The paper summarizes the potentials impact of environment pollution on public heath for Bangladesh. The pollutions types considered here were air, water, soil and sound.

1. Impact of
environmental
pollution on
public health of
Bangladesh

2. 1. Environmental pollution and types of pollution
Pollution, also called environmental pollution, the addition of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or
any form of energy (such as heat, sound, or radioactivity) to the environment at a rate faster than it can
be dispersed, diluted, decomposed, recycled, or stored in some harmless form. The major kinds of
pollution, usually classified by environment, are air pollution, water pollution, and land pollution.
Modern society is also concerned about specific types of pollutants, such as noise pollution, light
pollution, and plastic pollution. Pollution of all kinds can have negative effects on the environment and
wildlife and often impacts human health and well-being. (Nathanson, 2022).
Major pollution types are as below:
2. Different types of pollution and effect on public health of Bangladesh
2.1.1. What is Air pollution?
2.1.2. Air pollution status of Bangladesh:
Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances
in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other
living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. (Wikipedia,
2022) The image shows major air pollutant types:

3. 2.1.3. Air Pollution effect on public health of Bangladesh
2.1.3.1. Morbidity
Both short and long-term exposure to high levels of air pollution increases the risk of respiratory
infection, heart diseases, and lung cancer. Children, the elderly, the already ill, and poor people are
more susceptible (WHO, 2019).
• In Bangladesh long time exposure to ambient particulate matter accounts for 62% of all pollution-
attributable deaths and 55% Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) (SOGA, 2020b).
• Ambient air pollution was the cause of 736 Years of Life Lost (YLL) and 816 Disability Adjusted
Life Year (DALY) per 100,000 population in Bangladesh in 2012 (WHO, 2016).
• Disability Adjusted Life Year (DALY) due to air pollution was 2,608 per 100,000 population in
2016 in Bangladesh (WHO, 2021).
2.1.3.2. Mortality
• Ambient air pollution caused 37,449 deaths in 2012 (WHO, 2016). Total death attributable to
ambient air pollution 82,398 in 2016 (GHO, 2018b). Disease-specific analysis reveals that Lower
Respiratory Tract Infection (LRTI), Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases (COPD), Lung
Cancer, Ischemic Heart Disease (IHD), and stroke were the cause of 3,850, 8,316, 4,375, 10,291,
and 10,617deaths respectively in 2012 (WHO, 2016).
• In 2016, the crude death rate was 103.4 due to air pollution of which from household air pollution,
it was 69.47/100,000 population (WHO, 2021). This indicates an increase in the death rate due to
ambient air pollution from 24 in 2012 to 34 per 100,000 in 2016. Air pollution causes the third-
highest risk for premature death in the South East Asian region, including Bangladesh (World Bank,
2021).
• Another report stated that in Bangladesh, 123,000 deaths were related to household and ambient air
pollution in 2017 and 173,500 in 2019 (AQLI, 2021). Five diseases, namely lung cancer 13%, lower
respiratory tract infection 7%, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases 7%, ischemic heart disease
6%, and stroke 5% are attributable to air pollution among the top 10 diseases of death in Bangladesh
(SOGA, 2019).
2.1.3.2. Respiratory disease
• The Eco-Social Development Organization (ESDO) reported that asthmatic patients rose from
3,326 in 2015 to 78,806 in 2019. There is an association between prenatal exposure to air pollutants
and adverse birth outcomes, e.g., preterm birth, lower birth weight, and developmental lung defects,
further associated with respiratory diseases and reduced lung function in children and adults (Kim
et al., 2018). Air pollution may damage lung development in children and adolescents and is one of
the main factors for allergic respiratory diseases (González-Díaz et al., 2016). The health effects of
air pollution depend on the components and sources of pollutants, which vary with countries,
season, and time. Particularly air pollution can induce the acute exacerbation of COPD and increase
respiratory morbidity and Mortality (Jiang et al., 2016).
2.1.3.3. Health impacts of household
• In Bangladesh, 8,656 deaths and 791,065 DALYs were caused due to Lower Respiratory Tract
Infection, attributable to household air pollution in children under 5 in 2010 (WHO, 2016). In 2019,
the total number of deaths in Bangladesh due to indoor air pollution was 74,000 (SOGA, 2020a).
• Another community-based study revealed that women who used biomass fuel suffered significantly
more (22.1%) from COPD than those who used non-biomass fuel (8.2%) for cooking purposes
(Nahar et al. 2016).

4. • From 2010 to 2019, the total number of deaths attributable to PM2.5 pollution increased (SOGA,
2020b). The concentration of PM2.5 in the air of Bangladesh has increased from 56.03 in 2010 to
62.79 in 2016 (GHO, 2021), which might have contributed to an increased number of total deaths
due to PM2.5 pollution. An urban-based survey in Bangladesh revealed that 40% of Bangladeshi
households exclusively use biomass fuel, and 54% use indoor kitchens.
2.2.1. What is water pollution?
2.2.2. Water pollution status of Bangladesh
2.2.3. Water pollution effect on public health of Bangladesh
Water pollution has increased in both developed and developing countries, threatening the physical and
environmental health of billions of people (Javier et al., 2017). About 3.4 million people die worldwide
each year from water-related diseases like cholera, typhoid, polio, ascariasis, cryptosporidiosis and
diarrheal diseases (UNEP, 2016).
• Every year more than one hundred thousand children under five years old die due to diarrhea-related
diseases (Rana, 2009).
• In 2004 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS) also reported that 5.1% of deaths of
children under five years and 1.2% neonatal deaths were related to diarrhea. Another study reported
that 6.9% of deaths of children under five years and 0% neonatal deaths were related to diarrhea
(Halder, 2009)
Water pollution is the contamination of water sources by
substances which make the water unusable for drinking,
cooking, cleaning, swimming, and other activities. (School of
Public health, Harvard University, 2015)
As per “The Borgen Project”, below are ten facts about the water
pollution of Bangladesh.
10 Facts about
water pollution in
Bangladesh
Water quality a
long-term
struggle 90% of the
population relies
on groundwater
UNICEF and the
World Bank
attempted to
improve access
to water
The largest mass
poisoning from
Arsenic pollution
in history
occurred
Poor water
quality impacts
agriculture
Poor water
quality
significantly
impacts public
health
Contaminated
wells are still in
use
Poverty plays a
role in access to
clean water
Poor water
quality limits the
country’s
potential
The water
quality in
Bangladesh can
improve.

5. • Another study reported that 1% neonatal deaths, 15% post-neonatal deaths and 6% under five age
child deaths were associated with diarrhea (WHO, 2016). (WHO, 2017a,b) also reported that more
than 45,000 under-five youngsters die each year in Bangladesh from diarrhea brought about by
sullied water.
• Every year, an expected 43,000 individuals die from arsenic harming in the nation. Overexposure
to arsenic can cause skin lesions, diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure and chronic disease (Yunus
et al., 2011). A study collected information from 52 districts of Bangladesh and found that about
40 million people are at risk due to arsenic. They also found that the most common diseases affected
by people are melanosis, keratosis, hyperkeratosis, dorsum, gangrene, and skin cancer (Karim,
2000).
• Another study found that arsenic-related diseases were responsible for 9,136 deaths/year in
Bangladesh (Alam, 2003). Similarly, another study examined 811 patients with arsenic skin lesions
from Pabna, Jessore, Kustia, Chuadanga, Narayanganj and Meherpur districts and found that about
16.6% of those patients had died due to cancer during the last 9–12 years (Chakraborti et al., 2010).
• Drinking water polluted by microbial contamination increases the risk of some diseases like
typhoid, dysentery, diarrhea, hepatitis A and hepatitis B (Shar et al., 2007). A study found that
typhoid, bacillary dysentery, and diarrhea are very common among the bacterial origin waterborne
diseases (Parveen, Microbial Contamination of water in around Dhaka city, 2008). Another study
revealed that there is a significant correlation between the microbiological quality of water and
gastrointestinal diseases.
• Pesticide contamination in surface water is another threat to public health in Bangladesh. A study
found that 26.3%, 24.4% and 18.8% farmers of their study reported excessive sweating, burning
eyes and fatigue respectively due to occupational exposure of pesticides (Bhattacharjee, 2013).
Another study reported that pesticide residues could cause respiratory and neurological damages as
well as cancer and heart attack (Galloway and Handy, 2003). Another study reported that food
products containing pesticide residues could cause cancer, teratogenesis and genetic damage
(Chowdhury, 2011). Exposure to heavy metals can cause several diseases like kidney damage,
cancer, abortion, effect on mind and behavior and sometimes even death in the cases of high
exposure (Saha, 2011). Vegetables and fruits contained a high concentration of trace elements like
copper, cadmium, and lead which increased the probability of upper gastrointestinal cancer (Türk-
dogan et al., 2002). Several studies found different effects of different ions or compounds such as
chromium compounds increases the risk of lung cancer (Ishikawa et al., 1994), high consumption
of nickel increases the probability of lung and nasal cavity cancer (Ahmed et al., 2015), excessive
consumption of zinc can cause electrolyte imbalance, nausea, anemia and lethargy (Prasad, 1984),
long term consumption of cadmium increases the rate of kidney failure, softening of bones (Ahmed
et al., 2015), and prostate cancer (Gray, 2005).
2.3.1. What is soil pollution?
3.2. Soil pollution status of Bangladesh
Soil pollution is defined as the presence of toxic
chemicals (pollutants or contaminants) in soil, in high
enough concentrations to pose a risk to human health
and/or the ecosystem. In the case of contaminants which
occur naturally in soil, even when their levels are not high
enough to pose a risk, soil pollution is still said to occur
if the levels of the contaminants in soil exceed the levels
that should naturally be present. (Environmental
Pollution Centers, 2022)
Source: Swartjes, 2011

6. 2.3.2. Soil pollution status of Bangladesh
Soil health in Bangladesh is deteriorating mainly due to the excessive use of chemical fertilizers, rising
salinity, use of topsoil in brick kilns, industrial pollution, deforestation, petroleum lead air pollution,
and deposits of electronic and medical wastes in the soil, said experts.
The presence of 5% organic matter in soil is best, while it requires a minimum of 2%. But it has now
come down to less than 2% in Bangladesh, say recent studies. A study by the Bangladesh Soil Resource
Development Institute recently found that a lack of organic matter and the reduction of various nutrients
are behind declining soil fertility. The Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission and two public
universities recently found cobalt at 38 times higher than tolerable levels and chromium at 112 times
higher, along with 11 heavy metals. Public health also remains at high risk due to the entry of harmful
substances into the body through the food cycle.
2.3.3. Soil pollution effect on public health of Bangladesh
• Human beings may be affected by inhaling gasses emitted from upward-moving soils, or by
inhaling matter ferried by the wind due to the various human activities on the soil. Soil pollution
can lead to various health problems, including headaches, nausea, fatigue, skin rash, eye irritation,
and potentially resulting in severe complications such as neuromuscular blockage, damage to the
kidneys and liver, and various cancers. Due to environmental pollution and related health risks,
around 234,000 people died across the world in 2019. Of them, 80,000 victims were from urban
areas. (The Independent, 2019)
• Due to soil pollution, the production and quality of crops decrease alarmingly. Regular use of
fertilizers, inorganic fertilizers, pesticides diminish soil fertility at a rapidly and change soil
structure, resulting in poor crop quality (Abdel and Mansour, 2017). Owing to the deposition of
harmful chemicals in vast concentrations, the soil may become less nutritious over time. If the soil
is polluted, it may pollute home-grown vegetables and fruits too and other crops too.
• After the rain, the surface water run-off carries the polluted soil and enter various water body. It
could, therefore, contaminate the underground water which causes pollution of the water.
Regardless of the presence of harmful contaminants in the water is not safe for both human and
animal consumption.
2.4.1. What is noise pollution?
Noise pollution is generally defined as regular exposure to elevated sound levels that may lead to
adverse effects in humans or other living organisms. According to the World Health Organization,
sound levels less than 70 dB are not damaging to living organisms, regardless of how long or consistent
the exposure is. Exposure for more than 8 hours to constant noise beyond 85 dB may be hazardous to
human health. (Environmental Pollution Centers, 2022)
2.4.2. Noise pollution status of Bangladesh
2.4.3. Noise pollution effect on public health of Bangladesh
2.4.2. Noise pollution status of Bangladesh
As per “Annual Frontier Report 2022” published by UNEP, Dhaka tops the list
with a noise pollution of 119 dB, out of 61 cities. The major sources of noise
pollution in urban areas are traffic and loud horns. The Department of
Environment found that in Dhaka, 500-1,000 vehicles honk at the same time
when stuck in traffic. Other causes of noise pollution include loud music during
social, political, and religious programs, construction work, and factory noise.
People in Bangladesh were most exposed to noise during school and office
hours when there were a lot of movement of traffic movement. (Rahman and
Islam, 2021)

7. 2.4.3. Noise pollution effect on public health of Bangladesh
• According to a survey of the Department of Environment (DOE), noise
causes mental and physical illness among the people. It causes high blood
pressure, tachycardia, headache, indigestion, peptic ulcer, and also affects
sound sleep. Anyone may become deaf for the time being if 100 dB or more
noise pollution occurs for half an hour or more in any place.
• Any sort of noise pollution seriously affects expecting mothers. It has been
observed that pregnant mothers living near big airports give birth to more
crippled, deformed and immature children than those living in other places.

8. References
1. Khandker, S., Mohiuddin, A., Ahmed, S. A., McGushin, A. and Abelsohn, A. (2022). Air
Pollution in Bangladesh and Its Consequences. Dhaka: Research Square.
2. Shahjahan, M. and Babu, K. (2020). Soil Pollution-A Consequence of Environmental Misdeeds:
Bangladesh Context.Dhaka: Pollution Research.
3. Hasan, M. K., Shahriar, A. and Jim, K.U. (2019). Water pollution in Bangladesh and its impact
on public health. Heliyon, Elsevier Inc.
4. Rahman, M. M., Tasnim, F., Quader, M. A., Bhuiyan, N., Sakib, M. S., Tabassum, R., Shobuj, I.
A., Hasan, L., Chisty, M. A., Rahman, F., Alam, E. and Islam, A. R. M. T. (2021). Perceived
Noise Pollution and Self-Reported Health Status among Adult Population of Bangladesh. Basel:
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
5. “What Is Noise Pollution?”, Environmental Pollution Centers, 12 Apr, 2022,
https://www.scribbr.com/mla/website-citation/
6. “What Is Soil Pollution?”, Environmental Pollution Centers, 12 Apr, 2022,
https://www.environmentalpollutioncenters.org/soil/#:~:text=Definition,health%20and%2For%
20the%20ecosystem.
7. “Water Pollution”, School of Public Health, Harvard University, 12 Apr, 2022,
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/ehep/82-2/
8. “Air pollution”, Wikipedia, 11 Apr, 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_pollution