RE: chips

["Paddy Apling" <e.c.apling@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Les Schaffer 12 August 2003 17:03 asked:
> can you think of some way to remove arsenic from Bangladesh
> water supplies (see Nature articles i sent last nite).

Arsenic is considerably reduced by normal water treatment processes, but the
problem of reducing arsenic content to below the new WHO standard of 10
microgm/l
is the subject of ongoing research in USA, UK and other places.

For something about the present USA projects see
<http://www.epa.gov/ORD/NRMRL/arsenic/> which gives links to some
information on several proposed systems being evaluated.

The first requirement in Bangladesh is the application of presently
available technologies which would reduce their supplies to below 50
microgm/l and would be a substantial improvement - apart from the reduction
in all the many other contaminants normally present in water supplies
available to the majority of the population.  Even this requires capital
investment which the country does not have available.....

Arsenic contamination is, in the current Bangladeshi situation, much less of
a problem than bacterial and other organic contamination; a majorituy of the
population do not have access to water supplies which would have been
regarded as of potable standard in UK even 150 years ago ....

This problem of potable water supply is a world problem which could have
been dealt with probably at less cost than the expenditure on the ongoing
war on Iraq.

Of course, for higher standards, research problems still remain - but in
essence the world problem is an economic one.

Comradely greetings,
Paddy
NFHS Member #5594
Mailto:E.C.Apling@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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