The Mother and Child Foundation

The Worst Man-made Disaster Ever: Arsenic is transferred from the mother to the child in her womb

Low level chronic arsenic poisoning (arsenicosis) – melanosis, keratosis, non-healing ulcer, gangrene, non-pitting oedema, conjunctivitis, cancer (organ level internal & external), death.

Discoveries on the present state against the WHO upper limit, which is 10 micrograms (mg) per litre (L) of arsenic in drinking water:

• 30 million children in Bangladesh are being poisoned with arsenic, whilst still in the womb of their mothers.
• Drinking water samples from 9 tube wells in Chadpur Bangladesh ranged from 230-950 mg/L of arsenic.
• New deep tube wells were drilled to provide, safe, arsenic free, drinking water: In 4, arsenic was undetectable;
• One contained traces; 4 contained more (293, 788, 544, 734 and 850 mg/L).
• In 48 people 52% had blood levels of arsenic above the WHO upper limit of 5mg/L.
• In 18 mothers at the delivery all were above the WHO 5mg safe level (mean 15mg/L). In their infants at birth, the mean level was 7mg/L.

The lower level found in the fetus shows some placental protection but confirms that arsenic is being transferred from the mother to the fetus at unsafe levels. This transfer is critically important: Prenatal development is the most sensitive period when many gene expression and maturation processes are permanently set.

Children under 5 are now showing signs of arsenicosis. We urgently need to conduct a more detailed survey of the threat to the unborn child and of the children born after the introduction of the original arsenic wells and to introduce rainwater harvesting as with New Zealand experience to protect families and especially pregnant women.