A case study of unintended consequences: arsenic in drinking water in Bangladesh

Ebi, Kristie; Mills, David; Smith, Joel

doi:10.1201/b17008-6

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Early in the 1970s, tube wells were installed by the United Nations Children's Fund and the Department of Public Health Engineering to provide drinking water that was free of enteric pathogens to the Bangladesh population (Ebi et al , ). At the time of installation, the tube wells were not tested for arsenic contamination (Smith et al , ); however, at depths of less than 200 m, these tube wells were extracting water that contained high levels of arsenic.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bayesian spatial design of optimal deep tube well locations in Matlab, Bangladesh

2013

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Summary We introduce a method for statistically identifying the optimal locations of deep tubewells (dtws) to be installed in Matlab, Bangladesh. Dtw installations serve to mitigate exposure to naturally occurring arsenic found at groundwater depths less than 200 meters, a serious environmental health threat for the population of Bangladesh. We introduce an objective function, which incorporates both arsenic level and nearest town population size, to identify optimal locations for dtw placement. Assuming complete knowledge of the arsenic surface, we then demonstrate how minimizing the objective function over a domain favors dtws placed in areas with high arsenic values and close to largely populated regions. Given only a partial realization of the arsenic surface over a domain, we use a Bayesian spatial statistical model to predict the full arsenic surface and estimate the optimal dtw locations. The uncertainty associated with these estimated locations is correctly characterized as well. The new method is applied to a dataset from a village in Matlab and the estimated optimal locations are analyzed along with their respective 95% credible regions.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bayesian spatial design of optimal deep tube well locations in Matlab, Bangladesh

2013

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“…The efforts of the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, the Bangladesh Department of Public Health and Engineering, and nongovernmental organizations led to the installation of millions of tube wells throughout the country. 3 Most of these tube wells tap into the shallow aquifer (< 140 ft) and provide drinking water that is generally considered safe. Tube wells are installed with a hand percussion drilling method that drives polyvinyl chloride pipe to the aquifer; thus installation is inexpensive and feasible for even relatively poor households.…”

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confidence: 99%

Protective Benefits of Deep Tube Wells Against Childhood Diarrhea in Matlab, Bangladesh

Winston¹,

Escamilla²,

Perez-Heydrich³

et al. 2013

Am J Public Health

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Objectives We investigated whether deep tube wells installed to provide arsenic-free groundwater in rural Bangladesh have the added benefit of reducing childhood diarrheal disease incidence. Methods We recorded cases of diarrhea in children younger than 5 years in 142 villages of Matlab, Bangladesh, during monthly community health surveys in 2005 and 2006. We surveyed the location and depth of 12 018 tube wells and integrated these data with diarrhea data and other data in a geographic information system. We fit a longitudinal logistic regression model to measure the relationship between childhood diarrhea and deep tube well use. We controlled for maternal education, family wealth, year, and distance to a deep tube well. Results Household clusters assumed to be using deep tube wells were 48.7% (95% confidence interval = 27.8%, 63.5%) less likely to have a case of childhood diarrhea than were other household clusters. Conclusions Increased access to deep tube wells may provide dual benefits to vulnerable populations in Matlab, Bangladesh, by reducing the risk of childhood diarrheal disease and decreasing exposure to naturally occurring arsenic in groundwater.

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A case study of unintended consequences: arsenic in drinking water in Bangladesh

Cited by 2 publications

References 2 publications

Bayesian spatial design of optimal deep tube well locations in Matlab, Bangladesh

Bayesian spatial design of optimal deep tube well locations in Matlab, Bangladesh

Protective Benefits of Deep Tube Wells Against Childhood Diarrhea in Matlab, Bangladesh

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