title: A socio-economic study along with impact assessment for laterite based technology demonstration for arsenic mitigation.
abstract: Arsenic contamination mitigation technologies have been adsorption-based, but the most widely-used and traditionally available adsorbents suffered inherent limitations, including cost infeasibility and problems associated with regeneration and disposal of the spent adsorbent. The present technology is based on indigenously developed activated laterite prepared from the naturally and abundantly available material, and can hence easily be scaled up for community usage and large scale implementation. The total arsenic removal capacity is 32.5mg/g, which is the highest among all naturally occurring arsenic adsorbents. A major issue in earlier adsorbents was that during regeneration, the adsorbed arsenic would be released back into the environment (leaching), and would eventually contaminate the groundwater again. But the adsorbent in this filter does not require regeneration during its five-year lifespan and does not leach upon disposal. An attempt is made to test and demonstrate the practical implementation of the technology - its effectiveness and viability in three community (primary schools - one in Malda and two in north 24 Parganas, West Bengal, India) and 20 household filters, catering to over 5000 people in different areas of West Bengal exposed to high arsenic contamination of groundwater (ranging from 0.05 to 0.5mg/l). The work also focuses on the social impact of the real life technological solution on the lives on the affected people in the worst hit arsenic affected communities, perhaps the greatest public health risk emergency of the decade.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur 721302, India. Electronic address: souravmondal2008@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Sourav
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mondal
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur 721302, India. Electronic address: anirbanroy.ju@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Anirban
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Roy
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur 721302, India. Electronic address: rakamukherjee10@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Raka
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mukherjee
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur 721302, India. Electronic address: mrinmoy.hit@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Mrinmoy
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mondal
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur 721302, India. Electronic address: sankha999@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Sankha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Karmakar
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur 721302, India. Electronic address: chatterjeesomak1988@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Somak
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chatterjee
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur 721302, India. Electronic address: mukherjee.munmun@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Munmun
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mukherjee
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur 721302, India. Electronic address: saikat12144@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Saikat
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bhattacharjee
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur 721302, India. Electronic address: sde@che.iitkgp.ernet.in.
authors.forename: Sirshendu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: De
mesh_terms: D001151:Arsenic / Q000032:analysis*; D007194:India; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D018508:Water Purification / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D001151:Arsenic
keywords: Adsorption; Arsenic; Community filter; Domestic filter; Laterite; Social impact