抄録
Recently, arsenic contamination of drinking water has become a serious problem in Bangladesh. Arsenic causes skin diseases, cancers, and in the worst case, death. Bangladesh is one of the poorest countries in the world and has suffered many disasters such as cyclones, floods, droughts and damage caused by salt. Therefore, Bangladesh is a fragile area affected by arsenic problems. Since the revelation of arsenic contamination, various alternative technologies have been introduced to supply safe drinking water. However, some have already been abandoned because of a lack of knowledge about proper use, difficulties of maintenance, bad taste of water and stress of collecting water. For the mitigation of arsenic contamination of drinking water in Bangladesh, it is important to take into account the social environment and the situation of drinking water use and options that are acceptable to local residents.
Recognizing the above, the purpose of this study aimed to clarify the social environment and situation of drinking water use to obtain indicators for planning of disaster mitigation for arsenic contamination of drinking water in Bangladesh based on the local social environment. First, to clarify the social environment and water supply, a questionnaire survey was carried out in 3 rural villages. From the simple aggregation data, the differences in social environments and situations of drinking water use were determined. Second, the Cramer's coefficient of contingency clarified that the correlation between usage of water and recognition of arsenic problems are different. Finally, applying a factor analysis, common factors were derived for the situation of drinking water use and acceptability of local residents for water use. In addition, indicators for acceptable planning processes on disaster mitigation for arsenic contamination were obtained by structural equation models.
JFL Classification: I18, I32, L31
