Arsenic poisoning

HA NOI — The preliminary results from Ha Noi’s 2009 census, reported that over two million Hanoians are using drilled well water, while a series of surveys have stated that many of the drilled wells in the city are contaminated with arsenic. Nguyen Minh Ngoc, 27, was constantly annoyed with her relatives’ advice to use a water filter before using the drilled water. She later got her water examined, which tested positive for arsenic. Since that time she has followed her family’s advice. “The water looks pure so I never thought that it was polluted, but it was contaminated with a high density of arsenic”, said Ngoc who uses drilled-well water in Thuy Phuong Commune, Tu Liem District in the suburbs of Ha Noi. As a nurse, Ngoc is well aware of the effects that chemicals can have on a person’s health. “I have seen people with their skin desquamated due to the infection, but they live in the southern part of the city that has been polluted for many years because of its close proximity to a cemetery,” Ngoc said. “It is terrible that I live in a different place but am still influenced by the same pollution,” said Ngoc. The census also reported that 22.5 per cent of the 6 million people in the city are using untreated water from pools, lakes, rivers, and other sources. It also stated that 38.5 per cent are using untreated well-water and the remaining 39 per cent have access to clean water. Viet Nam has more than 1 million drilled wells. Of the reported wells, an estimated 25 per cent are contaminated with arsenic. The levels of arsenic in the water are approximately 20-25 times higher than the permitted level in those areas. …

Contaminated wells threaten 2 million people in Ha Noi via Apocadocs