Environmental Health

INTRODUCTION

Arsenic exposure in food and drinking water is among the fastest growing environmental and health concerns in the United Kingdom, China and Bengal. In fact, arsenic exposure by itself has caused multi-million dollar losses and still a progressing dilemma in these countries. The arsenic exposure is among the major concerns of the 3 countries as it hinders growth and creation of job opportunities. The arsenic exposure phenomena has led to the unemployment of over a million workers who were distributed within various establishments were they were poisoned by arsenic, totaling to financial losses of billions of dollars. From these records, the arsenic exposure has indeed become one of the most feared health concerns in the world.

Important changes in the understanding and management of arsenic exposure in food and drinking water have been developed in the past 10 to 15 years. Various researchers, practitioners and policymakers now acknowledge that arsenic exposure can be conceptualized from a functional perspective and that appropriate interventions involve the development of alternative measures to cope up. It was also noted that the establishment of a conducive program for the detection and further prevention of arsenic contamination have served effectively in lowering the prevalence of arsenic exposure among citizens of UK, China and Bengal. At present, this philosophical shift has extended to various settings and countries also affected with arsenic exposure. Government leaders and officials of affected countries have recognized that some of their citizens do not appreciate so much the quality of service that they offer in trying to at least temporarily control the arsenic exposure situation. Hence, their citizens may have the tendency to shy away from knowing the grave impacts of continued exposure to arsenic because of this bad impression they have on their respective governments’ efforts.

Background of the Problem

             In the United Kingdom, China and Bengal, arsenic is one of the most prevalent sources of contamination. People from these countries are in the red zone in terms of alarming number of arsenic exposure cases. In spite of the increasing popularity of these countries as an urban tourist destination, news of prevalent arsenic exposure has affected the influx of tourist and the revenue acquired from this business. The problem on its containment for example, is one of the growing concerns of these countries. In addition, protecting their citizens from further exposure to arsenic by any means is one of the highly significant priorities of these countries. Government officials in these countries in coordination with the World Health Organization (WHO) are applying various strategies that will help contain the occurrence of arsenic exposure in their respective countries.

            One of the main issues relevant to the need of assessing experiences of the arsenic exposed citizens of these countries is the new strategies introduced and implemented by the government of these countries in an effort to control the arsenic exposure. With the introduction of information and communication

Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com