Environmental irony: summoning death in Bangladesh

Atkins, P.J.; Hassan, M.M.; Dunn, C.E.

Abstract

The arsenic crisis that affects at least thirty million water consumers in Bangladesh has been called the world’s greatest ever environmental health disaster. Although the problem and the potential solutions have been presented confidently in the media, the argument of this paper is that, ironically, very little of the science or the technology is certain. From the spatial and depth variabilities of contamination, through safety thresholds, to the accuracy of field testing kits, we find indeterminacy. We argue that rather than shying away from such uncertainty, however, mitigation policies must acknowledge and embrace it if any real progress is to be made.

Citation

Atkins, P., Hassan, M., & Dunn, C. (2007). Environmental irony: summoning death in Bangladesh. Environment and Planning A, 39(11), 2699-2714. https://doi.org/10.1068/a38123

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: 2007-05
• Deposit Date: Feb 13, 2008
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 27, 2012
• Journal: Environment and Planning A
• Print ISSN: 0308-518X
• Electronic ISSN: 1472-3409
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 39
• Issue: 11
• Pages: 2699-2714
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1068/a38123
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1596129