According to a press release about one third the population of Bangladesh are at risk of getting cancer from arsenic deposits in well water.
Drinking arsenic tainted water for prolonged periods results in skin lesions and cancer of kidney, skin, lung and bladder said the study.At least 100,000 cases of debilitating skin lesions have already occurred, according to World Health Organization report published last September.
Diagnosis of this condition is often delayed because the diseases take several years to develop symptoms. While there is no known cure, researchers suggest increased use of vitamins A, C and E and proteins may help the body resist the onset of the diseases.
Bangladesh, a low-lying area, has been the victim of its own success in providing clean drinking water to nearly all of its 130 million people. More than 3 million wells have been sunk across the country.At least 27 percent of those wells, which draw underground water from less than 200 meters (650 feet) below ground, are contaminated with arsenic.
The report is based on information local and international researchers have gathered over the past decade, said Zafar Adeel, the U.N. university's academic program officer on environment and sustainable development.
The world bank has given huge funds in support with this, to preserve rain water to filtering off pond water.
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