Fight Against Arsenic
A WHO-organised consultation meeting held in New Delhi has come up with a set of recommendations for tackling the problem of arsenic contamination. Apart from suggesting immediate treatment for people affected by arsenic poisoning, it calls for providing safe water or identifying sources of such water for people in the arsenic-prone areas. Experts have acknowledged a few water treatment methods developed domestically to free water from arsenic. Their request for WHO assistance to test the efficacy of those methods is worth considering.
What could, however, prove decisive in our fight against arsenic contamination is the setting up of a national reference laboratory for testing the quality of water through a comprehensive site investigation. Water samples have to be collected from all over the country for measuring their arsenic content. The experts rightly recommend for developing a database on arsenic in drinking water. On the basis of this, the need for drinking water in different areas could be assessed and remedial measures taken.
This is key to a management information system. So the government must move fast to tackle this problem. Hydrological surveys, as suggested, might help identify underground aquifers free from arsenic contamination. The government with help from UN agencies should take up such projects because they are beyond the capacity of private individuals.
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