Low Cost Arsenic Removal

The drinking water for 40 million people in rural Bangladesh is contaminated with arsenic above the WHO recommended level. This results in increased child mortality, decreased intellectual development, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. Efforts to reduce this exposure have not been successful. A radically effective technology could alter this, though the design criteria are demanding.

The challenge is developing a point of collection device tat would be able to screw on the tubewells that are commonly used to extract water in Bangladesh (see photo). it would need to remove arsenic as the water was pumped out of the tubewell, i.e. no slow settling chamber that would decrease convenience. Cost should be no more $5 per year, and no more than 15 minutes of maintenance per month.