Hearing from the water expert.

Arsenic is mostly found in the Ganga Delta Plain and Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. In Karnataka, it can be found in the regions of Kolar and Raichur. Geogenic Reasons (natural reasons): Arsenic Pyrites, which is a combination of arsenic + iron, 10-80meters from ground surface. In the 70s, hand pumps were built, which were shallow in depth (40-60meters). It triggered off a redox reaction which leached out iron and arsenic. Aquifers: aquifers can store and transfer water underground. Arsenic brought down to the valleys from the Himalayas mixed with the water. The water started getting trapped underground. G.M.B: Ganga, Meghna and Brahmaputra Plain which consists of 500sq. Kilometers has 600 million people who are at risk of arsenic poisoning and need to be informed. Places which have arsenic contamination are mainly Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Eastern Utter Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and Assam. Out of these places, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh have contamination due to unnatural reasons- gold mines, while the rest are a part of G.M.B. Gold Mines leach out iron and arsenic during the process of roasting, which is while all theareas with gold mines have red deposits. Deposits left over are either thrown on land or in water. All water bodies have strong groundwater connections; therefore the arsenic spreads from rivers and lakes into aquifers. Favouring: It’s the direction in which water flows. Hypothetically, there is 0.3mg/l of arsenic present in bore wells and 0.5mg/l of arsenic present in rivers. Why are the levels different? Air contains oxygen, and oxygen reduces arsenic. As+5 is more stable and less toxic, whereas As+3 is less stable and more toxic. As+3 is present in bore wells and hand pumps because they don’t come in contact with air. Arsenide (As+3) + Air (oxidation)-most of the arsenic gets oxidized- stable oxidation stage= Arsenate (As+5) which is non toxic. Arsenate has more atomic weight which makes it sink to the bottom of the water body. Therefore it is most important to test groundwater sources. EXISTING KITS: The kits already out in the market are- MERCK, Hach and Developing Alternatives.

Allowed level of arsenic in drinking water is 10mg/l, by the B.I.S (Bureau of Indian Standards) developed in 2003. Most sources will have 10-100mg/l. The kit therefore will have to be able to test the above level without dilution so that anyone can test it. 1-100mg/l without dilution in ideal. Existing kits cannot detect the above levels. Their range limit is 50mg/l. They cannot test beyond that. WHAT WE NEED TO KEEP IN MIND WHILE DESIGNING OUR KIT: >Precision. >Target user. >Why would people use our kit? >Figure out the limitations of detection- level of concentration detectable. >How valid/valuable will the kit be? > Buy previous kits and test them out and compare them with our kit. Then check for 100mg/l or lower and see whether our kit is better at testing. >Find a layman and make him test a sample using our kit to check whether he can do it correctly. >Tweak the kit accordingly. QUESTIONS THAT WERE ASKED: Q. Who uses the kits? >State Government- Block or District level. The labs are either nonexistent or dysfunctional. Solution: Identify dysfunctional Labs in India through I.M.I.S (Integrated Management Information System). Find students who can help us- Jadavpur University, A. N. College, Patna. Q. What happens with the information? >Sample is collected and the results come to the blocks. The coordinator uploads the information in the I.M.I.S every three months. West Bengal for example has 650 Labs in 170 Blocks which are run by NGOs. N.R.C- National Resource Center- the water quality advisor has to answer questions and upload data. Q. How often does water need to be checked? >At least quarterly. KEEP IN MIND/FACTS: >ALPHA (American Publication Handbook) Find out how to prepare high concentration of Arsenic. Then dilute it to fit your level of concentration. Test the same sample with all kits. >Lassi making- use similar process when you have to drink water from arsenic infested area. >Reverse osmosis could also be used. >Ware security plans have to be improved, instead of spending 130 Crores which is the amount currently being spent. IMPORTANT: >Kit Sensitivity: cannot detect bigger differences in smaller concentration. >Precision: every time you test, the numbers have to be the same. >Low user interface. >Detection Limit: what the kit cannot respond to/detect. >Lower range of concentration, high sensitivity and concentration. >Find out U.V Range. > Talk to AWOG (Swiss Institute)- the develop biosensors. >Divide contamination in different ranges to see how the Kit performs in all the ranges. LITERATURE REVIEW: >Draw conclusions. >Compare notes. >Figure out usability. >Everybody should be able to use the kit.