Thursday, November 1, 2012

MEASURES FOR THE CONTROL OF ARSENIC IN THE GROUNDWATER

Dear All

The presence of Arsenic in groundwater is the burning issue in some states of our country. It is more complex in the state of West Bengal and made some initiations to minimize its concentration. More about it can be read at:  http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/arsenic-control.

The comments made on this burning issue have been pasted below as:
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YES, Arsenic control in the ground water (DTE, 15th Nov. 2012) is the key & burning issue covering parts of our country. The suggested model of ARU in West Bengal and the initiations made by various departments is not significant which are not matching to the dynamics of the issue.

Now, the questions are: how many ARUs should be installed, what is the cost of installation & operation, ways for the disposal of waste, regular monitoring to check the content of Arsenic before filtration and after filtration .... so on. The process of ARUs is time & money consuming, longterm process with out end, and may not be sustainable on the long term basis.

As reported in the article, Arsenic comes in the natural form and contaminates the groundwater. The best way is to find out the ways to mitigate it at the source it self.


With the modern tools of geological and geophysical, it is possible to map the possible zone of pollution. Once it is picked, based on the degree of intensity, and depth measures should be taken to dilute it for getting the severity into the acceptable limits. One of the suggestion is to develop "injection wells" and inject fresh water to dilute the concentration of Arsenic for getting into the acceptable limits. The local stakeholders can take the support of the CGWB & State Groundwater Units for refining the measures.  
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Looking forward for better sharing and to get better solution in the interest of PEOPLE & ENVIRONMENT........

With thanks

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