What Is The Source Of Arsenic Contamination In Groundwater Under Bangladesh?

Short answer is that nobody is really too sure.

There is no obvious source of environmental arsenic on the land or in the area of Bangladesh itself. But it is known that arsenic is a ubiquitous heavy metal, occuring in tiny quantities throughout the natural world.

One theory is that the arsenic that ends up in Bangladeshi groundwater originated in the Himalaya mountains. Rivers from this region feed through India and Bangladesh, emptying into the sea in the Bay of Bengal.

Here the arsenic would settle down into coastal heavy muddy sediments. Over time, it would built up in concentration. Also, water percolating through the mud into aquifers underneath would absorb some diluted arsenic, which might build up on concentrations within the arsenic.

Why this doesn't lead to significant arsenic poisoning in aquifers under other countries isn't really clear, either. It could be that in the past the arsenic concentration in Himalyan waters was much higher than we see today. Or that the problem has arisen because of how large the Bay of Bengal is, or because of the slow rate at which the aquifers are replenished.

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