Issue 22: January 2003

Symposium to assess fate of
arsenic in the environment

UN University Environment and Sustainable Development Programme and the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology are organizing an international symposium on the Fate of Arsenic in the Environment in Dhaka February 5-6.

Arsenic in groundwater and its fate and transport in the environment have become urgent issues in Bangladesh, India and several other countries in South and Southeast Asia. In Bangladesh alone, current estimates of people exposed to high arsenic-contaminated water vary from 25 to 30 million. 

Tubewell water extracted from shallow aquifers is the primary source of drinking/cooking water for most of the country's  population. Besides domestic use, huge quantities of water from shallow aquifer are also used for irrigation during the dry season. This dependency on groundwater for public water supplies and irrigation results in a huge quantity of arsenic being cycled through the environment each year with major implications on public health and environment. 

The symposium's objectives are to assess the fate of arsenic:

• Extracted through tubewell water, in the environment.

• In water-soil-plant environment and its impact on food chain.

• In treatment wastes and to identify prospective technologies for safe disposal of such wastes.

Delegates will also discuss policy issues and identify research needs to manage the arsenic crisis.

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