1 / 12

The arsenic Catastrophe: An outsider’s update

The arsenic Catastrophe: An outsider’s update. Dhaka Community Hospital Wednesday January 4th 2006 comments by David Christiani Professor Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health Richard Wilson Mallinckrodt Research Professor of Physics Harvard University

ave
Download Presentation

The arsenic Catastrophe: An outsider’s update

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The arsenic Catastrophe:An outsider’s update Dhaka Community Hospital Wednesday January 4th 2006 comments by David Christiani Professor Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health Richard Wilson Mallinckrodt Research Professor of Physics Harvard University http://arsenic.ws http://arsenicfoundation.com http://physics.harvard.edu/~wilson/arsenic/arsenic_project_inroduction.html

  2. 1998 (DCH conference)urged immediate action:(1) Measure every wellGreen for OKRed for dont useEncourage well switching(2) Purify Water at House levelwith simple equipment(3) Encourage deep wells (below clay layer)(4) Keep accurate data and make them publicly available(5) Encourage solutions that lead to the long term

  3. Progress has been slowYet international funds(World Bank, Kuwait Fund) can be available to GoBif requested clearlyProblem is probably local implementationDifference in cost between options is NOT the issue

  4. (1)Labelling wells was only partially successful30% of people switched wells67% switched after a massive education campaign (Columbia-U.Dhaka)Most important step so far.10 million people have better water.Therefore:Continue educationEmphasize major efforts in villages with no good well

  5. (2)Uncritical use of Arsenic Removal Systems (ARS) has been a disaster.In West Bengal several hundred have been installed.80% are not functional.(6th report: Jadavpur UniversityJohn Macarthur (UCL) agrees.)DCH tests give only small reductionNOT a long term solution(Grainger Prize and US National Academy of Engineering notwithstanding)

  6. (3)Deep wells may be fed from the Himalaya further north.Badly installed wells could bring water down from upper aquifer.Some locations (Jessore?) aquifers may not be distinctMany have been abandonedAquifer could be depletedMeasure arsenic levels frequently, understandAND INVOLVE THE LOCAL PEOPLE

  7. (4)Making data and information available has been unsatisfactoryInternational websites (arsenic.ws, ACIC.com)depend upon information supplied locallyGovernment sites have not beendated and kept up to date.The APSU site may solve these problems

  8. (5)Bangladesh Policy Use surface water when possibleWe must avoid bacteriaand know we have avoided bacteriaRainwater CollectionImproved (sanitary) DugwellsPond Sand FiltersRiver Sand FiltersKey is reliable measurementand making them availableCheapest when a large number supplied from one unit

  9. Many wells have been abandoned as unsatisfactory No evidence that they were properly constructedDhaka Community Hospitalhas been installingSanitary surface “dugwells”Covered; WHO standards; measured villagers involvedclear instructions to custodianPumped to tank and pipelineto give running waterVERY POPULAR

  10. Why is it taking so long?Where is the bottleneck?Maybe the set up of village committeesSolution:Go at once to tank and pipeline even though more expensiveVillagers (especially women) like it

  11. Early measurements from DCH looked good.Recent measurements (with different equipment) look differentThis is crucial for understanding how often disinfectant , lime or chloride, must be used.

  12. The whole job can be done for ONLY $300 million!30 cruise missiles!

More Related