Hard water linked to CKDU: Rajarata scientists
The controversy over the arsenic content in fertilizer has come to the centre- stage again -- with Rajarata University researchers claiming that hard water is responsible for the high prevalence of the Chronic Kidney Disease of Unknown aetiology or origin (CKDu) in the North Central Province and the Uva.
By the end of 2011, the number of CKDu cases reported from the NCP and Uva was 15,851.
The researchers claimed that the situation was so serious that today some 15 per cent of the NCP population in the age group 15-70 was either suffering from the disease or in the early stages of it.
The latest report released by the World Health Organisation states that the increase in the number of patients is due to long term exposure of several risk factors toxic to the kidney. They include cadmium and arsenic.
Rajarata University Pharmacology lecturer M. A. C. S. Jayasumana, who together with other academics conducted a research on the presence of arsenic in pesticides used in the country, said that when examining the autopsy reports of CKDu patients, kidney toxic substances such as cadmium arsenate and arsenic were found in kidney tissues.
He attributed the high prevalence of the disease in these NCP and the Uva to the presence of a high arsenic content in natural water resources. Ground water gets contaminated due to the usage of fertilizer containing arsenic, he said.
Dr. Jayasumana said their research showed there was a positive relationship between the increased number of CKDu patients and the hardness of the ground water. (The hardness of the water is determined by the amount of minerals in the water)
The higher the ground water hardness in a particular area is, the more the number of patients from there. Since the ground water hardness in these areas is in the high range of 400 to 100 mg/litre, the Rajarata University research concluded that arsenic entered the human body through hard water, causing the CKDu.
Dr. Jayasumana said people who consume rice produced by using arsenic-rich fertilizer also face the health hazard. If arsenic enters the body through food, it could harm the liver and also cause cancer and diabetes.
As the crisis deepens, the Jathika Hela Urumaya parliamentarian on Tuesday staged a demonstration to draw the people’s attention to the issue.
“It is distressing to say that the authorities have not taken any measures to stop the distribution of low quality fertilizer and none of the recommendations of the WHO report has been implemented. The officials have sold themselves to the few companies that import fertilizers and are reluctant to take action against them,” said JHU parliamentarian Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thera.
The money spent on fertilizer subsidy -- some Rs. 55 billion -should be given to farmers, he said adding that he believed that the high number of CKDu cases in the country was due to the use of arsenic-laden low quality fertilizer.
The Thera said the concept of sustainable agriculture should be promoted island-wide and farmers must be encouraged to cultivate without using chemical fertilizer.
He vowed to continue the protest campaign until the government stopped the import of low quality fertilizer.