Building a National Response to Lead Contamination in Bangladesh

Bangladesh

The project aimed to reduce the burden of disease from lead pollution in Bangladesh by demonstrating that lead pollution can be controlled and cost-effectively remediated with budgets, technologies and methods available in low-income countries and by building capacity for replication. It was designed to build the foundation of a sustainable National Lead Program that will aim to prevent and reduce exposures to lead pollution, and thus improve the development potential of Bangladesh. The project partners initiated risk-reduction activities in Kathgora, which included: 1) preparing staff, supplies, equipment, and facilities; 2) conducting community education about project activities, lead risks, and ways to protect yourself and your family; 3) conducting pre-project analysis of concentrations of lead in the blood of local children; 4) removing, isolating, and capping contaminated soils in public spaces; 5) remediating residential yards; 6) cleaning the interiors of homes within the project area; and 7) monitoring health and safety of workers and the community. Through these activities, the risk of exposure to hazardous levels of lead was drastically reduced for all local residents, including 90 children. Levels of lead in surface soils have been reduced from above 10,000 parts per million to less than 200. The final phase of the project will include follow-up blood testing to confirm reductions in exposures to lead. In addition to benefitting the members of the Kathgora community, this project serves as a demonstration and proof of concept for the Government of Bangladesh and all other interested stakeholders. Once the post-project blood lead analysis is complete, Pure Earth will begin sharing and promoting the project to encourage replication at other sites. In addition to the remediation project in Kathgora, Pure Earth developed the process of national Health and Pollution Action Plan (HPAP) with the Government of Bangladesh. The first stage of the HPAP process was the development of a background report analyzing all of the pollution challenges faced by the country. Pure Earth also had a preliminary planning meeting with the Department of Environment (DOE) in February 2018 to discuss the scope and aims of the HPAP. During Feb 2018 until Aug 2019, Pure Earth has successfully completed a remediation project at a site contaminated with toxic lead pollution in the community of Kathgora. This project reduced levels of lead in the blood of the local children from a pre-project average of 23.3 ug/dL to a post-project average of 14.7 ug/dL. Pure Earth has also substantially completed assessments of contaminated sites. Pure Earth has assessed 92 sites contaminated with toxic chemicals. The health impacts from the remediation of Kathgora were significant, and the project will make an example for replication. Since the Kathgora project was completed, the Department of Environment has shown dramatically increased interest in the issue of lead pollution and lead poisoning. In January 2018, the Department created a National Expert Committee on Lead and Battery Recycling, which now meets regularly and is tasked with designing short- and long-term solutions to the issue of informal lead-acid battery recycling. Pure Earth staff sit on this Committee to provide input.