=====================================================================
Arsenic Crisis News
October 2002 V3 N01
=====================================================================

+ This Issue of ACN

+ New Arsenic-Crisis Group at Yahoogroups -
arsenic-crisis-news, arsenic-source, arsenic-safewater,
and arsenic-medical are being merged

+ ACIC/ACN Supporters

+ Feature Article

+ Tenders & Vacancies

+ Upcoming Meetings & Conferences
Updated Conference Webpages & Sites

+ Selected Recent Media Articles Online

+ New & Newly Discovered Scientific/Technical Publications
On & Off Line

+ New & Newly Discovered Web Sites & Web Pages
Updated Websites & Web Pages

+ New & Newly Discovered Real World Stuff

+ Publication & Other Details


=====================================================================
ACN is published by the Arsenic Crisis Info Centre, (c) ACIC.
Website http://www.bicn.com/acic. Editor Sara Bennett.

Email addresses appear in this newsletter with a space before & after
the @ symbol. To send email to an address, you must first remove the
spaces.

See end of message for how to subscribe, unsubscribe, submit, etc.


=====================================================================
THIS ISSUE OF ACN

This is the first issue of ACN in over a year. My apologies for the
long delay, which occurred for personal reasons.

Please send me ASAP (at acic @ bicn.com ) any announcements, new
papers, etc., that you would like to have included in the next issue.


=====================================================================
NEW ARSENIC-CRISIS GROUP AT YAHOOGROUPS

arsenic-crisis-news, arsenic-source, arsenic-safewater, and
arsenic-medical are being merged

To ensure that in future information gets out in a more timely
fashion, over the coming weeks I will be shifting ACN subscribers
over to a new ACIC discussion group at yahoogroups, called
arsenic-crisis. arsenic-crisis has already merged the ACIC
discussion groups arsenic-source, arsenic-safewater, and
arsenic-medical. It seemed advantageous to merge these three groups
because subscriber numbers were relatively low; increasingly posted
items were of interest to two or three of the groups, necessitating
cross posting; and message traffic was light.

Based on the history of ACN and the three old discussion groups, I
don't think arsenic-crisis will have excessive message traffic. The
posting and files archives of all four superceded groups will remain
online, but new postings to them will not be accepted.

Over the coming weeks as the changover is implemented, each of you
will receive an email from yahoogroups notifying you that your
arsenic-crisis-news subscription has been switched over to
arsenic-crisis. Unless you want to leave the (new) group, you need
not reply to this email.

To post directly to the new group, email your information (plain text
only, no attachments) to:

arsenic-crisis @ yahoogroups.com

Posting directly to arsenic-crisis is by far the best procedure, for
several reasons. (1) Your message will be shown as having come from
you rather than from me, (2) messages sent to the discussion groups
are quicker for me to moderate, which means they get posted more
quickly, and (3) I don't have to check with you whether you do in
fact want the information posted to the group (not clear for many of
the arsenic-related emails I receive).

However, any messages that reach me via sbennett @ bicn.com, acic @
bicn.com etc will be moderated and posted to arsenic-crisis, when
this is appropriate and with the sender's consent.


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ACIC/ACN SUPPORTERS

Thanks to those who supported ACIC/ACN financially in 2000-1:

Resource Planning & Management Consultants (RPMC), Dhaka

London Arsenic Group (2000-2)

Gregory P. Miller, Daniel B. Stephens & Associates

Arup K. SenGupta, Lehigh University

Dr. Suzanne Hanchett, Planning Alternatives for Change

Ferdous Mahmood, Malcolm Pirnie

Don Schroeder, SIM Bangladesh

Their contributions partially covered the cash costs of the ACIC
website and ACN newsletter (ie cost of website hosting, ISP
connection, HTML software, share of computer equipment costs).

I would also like to thank every one of you who has been supporting
ACIC in other ways over the last year, through general encouragement
and cheerleading (much appreciated) and by sending me information
about your own work as well as others' news articles and papers. In
particular I want to thank Dirk Frans, who has brought many refereed
articles to my attention, that he locates using a keyword watch
system that he has set up on this topic.

A no-cost-to-you way to support the newsletter & website financially
is to bookmark the following three links and use them when you buy
from these merchants -

When you buy from amazon.com, enter their site by using this link:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/subst/home/home.
html/104-2598657-7351167

When you buy from Barnes & Noble online, enter their site by using
this link:

http://service.bfast.com/bfast/click?bfmid=2181&so
urceid=32390&categoryid=rn_home

Sign up with for webhosting with wso.net (hosting I use - great
service at a great price) using this link:

http://www.wso.net/referral.mv?wso00834

Or, if you would like to donate to ACIC/ACN for 2002-3 and (for USD25
or more) get your name on the website home page as a supporter,
please email me at acic @ bicn.com to arrange payment – several
modes of payment are possible.

Donations above and beyond ACIC/ACN's current cash costs will be
donated to a worthy community-level arsenic pilot project or study.

Thanks again for your support.


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FEATURE ARTICLE

From the just pretty cool dep't:

Dr. David J Wilson has been working with high school students in
Tennesee on the arsenic problem. Here is an abstract for one of the
papers prepared by the students. I don't know what *you* were doing
in high school ... I certainly wasn't doing anything nearly this
nifty. Any comments to acic@... and I will forward them to Dr.
Wilson.


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A Monte Carlo risk assessment of arsenic contamination of drinking
water in Bangladesh - Eric Chang, Martin Luther King Magnet High
School, Nashville, TN, USA

Abstract - Risk quotient distributions were generated based on
arsenic concentration, daily water intake, and body mass statistical
distributions appropriate for Bangladesh. An EPA risk assessment
methodology was used. Monte Carlo techniques generated normally
distributed body weights, lognormal arsenic concentrations in
groundwater, and lognormally distributed daily intake volumes. Data
were taken from EPA reports and from internet sites describing the
arsenic situation in Bangladesh. Although regulatory agencies accept
risk quotients of 1 or less as safe, only about 7% of the simulated
Bangladesh population had risk quotients of 10 or less and fewer than
0.01% had risk quotients of 1 or less. The risk assessment
compellingly confirms the tragic severity of the situation in
Bangladesh. Calculations were also done that indicate that the U.S.
drinking water standard at that time, 0.05 mg/L, was not protective
of public health according to EPA's risk assessment methodology.

Methodology - The main objective of the project was to generate and
analyze a set of risk quotients representative of the distribution of
risk from arsenic in drinking water in Bangladesh. The risk quotient
(RQ) is a dimensionless number that gives a measure of the risk to
health associated with a contaminant. For lifetime exposure to a
toxic contaminant in drinking water the risk quotient is given by

(vw) X (c)
RQ = -----------
(bw) X (rf)

where vw is the individual daily water intake (L/day), c is the
concentration of the toxic substance (mg/L), bw is the body weight of
an individual (kg), and rf is the risk factor of the toxic substance
(mg/kg day). Risk quotients greater than unity are regarded as
indicating a significant health hazard. The risk factor for
lifetime oral exposure to arsenic used by the U.S. EPA is 0.0003
mg/kg day

If one is dealing with a population, one must consider the
distributions of daily water intake, arsenic concentrations, and body
weights. Body weights were assumed to be normally distributed with
truncation; minimum body weight 15.12, maximum body weight 103.5,
mean 63.9 kg, standard deviation 15.9 kg. Daily water intakes were
assumed to be lognormally distributed with a minimum of 0.5, a
maximum of 4.0, a geometric mean of 3 L/day, and a standard deviation
of the log (base e) of0.276. Bangladesh well water arsenic
concentrations were assumed to be lognormally distributed and were
taken from internet reports and articles from that country. The
minimum value reported was 0.0005, and the maximum was 9 mg/L. The
geometric mean was taken to be the mean of all reported geometric
means; its value was 0.262 mg/L. The standard deviation of the log
was 0.884.

A computer program was written to generate 32,000 sets of parameters
from which 32,000 values of the risk quotient (RQ) were calculated
and sorted (Shell-Metzner sort). Percentile values of the RQ were
then determined from the sorted list. Results were as follows:

* 0.01% or less of the population had values of 1 or less.

* RQs ranged as high as 2000; symptoms of arsenic poisoning
appear at RQs of around 40.

* The 5th percentile value of the RQ was 8.3, the median was 39, and
the 95th percentile value was 187. (Recall that RQ values of 1 or
less are regarded as safe.)

These figures certainly confirm the severity of the tragic situation
in Bangladesh.

Another set of calculations was done using the assumption that all of
the groundwater is treated to bring arsenic concentrations to a
constant value of 0.05 mg/L. This calculation yielded the following
results:

* The highest RQ value was about 40 (rather than 2000, as above).

* The 5th percentile value of the RQ was 4.3, the median was 7.5, and
the 95th percentile value was 13.6.

* Unfortunately, none of the RQ values were 1 or less.

One notes that, while an arsenic concentration of 0.05 mg/L results
in substantial improvement over the present situation in Bangladesh,
it does not appear to provide the level of protection of public
health that is regarded as acceptable in the U.S. Further
calculations demonstrated that an arsenic concentration of 0.0037
mg/L yields a 95th percentile value of the RQ of 1.

Similar calculations for a U.S. population (of somewhat greater body
weight) indicates that an arsenic concentration of 0.0043 mg/L yields
a 95th percentile value of 1 for the RQ. This suggests that the
present U.S. drinking water standard for arsenic, 0.01 mg/L, is
substantially more protective of public health than the previous
standard, 0.05 mg/L.

References

Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, U.S. EPA (1998). Arsenic
in Drinking Water: Drinking Water Standards Development [online].
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/ars/

Voluntary Action Program, Division of Emergency and Remedial
Response, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (1996). Support
Document for the Development of Generic Numerical Standards and Risk
Assessment Procedures

World Health Organization (1997). Arsenic in Drinking Water and
Resulting Arsenic Toxicity in India and Bangladesh. New Delhi,
India: Regional Office for Southeast Asia.

Acknowledgments

The author is indebted to Dr. David J. Wilson, Mrs. Caye Boone, and
his parents for help and advice in the development of this project.


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TENDERS & VACANCIES
[None this issue]


=====================================================================
UPCOMING MEETINGS & CONFERENCES
UPDATED CONFERENCE WEBPAGES & SITES


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http://www.elsevier.com/locate/isbn/0-08-044067-3

Arsenic Exposure and Health Effects IV - Proceedings of the Fourth
International Conference on Arsenic Exposure and Health Effects,
18-22 June, 2000, San Diego, CA, USA

Publisher's page for this book, provides a description, the table of
contents, and bibliographic & ordering information.


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http://www.unu.edu/env/arsenic/BUETWorkshop.htm

Final report and proceedings for the BUET-UNU International Workshop
Technologies For Arsenic Removal From Drinking Water, 5-7 May Dhaka,
Bangladesh.


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http://www.lwr.kth.se/PEOPLE/Prosun/Special_Symposium_arsenic.htm

15-19 June 2003 - Special Symposuim on Arsenic in Soil and
Groundwater Environments: Biogeochemical Interactions, 7th
International Conference on Biogeochemistry of Trace Elements
(ICOBTE)

Organized by Richard H. Loeppert (USA), Soil and Crop Sciences Dept.,
Texas A&M University, email r-loeppert @ tamu.edu; Prosun
Bhattacharya (Sweden) Dept of Land and Water Resources Engineering,
Royal Institute of Technology, SE-10044 STOCKHOLM, Sweden, email:
prosun @ kth.se ; and Alan H Welch (USA) United States Geological
Survey, Carson City, Nevada, USA email ahwelch @ usgs.gov.


=====================================================================
SELECTED RECENT MEDIA ARTICLES ONLINE

Articles are sorted by publication date, most recent first. The
comprehensive list of arsenic-related News From Bangladesh articles
will be posted later - I hope.


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http://www.independent.co.uk/ story.jsp?story=323650

Bangladeshis take British scientists to court over arsenic in
drinking water

By Robert Verkaik Legal Affairs Correspondent
The Independent [UK; August 12, 2002]

A group of Bangladeshis has begun legal proceedings at the High Court
in London against British scientists over allegations that they
failed to prevent arsenic poisoning of thousands of people.

In a writ lodged this week, the Bangladeshi villagers claim that the
British Geological Survey (BGS) was negligent in work it did in
central and eastern Bangladesh in 1992 to assess toxicity after aid
programmes paid for sinking new wells.... [continued at
http://www.independent.co.uk/ story.jsp?story=323650 ]


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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2127343.stm

Water filter set to save lives, by Alistair Lawson, BBC correspondent
in Dhaka - 14 Jul 2002

A Bangladeshi professor is due to formally launch a new water filter
on Sunday, which its backers say will save millions of lives around
the world. The filter, which contains a mixture of crushed bricks
and ferrous sulphate heated together, will be showcased at the world
conference on arsenic poisoning in the United States. It is
specifically designed to extract arsenic and lead from millions of
tube wells all over the country. Supporters of the filter say it
could prove to be a major breakthrough in the battle against arsenic
poisoning....

"About a year and a half ago, a professor came into my office and
asked if I could help him, and I said 'certainly, I'll try'," said
academic David Nunley. Professor Fakhrul Islam then told David
Nunley, of the non-governmental organisation International
Development Enterprises, about the water filter and asked for his
help in its promotion....

The filter has been invented by a Bangladeshi scientist for
Bangladeshis, only costs around $3, and can supply enough drinking
water every day for a family of four. So highly acclaimed is the
invention that the United Nations is helping to organise a campaign
that will distribute the filter to every village in the country....

Already, the filter has been introduced on a trial basis to villages
across the country. For women like Koli, the affect has been
remarkable. "The people in our village know this filter can save
their lives. Many people who had the first signs of arsenic poisoning
have now been cured," she said.

Backers of Professor Islam's filter hope that the publicity that it
receives at the Arsenic conference in San Diego will help raise funds
to end arsenic contamination in Bangladesh, described by the World
Health Organization as the largest mass poisoning in human history.


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http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/14/international/14POIS.html

Bangladeshis Sipping Arsenic as Plan for Safe Water Stalls. By Barry
Bearak, The New York Times 14 Jul 2002. Excellent overview article
on the current situation in Bangladesh.


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Arsenic contamination affects millions in Bangladesh. News article,
Lancet 359, 30 Mar 2002.


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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1892540.stm

Arsenic poses stroke risk, BBC News Online, 26 Mar 2002

Arsenic poisoning through contaminated drinking water can lead to
diseased arteries, which in turn can cause heart attacks and strokes,
research shows. Scientists say they have identified a link between
long-term exposure to arsenic and the accelerated development of
atherosclerosis or progressive narrowing and hardening of the
arteries leading to the brain. The findings, published in the
Journal of the American Heart Association [see Circulation article
referenced below - ed.], strongly point to arsenic and possibly other
pollutants, as risk factors for blood vessel disease throughout the
body....


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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/1764049.stm

Arsenic affecting Bangladesh crops - food self-sufficiency might no
longer be enough, by the BBC's science correspondent, Richard Black.
16 Jan 2002

Crops in Bangladesh are being contaminated with arsenic from water
used for irrigation, according to research by Bangladeshi and
Australian scientists. They found evidence of high concentrations of
the poisonous substance in rice and vegetable plants....


=====================================================================
NEW & NEWLY DISCOVERED SCIENTIFIC/TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS ON & OFF LINE

In no particular order this issue!


-----------------------------------------------------------------
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/arsenic-source/files
/SOESArsenicReportJuly2002.doc

Arsenic Report, School of Environmental Studies [Jadavpur University,
Calcutta], July 2002


-----------------------------------------------------------------
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/arsenic-safewater/fi
les/FactSheetsDisasterForum/2001-12DisasterForumFactSheetXVII.doc
[download Fact Sheet No. 17 as an MS-Word file]

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/arsenic-safewater/fi
les/FactSheetsDisasterForum/ [list of all Disaster Forum Fact Sheets]

Disaster Forum Fact Sheet No. 17, Dec 2001


-----------------------------------------------------------------
http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/1
05/15/1804?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT
=&titleabstract=Biological+gradient+between+long-t
erm+arsenic+exposure+and+carotid+atheroscleros&sea
rchid=1032924805178_2706&stored_search=&FIRSTINDEX
=0&search_url=http%3A%2F%2Fcirc.ahajournals.org%2F
cgi%2Fsearch&journalcode=circulationaha [Abstract is free, full
text/pdf requires payment for article or journal subscription]

Biological gradient between long-term arsenic exposure and carotid
atherosclerosis. Chih-Hao Wang, Jiann-Shing Jeng, Ping-Keung Yip,
Chi-Ling Chen, Lin-I Hsu, Yu-Mei Hsueh, Hung-Yi Chiou, Meei-Mann Wu,
and Chien-Jen Chen. Circulation 2002;105:1804.

Abstract: Background - Long-term exposure to ingested arsenic has
been documented to induce peripheral vascular disease, ischemic heart
disease, and cerebral infarction in a dose-response relationship.
This study further examined the biological gradient between ingested
inorganic arsenic and carotid atherosclerosis. Methods and Results -
We studied 199 male and 264 female adult residents from the
southwestern area of endemic arseniasis in Taiwan. The extent of
carotid atherosclerosis was assessed by duplex ultrasonography.
Diabetes mellitus was determined by oral glucose tolerance test,
hypertension by mercury sphygmomanometers, and serum lipid profiles
by autoanalyzers. Information regarding the consumption of
high-arsenic artesian well water, cigarette smoking, and alcohol
consumption was obtained through standardized questionnaire
interviews. Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the
odds ratio and its 95% CI of carotid atherosclerosis for various risk
factors. Three indices of long-term exposure to ingested arsenic,
including the duration of consuming artesian well water, the average
arsenic concentration in consumed artesian well water, and cumulative
arsenic exposure, were all significantly associated with prevalence
of carotid atherosclerosis in a dose-response relationship. The
biological gradient remained significant after adjustment for age,
sex, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, cigarette smoking, alcohol
consumption, waist-to-hip ratio, and serum levels of total
cholesterol and LDL cholesterol. The multivariate-adjusted odds
ratio was 3.1 (95% CI 1.3 to 7.4) for those who had a cumulative
arsenic exposure of 20 mg/L-years compared with those without
exposure to arsenic from drinking artesian well water. Conclusions -
Carotid atherosclerosis is associated with ingested inorganic
arsenic, showing a significant biological gradient.


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http://phys4.harvard.edu/~wilson/As-cocarcinogen.pdf

Arsenite is a cocarcinogen with solar ultraviolet radiation for mouse
skin: An animal model for arsenic carcinogenesis. Rossman, T.G.,
Uddin, A.N., Burns, F.J. and Bosland, M.C. 2001. Toxicol. Appl.
Pharm 176:64-71.

Abstract: Although epidemiological evidence shows an association
between arsenic in drinking water and increased risk of skin, lung,
and bladder cancers, arsenic compounds are not animal carcinogens.
The lack of animal models has hindered mechanistic studies of arsenic
carcinogenesis. Previously, this laboratory found that low
concentrations of arsenite (the likely environmental carcinogen)
which are not mutagenic can enhance the mutagenicity of other agents,
including ultraviolet radiation (UVR). This enhancing effect appears
to result from inhibition of DNA repair by arsenite. Recently we
found that low concentrations of arsenate disrupted p53 function and
upregulated cyclin D1. These results suggest that the failure to
find an animal model for arsenic carcinogenesis is because arsenite
is not a carcinogen per se, but rather acts as an enhancing agent
(cocarcinogen) with a genotoxic partner. We tested this hypothesis
with solar UVR as carcinogenic stimulus in hairless Skh1 mice. Mice
given 10 mg/l sodium arsenate in drinking water for 26 weeks had a
2.4-fold increase in yield of tumors after 1.7 KJ/m2 UVR three times
weekly compared with mice given UVR alone. No tumors appeared in mice
given arsenate alone. The tumors were mostly squamous cell
carcinomas, and those occurring in mice given UVR plus arsenite
appeared earlier and were much larger and more invasive than in mice
given UVR alone. These results are consistent with the hypothesis
that arsenic acts as a cocarcinogen with a second (genotoxic) agent
by inhibiting DNA repair and/or enhancing positive growth signaling.


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http://superfund.ciesin.org/downloads/1012235733_p
resentation_fparvez_confposter1.doc

The arsenic problem and its awareness in Bangladesh population:
results of a large population-based survey. M.F. Parvez, H. Ahsan,
Y. Chen, A. van Geen, A.Z.M.I. Hussain, H. Momotaj, A. Horneman, R.
Dhar, Y. Zheng, M. Stute, H.J. Simpson, V. Slavkovich, N.J. Lolacono,
M. Shahnewaz, K.M. Ahmed, and J.H. Graziano. Paper presented at
"Arsenic in Drinking Water" international conference at Columbia
University 26-27 Nov 2001.

Abstract: The study aimed to investigate the distribution and
magnitude of arsenic exposure in Bangladesh population and to
understand their awareness of the arsenic problems and possible
remediation options. Through house-to-house survey, we sampled 5,000
contiguous tube-wells, interviewed the well-owners/caretakers and
enumerated and gathered data on all well-users in three unions of
Araihazar, Bangladesh. More than half of the 55,000 residents in
these three unions were found to be drinking well-water with arsenic
concentration more than 50 ug/L. Majority (57%) of the people
interviewed were aware of the health risks of arsenic and 88% of them
associated it with skin related symptoms. Higher socioeconomic
status was associated with higher awareness of health consequences of
arsenic exposure. Almost every respondent (98%) was willing to take
steps to overcome this problem. A solution based on existing
tube-wells was favored by the most (77%), which seemed to be related
to respondent's awareness of health risks. Arsenic in drinking water
poses as a massive public health problem in Bangladesh and increasing
awareness about the health consequences of arsenic in the population
may be an important step in tackling the problem.


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http://superfund.ciesin.org/downloads/1012231659_p
resentation_hmomotaj_confpaper1.doc

Effect of Spirulina on Arsenicosis Patients in Bangladesh. Hassina
Momotaj and A Z M Iftikhar Hussain. Paper presented at "Arsenic in
Drinking Water" international conference at Columbia University 26-27
Nov 2001.

Abstract: A double-blind randomized clinical trial was carried out
among Arsenicosis patients of Sonargaon thana of Narayanganj
district, to see the effect of Spirulina on Arsenicosis disease
resulting from drinking arsenic contaminated ground water through
hand pump tubewells in many parts of Bangladesh. Spirulina is a
microscopic blue green algae, used as a food supplement but it has
some therapeutic value in treating some ailments. It is rich in
protein, amino acid, beta-carotene, vitamins etc. 50 arsenicosis
patients has been identified through simple random sampling from 185
arsenicosis patients of three villages, who had been diagnosed as
cases of arsenicosis by the physicians, depending on the presence of
visible signs. The patients included male and female of different
age. A double blind method was followed during the drug
distribution. It was found after distribution that 33 patient got
Spirulina and 17 patient got placebo. 3 gm Spirulina per day per
person and same dose of placebo was used as drugs for three-month
duration and consumption of arsenic free safe water was ensured for
both the group (Spirulina and placebo) during the total duration of
study. Physical examinations of these patients were done carefully
at every fifteen days interval during the intervention using a
structured checklist. After three month it was found that 27
(81.81%) patients showed evidence of improvement by diminishing the
visible manifestation among 33 patients who got Spirulina. [Two
patients showed the signs of improvement among the fifteen patients
who received placebo.]


-----------------------------------------------------------------
http://superfund.ciesin.org/downloads/1016215257.0
03_presentation_cbrandon_confpaper1.ppt

The World Bank Arsenic Mitigation Program in Bangladesh. Carter
Brandon, Lead Environmental Economist, World Bank. Paper presented
at "Arsenic in Drinking Water" international conference at Columbia
University 26-27 Nov 2001.

Abstract: The World Bank is sponsoring two projects in Bangladesh
through IDA credits. The first, begun in 1999, is the Bangladesh
Arsenic Mitigation Water Supply Project (BAMWSP). This $44 million,
4-year project includes identification of affected wells, provision
of alternative sources of arsenic-safe water, and capacity-building
at the national and local levels. All known affected upazilas should
be covered by completion of BAMWSP in mid-2002. BAMWSP has also
provided some resources for research, awareness-raising and training,
most notably research into field methods for well testing, arsenic
removal schemes, and hydrogeology of the deep aquifer.

A second project of similar size on public health has been proposed
and will likely commence in mid-2002. This project will have four
components: behavior change communication to educate the public
about arsenic, its health effects, exposure avoidance, and treatment
options; training of health care providers to enhance capacity for
the diagnosis, treatment, and counseling of patients; research on
prevalence, incidence, and treatment to enable sound public health
planning and intervention; and case management of individuals already
affected by arsenic.


-----------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.geocities.com/earthenwarecandle/

New improved earthenware water purifiers, a sneak preview of candle
production. Reid Harvey, Ceramic Industrial Design Consultant.
Webposted 8 Mar 2002.

"Earthenware water purification candles are set to be introduced
within the coming weeks to Bangladesh based organizations that are
dedicated to safe water options for the poor....these [filter candles
achieve] 100% removal of the fecal coliforms that cause gastro
intestinal diseases.... The candle price will be kept low [USD0.25
each] by getting village potters producing them around the country.
Thus the poor will be purchasing water purifiers made near their own
community, by small entrepreneurs of similar means. Because of
appropriate technology with respect to use of the candle and its
manufacture, this offers an attractive alternative to the arsenic
tainted water from tube wells. This alternative makes possible the
collection of surface water."

[Related article, on an assessment of this filter technology in
Nicaragua]

Ceramic filters - effective household option for bacteria-free water
Source Water And Sanitation Weekly, Issue No. 7-8, 26 February 2002

USAID-funded research has shown that the Potters for Peace (PFP)
(Nicaragua) colloidal silver impregnated ceramic filter effectively
reduces bacterial indicators by 98-100% in the laboratory. Filters as
old as 7 years were tested and found to still remove 100% of total
and faecal coliform. Although results for other contaminants were
inconclusive, the ceramic filter seemed to be less effective in
removing viruses, arsenic, pesticides and volatile organic
contaminants (VOCs). The research, conducted by Daniele Lantagne, MIT
Lecturer in Civil and Environmental Engineering and Principal of
Alethia Environmental in Oct-Dec 2001, concludes that, "with an
education component for the users, the PFP filter is an effective and
appropriate technology that improves both water quality and human
health".


-----------------------------------------------------------------
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/arsenic-crisis/files
/Nepal-Neku-Tandukar-Overview-As-contam-remov-technol-HH-lev.exe
[virus-checked self-extracting zipped MS-Word file]

An overview of arsenic contamination in groundwater of Nepal and its
removal technologies at household level. Amar Neku and Nirmal
Tandukar. Paper presented on Environment Day (5 Jun) 2002.

Abstract: A recent test result of about 17066 Terai tube wells of
Nepal on Arsenic, as published by the National Steering Committee on
Arsenic, show that nearly 31 % of the tested tube wells have exceeded
the WHO standard of 10 mgL-1 and 4 % have exceeded the Bangladesh,
China, India, and Interim Nepal Standard of 50 mgL-1. On the basis of
the study hitherto conducted, the four most greatly affected
districts are found to be Nawalparasi, Rautahat, Parsa, and Bara....
[T]he authors would like to present in this paper only a couple of
options that have been tested in Nawalparasi district for the removal
of arsenic at household levels. One of the best treatment options at
household levels is a 3-Gagri filter to remove arsenic and iron since
no foreign materials and chemicals are required in this method. In
addition, it utilizes local materials such as fine and coarse sand,
wood charcoal, nails, brickbats, and unglazed burnt clayed pots. The
arsenic removal efficiency of 3-gagri filters installed at Tilakpur
and Thulokunuwar villages of Nawalparasi district have been observed
initially as 84.5 % and 76.5 % (Day 0) and reached maximum upto 94.8
% (Day 2) and 85.2 % (Day 14), respectively. The iron and turbidity
removal efficiency of these filters are very promising as in both
cases the initial iron content of 1.9 mg L-1 reduced to zero.
Likewise, initial turbidity of 25 NTU reduced to less than 5 NTU in
Thulokunuwar. The presence of dissolved iron contributes to arsenic
removal processes by co-precipitation and adsorbing arsenic from
solution. The filter can produce about 160-170 liters of water per
day. The breakthrough points of these filters have not been observed
for five months of continuous use. Therefore, the cost per liter of
water could not be known. The other option at the household level is
SORAS (Solar Oxidation for Removal of Arsenic), which is also very
cheap method to remove the initial concentration of arsenic in the
range of 100 to 150 mgL-1. The otherwise wasted PET bottles can be
reused for the SORAS....


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http://www.who.int/bulletin/pdf/2002/bul-9-E-2002/80(9)732-737.pdf

Promotion of well-switching to mitigate the current arsenic crisis in
Bangladesh. Alexander van Geen, Habibul Ahsan, Allan H. Horneman,
Ratan K. Dhar, Yan Zheng, Iftikhhar Hussain, Kazi Matin Ahmed, Andrew
Gelman, Martin Stute, H. James Simpson, Sean Wallace, Christopher
Small, Faruque Parvez, Vesna Slavkovich, Nancy J. LoIacono, Marck
Becker, Zhongqi Cheng, Hassina Momotaj, Mohammad Shahnewaz, Ashraf
Ali Seddique, and Joseph H. Graziano. Bulletin of the World Health
Organization 2002, 80 (9).

Abstract: Objective - To survey tube wells and households in
Araihazar upazila, Bangladesh, to set the stage for a long-term
epidemiological study of the consequences of chronic arsenic
exposure. Methods - Water samples and household data were collected
over a period of 4 months in 2000 from 4997 contiguous tube wells
serving a population of 55 000, the position of each well being
determined to within + 30 m using Global Positioning System receivers
Arsenic concentrations were determined by graphite-furnace
atomic-absorption spectrometry In addition, groundwater samples
collected every 2 weeks for an entire year from six tube wells were
analysed for arsenic by high-resolution inductively coupled
plasma-mass spectrometry. Findings - Half of the wells surveyed in
Araihazar had been installed in the previous 5 years; 94% were
privately owned. Only about 48% of the surveyed wells supplied water
with an arsenic content below 50 ug/l, the current Bangladesh
standard for drinking-water. Similar to other regions of Bangladesh
and West Bengal, India, the distribution of arsenic in Araihazar is
spatially highly variable (range: 5-860 ug/l) and therefore difficult
to predict. Because of this variability, however, close to 90% of
the inhabitants live within 100 m of a safe well. Monitoring of six
tube wells currently meeting the 50 ug/l standard showed no
indication of a seasonal cycle in arsenic concentrations coupled to
the hydrological cycle. This suggests that well-switching is a
viable option in Araihazar, at least for the short term. Conclusions
- Well-switching should be more systematically encouraged in
Araihazar and many other parts of Bangladesh and West Bengal, India.
Social barriers to well-switching need to be better understood and,
if possible, overcome.


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http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/issuetoc?ID=78502921 [full
text access, requires online subscription]

Arsenic pollution of groundwater in Bangladesh. Kimiko Tanabe,
Hiroshi Yokota, Hiromi Hironaka, Sachie Tsushima, Yoshihiro Kubota.
Applied Organometallic Chemistry April 2001, 15(4) 241-251.
Abstract: Arsenic concentrations in groundwater around the village
of Samta, Jessore District, Bangladesh were measured. Distribution
patterns of arsenic in groundwater were determined. Arsenic
concentrations in drinking water tubewells mostly exceeded WHO
guidelines.


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Review article - chronic arsenic poisoning. Alan H. Hall. 2002,
Toxicology Letters (in press).

Abstract (uncorrected proof): Symptomatic arsenic poisoning is not
often seen in occupational exposure settings. Attempted homicide and
deliberate long-term poisoning have resulted in chronic toxicity.
Skin pigmentation changes, palmar and plantar hyperkeratoses,
gastrointestinal symptoms, anemia, and liver disease are common.
Noncirrhotic portal hypertension with bleeding esophageal varices,
splenomegaly, and hypersplenism may occur. A metallic taste,
gastrointestinal disturbances, and Mee's lines may be seen. Bone
marrow depression is common. 'Blackfoot disease' has been associated
with arsenic-contaminated drinking water in Taiwan; Raynaud's
phenomenon and acrocyanosis also may occur. Large numbers of persons
in areas of India, Pakistan, and several other countries have been
chronically poisoned from naturally occurring arsenic in ground
water. Toxic delirium and encephalopathy can be present.
CCA-treated wood (chromated copper arsenate) is not a health risk
unless burned in fireplaces or woodstoves. Peripheral neuropathy may
also occur. Workplace exposure or chronic ingestion of
arsenic-contaminated water or arsenical medications is associated
with development of skin, lung, and other cancers. Treatment may
include the use of chelating agents such as dimercaprol (BAL),
dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA), and dimercaptopanesulfonic acid
(DMPS).


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Arsenic removal from contaminated water by the Soyatal Formation,
Zimapán Mining District, Mexico - a potential low-cost low-tech
remediation system. Ongley L.K.; Armienta M.A.; Heggeman K.; Lathrop
A.S.; Mango H.; Miller W.; Pickelner S. Geochemistry: Exploration,
Environment, Analysis, February 2001, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 23-31(9)

Abstract: The groundwater in Zimapán, Mexico has arsenic
concentrations that range from below detection limits to >1 mg l-1.
Rural residents of the valley need a low-cost, low-tech remediation
process to reduce the arsenic concentrations to <50 µg l-1, the
Mexican drinking water standard. Laboratory experiments show that
the arsenic remediation potential of the Soyatal Formation, an
ubiquitous clay-rich limestone, is superior to that of other rocks
from the region. Experimentally contaminated water (ECW) was produced
by reacting de-ionized water with tailings. The ECW (0.6 mg As l-1)
was then reacted with various rocks from the Zimapán region.
Although all rocks caused a decrease in the aqueous arsenic
concentration, the arsenic concentration was below detection limits
(<0.030 mg l-1) in any ECW that had been reacted with the Soyatal
Formation. Other experiments established that a rock:water weight
ratio of 1:10 can reduce the aqueous arsenic concentration in native
water from 0.5 mg l-1 to <0.030 mg l-1. The calcareous shale of the
Soyatal Formation contains kaolinite and illite. Both minerals are
known to adsorb arsenic. The adsorptive characteristics of the
Soyatal Formation may provide the basis for an acceptable low-cost
low-tech remediation system.


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Arsenic poisoning in groundwater - health risk and geochemical
sources in Bangladesh. H.M. Anawara, J. Akaib, K.M.G. Mostofac, S.
Safiullahd, S.M. Tareqd. Environment International 27 (2002) 597-604.

Abstract: Of the 2508 water samples analyzed in 10 districts of
Bangladesh, 51%, on an average, contained arsenic levels of 0.05 to
2.50 mg/l. 95% of nail, 96% of hair, and 94% of urine samples
contained arsenic above the normal level. Approximately 3.58 million
people out of a total of 17.92 million who are drinking water
containing arsenic levels > 0.20 mg/l are potentially exposed to high
risk of health hazard. Eight thousand and five hundred arsenic
patients are identified; they are suffering from various skin
lesions, gangrene in leg, skin, lung, bladder, liver, and renal
cancer. A big portion of the total population is highly vulnerable
to various internal cancers. Lowest arsenic concentration in
drinking water producing dermatological disease is found to be 103
ug/l. However, the exposure time to develop arsenicosis varies from
case to case reflecting its dependence on arsenic level in drinking
water and food, nutritional status, genetic variant of human being,
and compounding factors. This study has determined the high
intensity of fluorescent humic substances in drinking water
containing elevated concentrations of arsenic and very low
concentrations of heavy metals. The synergistic/antagonistic effect
of fluorescent compounds present in drinking water may aggravate the
toxicity of arsenic. Geochemical study suggests that arsenic may be
released from both reductive dissolution of Fe and Mn (oxy)hydroxide
and microbial oxidation of organic matter.


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Enhanced frequency of micronuclei in individuals exposed to arsenic
through drinking water in West Bengal, India. A. Basu a, J. Mahata
a, A.K. Roy b, J.N. Sarkar, G. Poddar, A. Nandi, P.K. Sarkar, P.K.
Dutta, A. Banerjee, M. Dasd, K. Raya, S. Roychaudhury, A.T.
Natarajan, R. Nilsson, A.K. Giri. Mutation Research 400416 (2002)
1-12

Abstract: In West Bengal, India arsenic in ground water has been
found to be above the maximum permissible limit in seven districts
covering an area of 37,493 km2. In the present study, evaluation of
the micronuclei (MN) formation in oral mucosa cells, urothelial cells
and peripheral blood lymphocytes was carried out in the symptomatic
individuals exposed to arsenic through drinking water. Forty five
individuals with cutaneous signs of arsenicism from four affected
districts (368.11ug/l of As in drinking water) were considered as the
exposed group and 21 healthy individuals with no symptoms of arsenic
poisoning and residing in two unaffected districts (5.49ug/l of As)
were considered as controls. The exposed and control groups had
similar age distribution and socioeconomic status. Standardised
questionnaires were utilised and medical examination was conducted to
ascertain exposure history, sociodemographic characteristics, diet,
health, medication, addiction and chief symptoms in the study
participants. Arsenic exposure was confirmed by measuring the
arsenic content in the drinking water, nails, hair and urine samples
from the volunteers. Arsenic contents in the urine, nail and hair in
the exposed group were 24.45ug/l, 12.58 [sic], 6.97ug/g, respectively
which were significantly high in comparison to corresponding control
group values of 4.88ug/l, 0.51 [sic] and 0.34 g/g, respectively.
Exposed individuals showed a statistically significant increase in
the frequency of MN in oral mucosa, urothelial cells and lymphocytes
(5.15, 5.74 and 6.39/1000 cells, respectively) when compared with the
controls (0.77, 0.56 and 0.53/1000 cells, respectively). Thus, the
above results indicate that the symptomatic individuals exposed to
arsenic through drinking water in this region have significant
cytogenetic damage.


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Flow injection hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry for
determination of arsenic in water and biological samples from
arsenic-affected districts of West Bengal, India, and Bangladesh.
Gautam Samanta, Tarit Roy Chowdhury, Badal K. Mandal, Bhajan K.
Biswas, Uttam K. Chowdhury, Gautam K. Basu, Chitta R. Chanda, Dilip
Lodh, and Dipankar Chakraborti. Microchemical Journal 62, 174-191
(1999).

Abstract: The increasing concern over human exposure to arsenic in
West Bengal and Bangladesh has necessitated the development of a
rapid method for determination of trace levels of arsenic in water
and biological samples. We have developed a simple indigenous flow
injection hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry
(FI-HG-AAS) system for the determination of arsenic in parts per
billion levels in water and biological samples. The technique is
fast, simple, and highly sensitive. The accuracy and precision of the
method were evaluated by spiking known amounts of arsenic and
analyzing different types of environmental and biological standard
reference materials. The organic matter in a biological sample was
destroyed by acid digestion and dry ashing technique. We analyzed
thousands of tubewell water samples from the affected districts of
West Bengal and Bangladesh. Most of the water samples contained a
mixture of arsenite and arsenate and in none of them could we detect
methylated arsenic. We also analyzed thousands of urine (inorganic
arsenic and its metabolites), hair, and nail samples and hundreds of
skin-scale and blood samples of people drinking arsenic-contaminated
water and showing arsenical skin lesions. Quality control was
assessed by interlaboratory analysis of hair samples. An
understanding of arsenic toxicity and metabolism requires
quantitation of individual arsenic species. The techniques we used
for the determination and speciation of arsenic are (i) separation of
arsenite and arsenate from water by sodium diethyldithiocarbamate in
chloroform followed by FI-HG-AAS; (ii) determination of arsenite in
citrate/citric buffer at pH 3 and total arsenic in water in 5 M HCl
by FI-HG-AAS. Thus, arsenate is obtained from the difference; (iii)
for analysis of inorganic arsenic and its metabolites in urine
FI-HG-AAS was used after separation of the species with a combined
cation-anion exchange column. Total arsenic in urine was also
determined by FI-HG-AAS after acid decomposition. The species
arsenite and arsenate are present in groundwater in about a 1:1 ratio
and about 90% of the total arsenic in urine is present as inorganic
arsenic and its metabolites.


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Combined effects of anions on arsenic removal by iron hydroxides.
Xiaoguang Meng, George P. Korfiatis, Sunbaek Bang, Ki Woong Bang.
Toxicology Letters (in press)

Abstract (uncorrected proof): Batch experiments were conducted to
investigate the combined effects of phosphate, silicate, and
bicarbonate on the removal of arsenic from Bangladesh groundwater
(BGW) and simulated groundwater by iron hydroxides. The apparent
adsorption constants indicated that the affinity of the anions for
iron hydroxide sites decreased in the following order arsenate >
phosphate > arsenate > silicate > bicarbonate. Phosphate, silicate,
and bicarbonate decreased the removal of As(III) even at relatively
low concentrations and low surface site coverage. Phosphate (0-0.08
mM), silicate (0-0.8 mM), and bicarbonate (0-14 mM) in separate
solutions had none to moderate effects on As(V) removal in a solution
containing 6.7 mg/l Fe and 0.3 ppm As(V). In the presence of
bicarbonate and silicate the adverse effect of phosphate on As(V)
adsorption was magnified. The residual As(V) concentration after
iron hydroxide treatment increased from less than 13 ug/l in separate
bicarbonate (2.2 mM) and phosphate (0.062 mM) solutions to 110 ug/l
in the solution containing both anions. The results suggested the
combined effects of phosphate, silicate, and bicarbonate caused the
high mobility of arsenic in Bangladesh water.


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Epidemiologic evidence of diabetogenic effect of arsenic. Chin-Hsiao
Tseng a, Ching-Ping Tseng, Hung-Yi Chiou, Yu-Mei Hsueh, Choon-Khim
Chong, Chien-Jen Chen. Toxicology Letters (in press)

Abstract (uncorrected proof): It is well documented that arsenic can
lead to skin lesions, atherosclerotic diseases and cancers. The
association between arsenic exposure and diabetes mellitus is a
relatively new finding. Up to now, there are six epidemiologic
reports linking diabetes mellitus with arsenic exposure from
environmental and occupational sources. Two reports in Taiwan
carried out in the blackfoot disease-hyperendemic villages, one
cross-sectional and one prospective follow-up of the same cohort,
indicate that arsenic exposure from drinking artesian well water is
associated with prevalence and incidence of diabetes mellitus in a
dose-responsive pattern. The observation of the relation between
arsenic exposure and diabetes mellitus is further supported by
studies carried out in Sweden and Bangladesh. In Sweden,
case-control analyses of death records of copper smelters and glass
workers revealed a trend of increasing diabetes mellitus with
increasing arsenic exposure from inhalation. In Bangladesh,
prevalence of diabetes mellitus among arsenic-exposed subjects with
keratosis was about five times higher than unexposed subjects.
Increasing trends of diabetes mellitus with indices of arsenic
exposure in drinking water seems to be independent of the presence of
skin lesions associated with arsenic exposure. Although these
studies consistently show an association between arsenic exposure and
diabetes mellitus, the weak study designs of cross-sectional or
case-control, the use of glucosuria or diabetes death as diagnostic
criteria and the lack of adjustment for possible confounders in some
studies, are major limitations that may reduce the strength of the
evidence.


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A review of the source, behaviour and distribution of arsenic in
natural waters. P.L. Smedley*, D.G. Kinniburgh. Applied
Geochemistry 17 (2002) 517-568.

Abstract: The range of As concentrations found in natural waters is
large, ranging from less than 0.5 ug l-1 to more than 5000 ug l-1.
Typical concentrations in freshwater are less than 10 ug l-1 and
frequently less than 1 ug l-1. Rarely, much higher concentrations
are found, particularly in groundwater. In such areas, more than 10%
of wells may be 'affected' (de?ned as those exceeding 50 ug l-1) and
in the worst cases, this ?gure may exceed 90%. Well-known high-As
groundwater areas have been found in Argentina, Chile, Mexico, China
and Hungary, and more recently in West Bengal (India), Bangladesh and
Vietnam. The scale of the problem in terms of population exposed to
high As concentrations is greatest in the Bengal Basin with more than
40 million people drinking water containing 'excessive' As. These
large-scale 'natural' As groundwater problem areas tend to be found
in two types of environment: ?rstly, inland or closed basins in arid
or semi-arid areas, and secondly, strongly reducing aquifers often
derived from alluvium. Both environments tend to contain
geologically young sediments and to be in ?at, low-lying areas where
groundwater ?ow is sluggish. Historically, these are poorly ?ushed
aquifers and any As released from the sediments following burial has
been able to accumulate in the groundwater. Arsenic-rich
groundwaters are also found in geothermal areas and, on a more
localised scale, in areas of mining activity and where oxidation of
sulphide minerals has occurred. The As content of the aquifer
materials in major problem aquifers does not appear to be
exceptionally high, being normally in the range 1-20 mg kg-1. There
appear to be two distinct 'triggers' that can lead to the release of
As on a large scale. The ?rst is the development of high pH (>8.5)
conditions in semi-arid or arid environments usually as a result of
the combined effects of mineral weathering and high evaporation
rates. This pH change leads either to the desorption of adsorbed As
(especially As(V) species) and a range of other anion-forming
elements (V, B, F, Mo, Se and U) from mineral oxides, especially Fe
oxides, or it prevents them from being adsorbed. The second trigger
is the development of strongly reducing conditions at near-neutral pH
values, leading to the desorption of As from mineral oxides and to
the reductive dissolution of Fe and Mn oxides, also leading to As
release. Iron (II) and As(III) are relatively abundant in these
groundwaters and SO4 concentrations are small (typically 1mg l-1 or
less). Large concentrations of phosphate, bicarbonate, silicate and
possibly organic matter can enhance the desorption of As because of
competition for adsorption sites. A characteristic feature of high
groundwater As areas is the large degree of spatial variability in As
concentrations in the groundwaters. This means that it may be
diffcult, or impossible, to predict reliably the likely concentration
of As in a particular well from the results of neighbouring wells and
means that there is little alternative but to analyse each well.
Arsenic-affected aquifers are restricted to certain environments and
appear to be the exception rather than the rule. In most aquifers,
the majority of wells are likely to be unaffected, even when, for
example, they contain high concentrations of dissolved Fe.


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Arsenic removal by reverse osmosis. Robert Y. Ning. Desalination
143 (2002) 237-241.

Arsenic is widely distributed in nature in air, water and soil. Acute
and chronic arsenic exposure via drinking water has been reported in
many countries, especially Argentina, Bangladesh, India, Mexico,
Mongolia, Thailand and Taiwan, where a large proportion of ground
water is contaminated with arsenic at levels from 100 to over 2,000
micrograms per liter (ppb). Public health standards of maximum of 50
ppb have been adopted by the US and World Health Organization in the
1970s and the 80s. Carcinogenicity and genotoxicity led to the WHO
recommendation of 10 ppb maximum level in 1993, followed by the US
adoption of the same in 2001, with the US estimate that 5% of all US
community water systems will have to take corrective actions to lower
the current levels of arsenic in their drinking water. In high
arsenic areas of the world, the need for better water treatment and
resulting economic impact would be even greater. In this article, we
briefly review the geochemistry, natural distribution, regulation,
anthropogenic sources and removal mechanisms of arsenic, pointing
especially to the promise of reverse osmosis (RO) as a practical
means of purification. We conclude that arsenic in the commonly high
oxidation states of (V) is very effectively removed by RO. With
further attention to the removal of the weakly acidic arsenic (III)
species in waters by the operation of RO at sufficiently high pHs
made possible by the newer antiscalants, practical processes can be
developed with RO to remove all major species of arsenic from water.
Further studies are needed in the characterization of the arsenic
species being treated and in the design of the RO process to match
the demands.


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Arsenic calamity in the Indian subcontinent - What lessons have been
learned? Dipankar Chakraborti a,*, Mohammad M. Rahman a, Kunal Paul
a, Uttam K. Chowdhury a, Mrinal K. Sengupta a, Dilip Lodh a, Chitta
R. Chanda a, Kshitish C. Saha b, Subhash C. Mukherjee. Talanta 58
(2002) 3-22.

Abstract: Groundwater arsenic (As) contamination in West Bengal (WB,
India) was first reported in December 1983, when 63 people from three
villages of two districts were identified by health officials as
suffering from As toxicity. As of October 2001, the authors from the
School of Environmental Studies (SOES) have analyzed >105 000 water
samples, >25 000 urine/hair/nail/skin-scale samples, screened
approximately 86 000 people in WB. The results show that more than 6
million people from nine affected districts (total population
approximately 42 million) of 18 total districts are drinking water
containing >=50 ug l-1 As and >300 000 people may have visible
arsenical skin lesions. 2 700 villages have so far been identified
where groundwater contains arsenic above 50 Ug l-1. The As content of
the physiological samples indicates that many more may be
sub-clinically affected. Children in As-affected villages may be in
special danger. In 1995, we had found three villages in two districts
of Bangladesh where groundwater contained >=50 ug l-1 As. The present
situation is that in 2000 villages in 50 out of total 64 districts of
Bangladesh, groundwater contains As above 50 ug l-1 and more than 25
million people are drinking water above >=50 ug l-1 As. After years
of research in WB and Bangladesh, additional affected villages are
being identified on virtually every new survey. The present research
may still reflect only the tip of iceberg in identifying the extent
of As contamination. Although the WB As problem became public almost
20 years ago, there are still few concrete plans, much less
achievements, to solve the problem. Villagers are probably in worse
condition than 20 years ago. Even now, many who are drinking
As-contaminated water are not even aware of that fact and its
consequences. 20 years ago when the WB government was first informed,
it was a casual matter, without the realization of the magnitude this
problem was to assume. At least up to 1994, one committee after
another was formed but no solution was forthcoming. None of the
expert reports has suggested solutions that involve awareness
campaigns, education of the villagers and participation of the
people. Initially, international aid agencies working in the
subcontinent simply did not consider that As could be present in
groundwater. Even now, while As in drinking water is being
highlighted, there have been almost no studies on how additional As
is introduced through the food chain, as large amounts of As are
present in the agricultural irrigation water. Past mistakes, notably
the ceaseless exploitation of groundwater for irrigation, continue
unabated today; at this time, more groundwater is being withdrawn
than ever before. No efforts have been made to adopt effective
watershed management to harness the extensive surface water and
rainwater resources of this region. Proper watershed management and
participation by villagers are needed for the proper utilization of
water resources and to combat the As calamity. As in groundwater may
just be nature's initial warning about more dangerous toxins yet to
come. What lessons have we really learned?


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http://dchandra.hypermart.net/WRI10final.pdf (parent page is
http://dchandra.hypermart.net/IJournals.HTML )

Arsenic contamination in groundwater, Murshidabad district, West
Bengal. D. Chandrasekharam & J. Karmakar, Z. Berner and D.
Stüben. Water-Rock Interaction-10, Proceed. Villasimus, Italy,
June 10-15,2001

Abstract: Arsenic content in groundwater and surface waters from
Murshidabad district of West Bengal varies from 0.05 to 3.7 mg/l.
Arsenic was scavenged by Fe(III) minerals (primarily as iron
oxyhydroxides), and to a lesser extent by Mn(IV) phases and is
released into the groundwater due to lowering of the redox conditions
in the aquifer system. Similarities in some trace element ratios of
the Rajmahal traps with those of the arsenic contaminated
groundwaters in this areas designates the Rajmahal traps as a
possible primary source for the arsenic contamination.


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Arsenic contamination of the environment- a new perspective from
central-east India. Piyush Kant Pandey *, Sushma Yadav, Sumita Nair,
Ashish Bhui. Environment International 28 (2002) 235-245.

Abstract: This paper reports a regional contamination of the
environment in central-east India that does not share geology or
boundary with the Bengal Delta Plain. About 30,000 people residing
in 30 villages and towns are directly exposed to arsenic and more
than 200,000 people are ''at risk.'' Complete geographical extent of
this contamination is being established, and this newly reported
contaminated area could be quite large. This paper further reports
that the mechanisms involved in arsenic mobilisation are complex and
the two theories of arsenic mobilisation, i.e., pyrite oxidation and
oxyhydroxides reduction, do not fully explain the high levels of
arsenic contamination. This paper also proposes the
''oxidation-reduction theory'' for arsenic mobilisation where the
arsenic originates from the arsenopyrite oxidation and the arsenic
thus mobilised forms the minerals and gets reduced underground in
favourable Eh conditions. The stoppage of water withdrawal from the
contaminated sources did not result in lowering of arsenic levels as
expected according to the heavy groundwater extraction theory (pyrite
oxidation theory). Cases of arsenicosis in the region are on the rise
and the switchover to less contaminated water has not reversed the
arsenicosis progression in the affected persons even after 2 years.
Surface water of the rivers is also being contaminated because of the
probable dislocation of contaminated groundwater due to the heavy
rains in monsoon season, which indicates that the river water could
be a major carrier of arsenic in dissolved or adsorbed forms that may
be a cause of contamination of the delta plains.


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Arsenic contamination in groundwater: some analytical considerations.
David G. Kinniburgh, Walter Kosmus. Talanta 58 (2002) 165-180

For countries such as Bangladesh with a significant groundwater
arsenic problem, there is an urgent need for the arsenic-contaminated
wells to be identified as soon as possible and for appropriate action
to be taken. This will involve the testing of a large number of
wells, potentially up to 11 million in Bangladesh alone. Field-test
kits offer the only practical way forward in the timescale required.
The classic field method for detecting arsenic (the 'Gutzeit' method)
is based on the reaction of arsine gas with mercuric bromide and
remains the best practical approach. It can in principle achieve a
detection limit of about 10 ug l-1 by visual comparison of the
coloured stain against a colour calibration chart. A more objective
result can be achieved when the colour is measured by an electronic
instrument. Attention has to be paid to interferences mainly from
hydrogen sulfide. Due to analytical errors, both from the field-test
kits and from laboratory analysis, some misclassification of wells is
inevitable, even under ideal conditions. The extent of
misclassification depends on the magnitude of the errors of analysis
and the frequency distribution of arsenic observed, but is in
principle predictable before an extensive survey is undertaken. For
a country with an arsenic distribution similar to that of Bangladesh,
providing care is taken to avoid sources of bias during testing,
modern field-test kits should be able to reduce this
misclassification to under 5% overall


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Role of iron in controlling speciation and mobilization of arsenic in
subsurface environment. Purnendu Bose and Archana Sharma. Water
Research, in press.

Abstract: Widespread arsenic contamination of groundwater has been
reported of late in Bangladesh and West Bengal state of India. On the
basis of arsenic geochemistry, three probable mechanisms have been
cited for arsenic mobility in aquifers of West Bengal and Bangladesh.
First, mobilization of arsenic due to the oxidation of
arsenic-bearing pyrite minerals. Second, dissolution of
arsenic-contaminated iron oxy-hydroxides (FeOOH) due to onset of
reducing conditions in the subsurface. Third, due to the release of
arsenic sorbed to aquifer minerals by competitive exchange with
phosphate ions, that migrates into aquifers due to application of
fertilizer to surface soil. Based on the reviewof .eld data from the
affected region, it appears that the second mechanism described above
is the most probable. Two reduction processes associated with this
mechanism were investigated, viz., reduction of iron oxy-hydroxide to
iron (II), which results in the mobilization of arsenic, and
reduction of arsenic (V) to arsenic (III), which may enhance mobility
of arsenic under certain conditions. These reactions, in the opinion
of some researchers, are possible in subsurface environments mainly
through microbial intervention. However, through the data presented
in this paper, it has been demonstrated that above red-ox reactions
involving iron and arsenic are also possible through predominantly
abiotic pathways. While these results do not necessarily imply that
abiotic red-ox processes are dominant in all subsurface environments
containing iron and arsenic, it is entirely possible that abiotic
interactions as described here may be responsible for a substantial
amount of transformations involving iron and arsenic in anoxic
subsurface environments.


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Arsenic Contamination in Hizla, Bangladesh: Sources, Effects, and
Remedies. A. S. M. Kamal and Preeda Parkpian. ScienceAsia, Vol. 28.
No. 2, pp 181-189, 2002.

Abstract: Various natural (high arsenic bearing strata and pyrite
oxidation) and anthropogenic (agricultural, coal mining, metal
smelting, and refining industry) sources are involved to arsenic
pollution in water. Water, soil, and biological samples (vegetables,
fish, and meat) were collected from potentially arsenic affected area
- Hizla, Bangladesh - and analyzed to find the source of arsenic
contamination. All analyses excluding water were carried out by
X-Ray Fluorescence. Total arsenic determination of groundwater was
conducted by field kit and cross-checked by Total Reflection X-Ray
Fluorescence method. About 80% of shallow tubewell (10-30 m) water
was contaminated (71 out of 89 samples), but none of the 35 deep
tubewell (more than 200 m) water samples. Hair samples from
patients, who have been drinking arsenic tainted water for several
years and have been suffering with preliminary skin lesions, showed
significant results (5.5 to 11.1 mg kg-1). Reasonable concentrations
have not yet been investigated in biological and soil samples, as a
source of arsenic pollution in Hizla. Arsenic in groundwater was
found to be increased proportionally with iron but decreased
inversely with the well depth. Analysis of borehole soil samples in
different depths from arsenic contaminated area, initially confirmed
by As test kit, will certainly identify the source of arsenic
contamination in the study area.


=====================================================================
NEW & NEWLY DISCOVERED WEB SITES & WEB PAGES
UPDATED WEBSITES & WEB PAGES


-----------------------------------------------------------------
http://phys4.harvard.edu/~wilson/arsenic_project_main.html

As of this writing, the Harvard Arsenic site lists several webpages
as having been updated or added during the period 14 Apr to 7 Aug 2002

08/07/2002 Several pages updated:
measurement http://phys4.harvard.edu/%7Ewilson/ars
enic_project_measurement.html
conferences http://phys4.harvard.edu/%7Ewilson/ars
enic_project_conferences.html
introduction http://phys4.harvard.edu/%7Ewilson/ar
senic_project_introduction.html

07/28/2002 Several pages updated with San Diego Conference info
conferences http://phys4.harvard.edu/%7Ewilson/ars
enic_project_conferences.html
countries http://phys4.harvard.edu/~wilson/arsenic
_project_countries.html
remediation http://phys4.harvard.edu/~wilson/arsen
ic_project_remediation_technology.html
introduction http://phys4.harvard.edu/~wilson/arse
nic_project_introduction.html
health effects http://phys4.harvard.edu/~wilson/ar
senic_project_health_effects.html

07/09/2002 Forthcoming San Diego conference info added
List of posters http://phys4.harvard.edu/~wilson/F
ifth_setac_conference_poster_list.html
Abstracts on the conferences page http://phys4.har
vard.edu/~wilson/arsenic_project_conferences.html

06/30/2002 Arsenic in New England conference info added-
Abstracts on the conference page at http://phys4.
harvard.edu/~wilson/arsenic_project_conferences.html

06/03/2002 Page updated:
Reference page http://phys4.harvard.edu/~wilson/ar
senic_project_references.html

04/14/2002 Inaugural Speech of Bangladesh Prime Minister added:
introduction http://phys4.harvard.edu/~wilson/arse
nic_project_introduction.html


-----------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.wsp.org/english/access/sa.html

Fighting arsenic: listening to rural communities - WSP study
investigates people's preference for arsenic mitigation options and
their willingness to pay

"...Finding the most effective, acceptable and sustainable set of
solutions for [the arsenic] crisis is imperative.

"The search for ... solutions has to-date focused largely on the
'supply side', concentrating on engineering devises for removing
arsenic. There has been less effort to understand preferences of
rural households. This is a critical gap. People's perceptions and
preferences are essential for appropriateness and sustainability of
the proposed alternatives. WSP-SA launched a study to investigate the
above. The study uses the contingent valuation method for assessing
people's preferences for various arsenic mitigation options and their
willingness to pay for such alternatives.

"Important findings of the study include the following:

"1. Communities are reluctant to accept technologies that are less
convenient than the current handpump technology. They overwhelmingly
voiced support for accessing simple, localized piped-water systems in
the rural areas and expressed their willingness to pay for such
system.

"2. People opted for piped water - aspiring for better quality of
service -irrespective of the arsenic problem.

"3. The study reiterates the need for offering a menu of choice to
the communities.

"4. The study shows that the level of awareness about arsenic and
the perception of health hazards associated with drinking arsenic
contaminated water is low.

"5. Finally, the study suggests that the arsenic crisis requires a
greater focus on institutional approaches in addition to
technological innovations.

"For more information contact Shafiul Azam Ahmed, Water and
Sanitation Specialist at wspsa @ worldbank.org "


-----------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.sos-arsenic.net/english/edu-project.html

Bangladesh - SOS Arsenic Pilot Project in Schools

'A small-scale initiative of the SOS Arsenic Project, set up and
coordinated by Dr. Jamal Anwar, a Bangladeshi national living in
Germany. "We intend to introduce 6 arsenic free water units for 6
schools in the rural area of Faridpur district. In other words about
7, 000 students will get arsenic free water, education and
environmental consciousness that will influence their parents. More
than 60 percent of the students in rural Faridpur are women".
Educational programme, dug wells, uncontaminated aquifer and
rainwater harvesting have obtained great acceptance among teachers
and students in the completed first phase. The total budget of the
project (Phase 1 and 2) is about US$ 13 000 (EUR 13,600).'


-----------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.arsenicfilters.com/

"ArsenicFilters.com is a public service web site (a place where you
can find current information and links to many sources about arsenic
contamination in drinking water).... While focusing on the United
States, we will try to present information from around the world. We
have researched arsenic poisoning since 1998, and will continue to
summarize the most valid data we can find.... As technologies for
reduction of arsenic are proven, we will bring you information on the
best filters and methods of remediation available." [Website owner
is not identified. Sells filters. - ed.]


=====================================================================
NEW & NEWLY DISCOVERED REAL WORLD STUFF
Offline-only print publications & newsletters, videos, research in
progress, etc.


-----------------------------------------------------------------
From Rodney Dyer, DFID Manager (Water and Sanitation), Dhaka:

"Hard copies of report on Arsenic Contamination of Groundwater in
Bangladesh are now available. This report is an output of studies
conducted by the British Geological Survey and the Department of
Public Health Engineering of the Government of Bangladesh, with
funding from DFID.

A limited number of complimentary copies are available to bonafide
organisations working within Bangladesh in the field of arsenic
mitigation. Requests should be sent on headed paper to DFID Manager
(Water & Sanitation), House No 42, Road No 28, Gulshan, Dhaka.

Copies may also be purchased from Graphosman, 3/3-C Purana Paltan,
Karim Mansion (1st Floor), Dhaka-1000.

Enquiries from outside Bangladesh should be addressed to Dr D G
Kinniburgh at the British Geological Survey (email dgk @ bgs.ac.uk).
Details are also available on the Internet at www
.bgs.ac.uk/arsenic/bangladesh/ "


-----------------------------------------------------------------
Information on research underway at The Department of Earth Earth
Sciences, IIT Bombay and the Institute of Minerology and
Geochemistry, University of Karlsruhe, Germany under DAAD-IITB
exchange programme

"At present we are concentrating on the uptake of arsenic by rice and
wheat in West Bengal. This is a part of research project being
carried out by Ms Paramita Agrawala under the supervision of Prof.
Chandrasekharam from IIT-B and Prof Stueben and Dr Berner, Germany.
The project will be completed by the end of March 2003. -
Prof.D.Chandrasekharam, Senior Associate, International
Ctr.Theoretcal Phy,Italy and Head, Department of Earth Sciences,
Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay 400076,India. Email dchandra
@ geos.iitb.ac.in or dchandra50 @ yahoo.co.uk.


-----------------------------------------------------------------
Las aguas del infierno inundan el delta del Ganges. Planeta Humano
magazine, Spain, March 2001. Text by Chelo Alvarez (chelico1 @
earthlink.net )with photography by Roger Hutchings.


=====================================================================
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