Bangladesh being located downstream of the mighty river works as a retention basin of excess water carried by the river system for final discharge in the Bay of Bengal. The reducing soil environment in the deeply flooded areas appears to be conducive to the release of arsenic in ground water. The tube wells sunk in shallow aquifers in the Ganges and Meghna flood plains except in the coastal areas are the worst affected.
The people of Bangladesh used to utilize surface water a few decades ago. Diarrhea & related disease reached epidemic proportions due to use of surface water at that time. The people of Bangladesh in collaboration with UNICEF started using ground water from tubewell in the hope of preventing epidemic. The people of this region got relief significantly from this epidemic because of germ free groundwater. According to UNICEF 98% people drink tubewell water in Bangladesh. There are approximately 8 million to 1 crore tubewell in Bangladesh.

But it is a matter of regret that though people got rid from one epidemic, Groundwater arsenicosis problem has been broken out for last few years. Now arsenic is a social and national problem. This problem creates illness as well as handicaps society. Many of them become victim of mental disorders.
They think that they are affected by a serious disease or any terrible infection. Even the marriage of an arsenic affected girl has been hampered. According to the latest statistics of DPHE, 59 out of 64 districts of the country have been affected with elevated level of arsenic in drinking water.

To avoid arsenicosis we need to drink arsenic free water. But before that arsenic free tubewell should be identified. There is laboratory test to determine the existence of arsenic in water.

But Laboratory test is time consuming, expensive and needs skilled laboratory assistant. Our country has fewer number of laboratories of where arsenic test in the water is possible. With the help of these few laboratories, it is impossible to identify the arsenic of 1 crore tubewell in Bangladesh. To realize this problem as a health threat over Bangladesh people, General Pharmaceuticals Ltd. had produced a special kit which was helpful to determine the existence and extent of arsenic into the tubewell easily.
After performing a huge research work & investment, General Pharmaceuticals has invented a more developed, accurate and easily useable field test kit by which a non technical person can easily determine the existence and extent of arsenic in any tubewell water.

In this connection we would like to narrate that Arsenic toxicity has known effective treatment, but drinking of arsenic contamination free water can help the arsenic affected people to get rid of the symptoms of arsenic toxicity. Hence provision of arsenic contamination free water is urgently needed for mitigation of arsenic toxicity in Bangladesh. There are several methods available for removal of arsenic from water in large conventional treatment plants. But for our country a low-cost well-water treatment technology for arsenic removal is very much required for household use which has not yet been developed by any organization.

It is our pleasure to describe that General Pharmaceuticals Ltd. is working to distribute a worldwide recognized Arsenic Removal Unit (ARU) known as READ-F, produced and promoted by Shin Nihon Salt Co. Ltd (SNCL), Japan and distributed by Brota Services International, Bangladesh.

READ-F displays high selectivity for arsenic ions under a broad range of conditions and effectively adsorbs both arsenite and arsenate (photocopy of users guide included). There are one house hold treatment unit and community treatment unit based on READ-F absorbent in Bangladesh (source Arsenic Contamination : Bangladesh Perspective, ITN Bangladesh June 2003 page 375). Recently we have collaboration with Brota Services International to be the Sole Marketing Agent for READ-F in Bangladesh. As we have a well established distribution channel and depots all around the country, so we can very successfully promote READ-F and make it available in the affected areas.
The total affected people in Bangladesh is 50,000,000 (Source:- D.Das et al. 1997). From here we can have a prediction of how large the market of this READ-F Arsenic Removal Unit will be. If on an average a family consists of 5 members then 10,000,000 READ-F ARU will be required. Where unit price of ARU will be approximately Tk. 4000, so the total sales will be Tk. 40,000,000,000which will be increasing as the population and contamination will increase gradually.

As we have earlier mentioned that General Pharmaceuticals Ltd. is the only company that is producing arsenic field test kit i.e, GPL KIT to detect the contamination of arsenic in the drinking ground water. So we want to expertise both in detection and mitigation of this serious toxicity.