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About Pure Earth Bangladesh

Pure Earth is a US-based not-for profit and international non-governmental organization (INGO), registered in Bangladesh (Registration No: 3366), a pioneer in developing evidence-based solutions to heavy metal pollution including lead exposure in low and middle-income countries. In Bangladesh, Pure Earth is working since 2011; expanding capacity, building partnerships, and carrying out foundational research, mainly on the lead sources (367 products were analyzed in four districts, home-based assessments were conducted in six districts), conducted toxic site assessments (300+ toxic‌ ‌sites were identified and assessed‌ in Bangladesh), implementing lead remediation programs (three remediation projects were implemented in three districts, lead remediation ‌resulted‌ ‌in‌ ‌a‌ ‌35%‌ ‌decline‌ ‌in‌ ‌children’s‌ ‌blood lead levels), raising community awareness, and advocating to increase monitoring and enforce regulations.

Pure Earth Bangladesh has partnered with government agencies to develop and implement a Health and Pollution Action Plan (HPAP).

Pure Earth Bangladesh works cooperatively in partnerships that include governments, NGOs, civil society organizations, research institutes, universities, and media agencies to reduce lead exposure, and design and implement innovative solutions to save lives.

Here we believe that Together, we can solve lead pollution.

Rapid Market Study Report Published: High Level of Lead in the Daily Commodities in Bangladesh, Exceeded Reference Lead Levels in 24% of the Study Samples

Pure Earth has published a comprehensive Rapid Market Screening study on September 12, 2023.  It has identified alarming lead contamination in consumer products in Bangladesh, sampling 197 products across 3 districts: Barishal, Rajshahi, and Khulna. About 24% of the samples exceeded the reference lead levels; maximum amount of lead is found in the products that we use in our everyday life such as metallic cookware, ceramic cookware, and toys.

The Rapid Market Screening (RMS) program is a project of Pure Earth with support from GiveWell. Between 2021 and 2023, researchers analyzed lead concentrations in thousands of products and foods from markets across 25 countries, including Bangladesh. Read more:

 

 

Lead pollution is increasing the risk of intellectual disabilities among children and causing four times higher deaths in Bangladesh; costing up to 9% of the country’s GDP

Today, the Lancet Planetary Health journal published the World Bank’s analysis titled ‘Global health burden and cost of lead exposure in children and adults: a health impact and economic modeling analysis.’ The report estimates that the level of harm due to lead exposure is far greater than previous estimations.

According to the study, lead pollution has serious implications for children below five years of age, causing a loss of about 20 million (20,596,306) IQ points,  and about 140,000 (138,054) cardiovascular disease (CVD) deaths among adults aged 25 years or older due to lead exposure exceeded the previous estimation with a four times higher mortality rate. The combined cost of these health effects was US$28,633 million which is a loss of 6 to 9% of the country’s GDP in 2019.

Read more:

Pure Earth's Film wins GRAND PRIX award at WHO's "Health for All" film festival

Watch the film: One in 36 Million: Story of Childhood lead poisoning in Bangladesh

“One in 36 Million: Story of childhood lead poisoning in Bangladesh”, a film produced by Pure Earth Bangladesh won the Grand Prix award in the “Better Health and Well-being” category of the World Health Organization (WHO)’s fourth ‘Health for All’ film festival. The online and in-person award ceremony was held on 6 June at the WHO’s headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland

The film was directed by Arifur Rahman, Filmmaker and Producer, Goopy Bagha Productions Limited, and Mitali Das, Documentary Film Director and Communications Lead for Pure Earth in Bangladesh.

About 36 million children are poisoned by lead in Bangladesh, ‘One in 36 million’ is the story of one child, Saim among those 36 million.

Read details in the Press Note: Bangladeshi film on childhood lead poisoning won Grand Prix in the World Health Organization’s film festival

Read in the blog: Pure Earth Film Awarded Grand Prix Prize at WHO’s Health for All Film Festival

The Toxic Truth

Hundreds of people pledged to prevent lead pollution

With the slogan – “Together, we can solve lead pollution”, hundreds of community people, local leaders, government and non-government representatives, police, and media reporters participated in the community and stakeholder engagement event held in Khulna.

The Toxic Truth

Lead pollution is a silent killer.

 

The potential lead sources in Bangladesh are lead-acid battery manufacturing and recycling, spices (turmeric), lead-based paint, toys, aluminum cookware, ceramic foodware, e-waste, contaminated food, pigments, amulets, jewelry-making, gold waste processing, cosmetics, religious powders, and traditional medicines.

 

 

Programmatic Solutions

Research on Lead Sources
Research on Lead Sources

Expanding the investigation for potential sources of lead exposure and poisoning, Pure Earth Bangladesh conducted a Rapid Marketplace Screening (RMS) in 2021-2022 in four major districts: Dhaka, Rajshahi, Khulna, and Barishal. The preliminary findings show that 96 samples are lead-positive among 367 samples; major sources were aluminum cookware, ceramic foodware, local paints, toys, amulets, pigments, and other non-food items.

Toxic Site Assessments
Toxic Site Assessments

In 2016, Pure Earth with a local partner in Bangladesh, the University of Dhaka Department of Geology, began identifying toxic hot spots. Within just 6 months, they found 115 contaminated sites. As of 2021, Pure Earth has identified and assessed more than 300 toxic sites. Based on this data, the World Bank estimates there are more than 1,000 such informal ULAB smelting sites across the country.

Lead Remediation Program
Lead Remediation Program

In 2018, Pure Earth completed the first known lead remediation in Bangladesh in Kathgora, Savar which resulted in a 35% decline in children’s blood lead levels. In May 2022, the second remediation took place in Mirzapur, Tangail. This remediation project has ensured a lead-free, safe environment for 600+ villagers. Also, 200 children’s blood lead levels were tested and environmental samples were collected and analyzed to further understand the contributing sources of lead pollution.

Advocacy and Campaigns
Advocacy and Campaigns

Pure Earth’s online and offline campaign and advocacy strategy successfully reached about 50 million people and helped to raise awareness and mobilized community members, youth, government officials, and relevant stakeholders to take unified actions to solve lead pollution. Click to know more!

The Toxic Truth

The‌ ‌chief‌ ‌concern‌ ‌of‌ ‌lead‌ ‌exposure‌ ‌is‌ ‌its‌ ‌impact‌ ‌on‌ ‌children’s‌ ‌brains.

Lead‌ ‌causes‌ ‌permanent‌ ‌brain‌ ‌damage‌ ‌and‌ ‌IQ‌ ‌loss ‌hence ‌decreasing ‌economic‌ ‌productivity.‌ ‌ ‌Productivity‌ ‌losses‌ ‌from‌ ‌lead‌ ‌exposure‌ ‌reduce‌ ‌Bangladesh’s‌ ‌GDP‌,‌ ‌thus‌ ‌lead‌ ‌is‌ ‌not‌ ‌only‌ ‌a‌ ‌health‌ ‌issue‌ ‌but‌ ‌a‌ ‌poverty-reduction‌ ‌issue.‌ ‌It also undermines many cross-cutting development areas including education, societal stability, and violence.

News Coverage

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    The Toxic Truth

    Communication and Advocacy Materials

    Communication and advocacy materials on the impact, sources, and solutions to lead pollution are to raise awareness, bring changes in the social and behavioral aspects, and advocate to solve lead pollution. The materials are developed targeting various audiences including community members, health workers, government and non-government agencies, policy and decision-makers, and media agencies.

    “Pure Earth has brought government agencies and battery companies together to ensure sound management of battery recycling.”
    Dr. Syed Shahjahan Ahmed
    Deputy Secretary
    Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
    “The government has made the eradication of lead exposures a priority to protect the environment for future generations.”
    Ahmed Shamim Al Razi
    Additional Secretary
    Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
    “It is important to identify all the sources of lead poisoning. 
    One of the targets of SDG is to reduce chemical waste by 2030.”
    Robed Amin
    Line Director, NCDC
    Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS)

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    #8/12, Block-A, Lalmatia
    Dhaka, Bangladesh

    Our Team
    DR. MAHFUZAR RAHMAN

    Country Director

    MITALI DAS

    Communications Lead

    BASUDEB CHAKRABORTTY

    Program Director

    BUSHRA HUMAIRA SADAF

    Senior Communications Manager

    FAISAL MAHMOOD

    Program Officer

    KAWSAR RAHMAN

    Admin and Finance Officer

    MIZANUR RAHMAN

    Consultant

    MAHADI HASAN

    Field Coordinator and Safety Officer

    ABU SAYEM

    Office Assistant