Bangladesh Chemistry Case Study

Unsafe water supplies are often contaminated with infectious agents, toxic chemicals, and radiological hazards. In 2000, the World Health Organization and UNICEF identified some 2.4 billion people who did not have basic sanitation facilities, and 1.1 billion people without a safe drinking water supply. (Wagner, 2009) Some communities experienced diarrhea, caused by a variety of parasites, viruses, and bacteria that infect people as a result of contaminated drinking water or poor hygiene. In India, more than 500,000 children die from diarrhea every year. Like other tropical diseases, when diarrhea does not kill, it weakens, leaving people more susceptible to other infections, such as tuberculosis and HIV. (Whitman, 2008).

People in Developing countries drink pond, stream, pond water which could be contaminated by animals and people. In third world countries they’re not really educated so they don’t know that the water they drink is bad for them. Another way they get water is by digging deep holes until they find water, it may be cleaner than the surface water but there would be still be a chance that it could be contaminated, which could end up giving them diseases and even death. 884 million people in the world don’t have water that is safe to drink. Also more 80 percent of sewage in third world countries contaminates their water source. Schools also don’t clean/safe water for kids to drink. In developing countries women and children spend 6 hours every day trying to collecting water and on

- Tests determined increase levels of arsenic, selenium and other metals in the surrounding waters and in sediment nearby.

This research paper will focus on the social determinant of health involving access to clean water. We have focused our research on the accessibility of safe water intake on First Nations Reserves in Canada, we all know of the issues with limited access to safe water in other countries but we often forget about our own issues at home here. Over a billion people in the world lack safe drinking water, something that many of us in the Canada take for granted on a daily basis. As pointed out by Peter Gleick, “nearly three billion people live without access to adequate sanitation systems necessary for reducing exposure to water-related diseases”5. Throughout this paper we will explore different solution options in order to prevent the spread of dangerous diseases through unsanitary water conditions. Our research is going to express the importance of focusing on the issue we have at hand here in Canada and increasing awareness for the issues here before worrying about other countries over seas. Outbreaks of water-borne infections include but are not limited to; E’coli, Salmonella, Schistosoma, Cholera vibrios and Hepatitis A. Thousands of people die every day worldwide from water-related diseases; these deaths include mostly children and elderly, with some of these incidents taking place in Canada.

It is often believed that unsafe drinking water is strictly a critical health issue in impoverished third world countries. However, in recent years in the United States, one of the most developed countries in the world, we are experiencing multiple incidences of widespread public water contamination. In 2014, news stations across America were flooded with the devastating water crisis in Flint, Michigan and though this is the most recent occurrence, it is not an isolated incident. Though Flint was the most widely recognized incident, in the same year two other distressing cases of unsafe tap water also occurred in two other United States cities. While several of these cases of water contamination in the U.S. have been unintentional, other

USnews.com finds that India is an area where a large majority of the population do not have access to clean water. Indians have to spend 62 more cents than the British for their water, which is estimated to be 20 percent of their average income. These are the circumstances that they have to live with in, where the only alternative is to use contaminated water. Those who choose to do so often face a risk of dying from an illness, more often from diarrhea. Exposure to dirty water accounts for the death of 140,000 kids in India.

Unclean water is a growing phenomenon that is immensely occurring in Latin America. Water is an important necessity in life. There are over 70 million people who have no access to clean water. Many families in Latin America cannot afford to send their children to school, so the children drop out of school to help work at the home. Many of the children who stay home to work walk for hours to get to the nearest water source, and most of the time, the water is unclean and not safe to drink. The unclean water is the only water accessible to families in Latin America. With the unclean water available, sanitation was not. It is very rare to find any form of sanitized water in most households in Latin America. Over 100 million people are not

illegal level of bacterial growth. This study also found high levels as high as 13 parts per billion of arsenic tap water is only allowed to have 5 parts per billion.

This chemical tends to occur naturally in soil, so sometimes it can make its way into your well. If you drink too much water contaminated with arsenic, you will be susceptible to an array of harsh side effects such as vomiting and a burning feeling. If your water supply is never checked and you drink arsenic-laced water regularly over time, your risk factor for developing several kinds of cancer will increase substantially.

Water contamination is one of the reasons are health and many other people’s health is not good. Half of the world’s hospital beds are being used for people that are suffering from a water related disease. Globally, about 1.8 billion people use a drinking water source that is contaminated with feces. Contaminated water can transmit many different diseases such as diarrhea, cholera, dysentery, typhoid, and polio. Eighty-eight percent of diarrhea are estimated to be attributable from unsafe drinking water.

Although municipal water can contain a vast array of contaminants, several continued to repeatedly show up in water of the cities studied. Among the most frequently found contaminants were Arsenic, mentioned earlier, and other toxic chemicals such as radon, the rocket fuel perchlorate and other carcinogens, which may cause skin problems, birth defects, reproductive problems and even cancer. High Volumes of Lead were found, which enters the drinking water supplies from the corrosion of old pipes and

The provision of good quality household drinking water is often regarded as an important means of improving health, according to Sajama et al, 2011. What is more, the supply of clean water is limited by a lack of infrastructure, capacity and financial resources .so the quality of water is becoming a serious public health issue for the past years. The water shortages in Algeria Sahara has become worse because of inefficient management of the piped water distribution

Furthermore, the access to fresh water provides minerals that also fight these deficiencies’. The quality of water is vital and an important health matter. When there is a shortage of clean water there is a chance that the occurrence of bacteria that cause diarrhea and cholera are present. Bacteria like, “diarrhea most often results from the ingestion of pathogens from excrement that has not been disposed of properly, or from the lack of hygiene” (Who.int. 2011). By implementing a plan to ensure that the water quality is safe is of utmost importance given the numerous risks

Safe drinking-water is essential for healthy life, and United Nations (UN) General Assembly declared safe and clean drinking-water as a human right essential to the full enjoyment of life [1]. Moreover, the importance of water, sanitation and hygiene for health and development has been reflected in the outcomes of a series of international policy forums [1]. These have also included health and water-oriented conferences, but most importantly in the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) adopted by the General Assembly of the UN in 2000. The UN General Assembly declared the period from 2005 to 2015 as the International Decade for Action, “Water for Life” [1]. Access to safe drinking-water is important as a health and development issue at national, regional and local levels. Bangladesh, a developing country from South Asian (SA) region also takes several steps for ensuring sanitation and safe drinking water facilities among the people. As a result, Bangladesh has made great progress in this sector. The government also claimed that it has achieved the MDG indicator of ensuring safe drinking water for 85% people of the country. According to different demographic and health surveys, the percentage of using improved sources of drinking water is about 98% (reported in the latest two surveys Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) 2012-13 and Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS) 2014) [2,3]. But, this achievement statistics are overlooking the shortcomings.

Due to the consumption of contaminated drinking water, many people suffer repeated cases of illnesses that can stunt their growth and prevent many from going to school to get a proper education (Southwestern 1).