Out of 392, as many as 253 tube wells – almost 89.71 per cent – of the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) are pumping out arsenic-contaminated water, posing serious health hazards to Lahorites who are unaware of the slow poison they are consuming daily, says a recent report by the Punjab Environmental Protection Department (EPD).
Sources in the EPD said that according to samples taken by the field staff, water of 253 tube wells, out of 392, was found to be contaminated with arsenic. They said the PU’s Chemistry Department also seconded the EPD’s report through Atomic Absorption Tests. The EPD would submit a complete report on the matter to the Punjab chief minister in a few days, they added.
Termed a slow poison, arsenic is present in rocks, soil, air, plants and animals and its long-term use might cause different forms of cancer. The element can not be easily detected during ingestion as it is tasteless, odorless and colorless.
Arsenic in drinking water is absorbed by the body and distributed by bloodstream. It does not enter the body through skin or by inhalation during bathing.
The body parts which accumulate arsenic the most over time are nails and hair. Though most of the element is removed through urine, skin, hair and nails also help the body get rid of it.
The permissible limit of arsenic, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) standards, is 10 parts per billion (ppb), but water of some tube wells in the city carries as much as over 50 ppb of the element.
Environmentalists say the government should declare it mandatory to carry out tests for bacteria, nitrates and organic and inorganic compounds on every tube well at least once a year. They say modern tests like Mass Spectrometry/Inductively Coupled Plasma, Electro-Thermal Atomic Absorption Spectrometric Method, Manual Hydride Generation/Atomic Absorption Spectrometric Method and Silver Diethyldithiocarbamate Method should be introduced across the province to test of presence of arsenic in water.
Dr Attiqur Rehman, assistant professor Environmental Sciences, Lahore College, who is also a visiting research fellow at the Tokyo Institute of Technology (Japan), says it is a matter of great concern that even in cities like Lahore, where the WASA claims the provision of high quality water, the level of arsenic is almost five times higher than the WHO standards. He says the government should pay immediate attention to the issue, ordering installation of arsenic filtration plants at all the sources where from water is being pumped out or stored for public supply.
He says arsenic is very harmful heavy metal and its effects on human body include loss of appetite, nausea, diarrhea, skin lesions, skin rash, chronic headaches, apathy, garlic odor on breath, a metallic taste in the mouth, a bronzing pigment of the skin resembling raindrops on a dusty road and possible damage to the liver. Arsenic and arsenic compounds are also known cancer-causing agents and have been implicated in lung and skin cancer and associated with birth defects, he adds.
When contacted, EPA director general Dr Shugufta Shahjehan said the department was working hard to identify the presence of arsenic in the province, so that necessary measures could be taken to fix the problem. To a question, she said no death had so far been reported due to arsenic poisoning in areas of high concentration. This did not mean that people were free from health hazards resulting from arsenic-contaminated water, she added.
Source: http://thenews.jang.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=245413, Thursday, June 17, 2010 written by Ali Raza
Tags: water quality in Lahore
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