Impacts of Industrial Pollution on Human Health: Empirical Evidences from an Industrial Hotspot (Kaliakoir) in Bangladesh
Water pollution impact on human health is a rising global concern. This pollution is largely caused by agriculture runoff, disposal of solid waste, sewage especially in the urban areas and discharge of untreated industrial waste. These have both direct and indirect adverse impacts on human health. There are about 1176 industrial units in the country of different types that pollute the river and wetlands especially around the urban areas. This study was conducted to explore health hazards from industrial pollution in Kaliakoir, Bangladesh. Based on the authors’ analysis of primary and secondary data, the study reveals that the industrial pollution has caused several health problems for the local community in the vicinity of this industrial zone. Empirical evidence indicates that the incidence of skin diseases, ARI, anemia, peptic ulcer in the region, have been found to have increased between 1998 and 2003. This implies that there are clear linkages between the negative impacts of water pollution due to rising industrial waste and effluents on human health.
Ahmed, A.U. and M. Reazuddin (2000). Industrial Pollution of Water Systems in Bangladesh. In: Rahman, A.A., Huq, S., Conway, G.R. (eds). Environmental Aspects of Surface Water Systems of Bangladesh. The University Press Limited, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) (2005). Compendium of Environment Statistics of Bangladesh. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) (2001). Population Census 2001. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Government of Bangladesh (2008). Bangladesh Economic Review 2008. Ministry of Finance, Government of Bangladesh.
Kaliakoir Upazila Health Complex (2002/03). Draft Statistics Report to the Directorate General Health Services, Kaliakoir, Bangladesh.
MACH (2001). Report on MACH Kaliakoir Pollution Project. Managing Aquatic Ecosystems through Community Husbandry. Winrock International, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Reazuddin, M. (1994). Industry and Pollution-related issues. In: Rahman, A.A., Huq, S., Haider, R., Jansen, E.G. (eds). Environment and Development in Bangladesh. Vol. 2, 241- 263. The University Press Limited, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) (2002). Bangladesh State of Environment. Nairobi: UNEP.
World Bank (2000). Bangladesh: Climate Change and Sustainable Development. Report no 21104-BD. World Bank, Dhaka.
World Health Organization (WHO) (2006). Climate change impacts on health. Available at http://www.who.int/ mediacentre/news/releases/2003/pr91/en/
Zafar Ullah, A.N. (2004). Report on Assessment of Health Hazards from Industrial Pollution in Kaliakoir, Bangladesh. Nuffield Institute of Health, University of Leeds, United Kingdom.
Zafar Ullah, A.N., Clemett, A., Chowdhury, N., Chadwick, M., Huq, T. and R. Sultana (2006). Human Health and Industrial Pollution in Bangladesh. Dhaka, Bangladesh.