Sanitation 1998 in fulfilling the national goals of poverty alleviation, public health and food security. The Policy also aims to diagnose and effectively manage all arsenicosis cases and also assess its impact on the agricultural environment. In order to identify the nature and extent of the problem, the programme includes; Screening and regular monitoring of all tube wells including irrigation wells to identify the wells that have arsenic above the levels permissible in Bangladesh. The purpose of monitoring will be twofold, first to identify priority areas and groups for assistance and second to assess the effectiveness of the Policy and the Implementation Plan in reducing the arsenic risk and he number of patients; Identification of all arsenic affected patients and population at risk; The water quality of all new water supply sources is tested prior to commissioning; and Assessment of the level of arsenic in soil and agriculture products including livestock. The Policy also advocates raising awareness regarding the impact of ingestion arsenic contaminated water, alternative free safe water sources and mitigation options, remedial measures against arsenic poisoning and that arsenicosis is not contagious and that social exclusion is not justified. Essentially, the Policy shall encourage capacity building by addressing the following; Providing government support for test kit manufacturing within the country, through both public and private initiatives; Capacity at local and community levels for installation, operation and maintenance of mitigation options including monitoring, information management and reporting; Capacity of the relevant government departments will be increased for hydrogeological investigation and analysis; Capacity for water quality monitoring and surveillance of existing safe tube wells and the proposed interventions; Establishment of a network of well-equipped laboratories with arsenic measurement capacity at appropriate levels; Capacity of relevant government agencies to provide technical guidance and monitoring for supply of safe water should be strengthened; Capacity of relevant government agencies for assessment of arsenic in soil and agricultural products, among others. Texte intégral Anglais