I am referencing an article which can be found at http://www.peopleandplanet.net/doc.php?id=2379 and discusses the arsenic content of water drawn from handpumps in villages in the Ballia district of Uttar Pradesh in India. My father's village is in this area and I am therefore very interested in it because my paternal family can be affected by these findings.
A condition called arsenicosis is the threat in this case and the water samples tested contained 15-129 micrograms per liter of arsenic, which is dangerously high. Arsenic is dangerous if one is exposed to it for long periods of time and leads to death. Initial symptoms of arsenicosis include dark brown calluses on the palms and soles of the feet and they increase with time causing difficulty in walking and working. Signs of skin cancer occur in individuals exposed to arsenic for ten years due to small freckle-like spots and the arsenic spreads throughout the body eventually concentrating into a cancerous tumor. Depending on the stage of the cancer, one can reduce the symptoms by changing to cleaner water.
West Bengal and Bangladesh has had problems with this before and West Bengal has the high rates of this because many of the people in the area are poor and do not have access to clean water. Surprisingly, the UN and the World Bank proposed an idea to dig deep tubewells to avoid the surface water, which was contaminated with industrial waste and pollutants, however, it is the water from these tubewells that has led to the arsenic problems. Unfortunately, India's water problem seems to be also caused by sewage that runs into water sources and the Ganga river is a nightmare for water analysts and wastewater treatment officials. Its holiness seems to be a barrier in explaining to individuals that it is not the healthiest source of water. Scientists believe that the arsenic is natural and comes from the Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers in the Himalayas and seeps into the groundwater.
However, the arsenic problem has a solution and it is in the form of a permacultural three-pitcher method. This filter contains three pitchers that contain sand and soil and as the water runs through these pitchers, the arsenic is filtered out. However, the concern now arises on the proper disposal of the arsenic sludge. Another solution proposes digging shallower wells that do not reach the deep groundwater and using rainwater during the monsoon season. Estimates say that since the monsoon causes floods, water collected in large containers are a good source, for example, a 20ft x 20ft can provide water to 800 people. A researcher at the University of Florida proposed the use of the Chinese brake fern, which has an excellent ability to extract and absorb high levels of arsenic. Studies on these plants are not complete yet but they provide an excellent resolution.
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Referring back to the point-counterpoint article we read about chlorine, would the addition of chlorine help the condition in India? According to this website I just looked at, adding chlorine to water with arsenic will convert the trivalent arsenic to pentavalent arsenic, which is less harmful in the body. I know another study found similar results in Africa and their drinking water.
I believe any alternative to the current quality of water with arsenic is helpful. Since chlorine has such profound effects on water in the American wastewater treatment plants, the use of chlorine in India could be beneficial. However, we would have to consider the current and future effects of chlorine on the environment in India since the area is vastly different than ours.
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