TY - JOUR
T1 - Performance of a household-level arsenic removal system during 4-month deployments in Bangladesh
AU - Cheng, Zhongqi
AU - Van Geen, Alexander
AU - Jing, Chuanyong
AU - Meng, Xiaoguang
AU - Seddique, Ashraf
AU - Ahmed, Kazi Matin
PY - 2004/6/15
Y1 - 2004/6/15
N2 - A simple arsenic removal system was used in Bangladesh by six households for 4 months to treat well water containing 190-750 μg/L As as well as 0.4-20 mg/L Fe and 0.2-1.9 mg/L P. The system removes As from a 16-L batch of water in a bucket by filtration through a sand bed following the addition of about 1.5 g of ferric sulfate and 0.5 g of calcium hypochlorite. Arsenic concentrations in all but 1 of 72 samples of treated water were below the Bangladesh drinking water standard of 50 μg/L for As. Approximately half of the samples also met the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline of 10 μg/L. At the two wells that did not meet the WHO guideline, observations were confirmed by additional experiments in one case ([P] = 1.9 mg/L) but not in the other, suggesting that the latter household was probably not following the instructions. Observed residual As levels are consistent with predictions from a surface complexation model only if the site density is increased to 2 mol/mol of Fe. With the exception of Mn, the average concentrations of other inorganic constituents of health concern (Cr, Ni, Cu, Se, Mo, Cd, Sb, Ba, Hg, Pb, and U) in treated water were below their respective WHO guideline for drinking water.
AB - A simple arsenic removal system was used in Bangladesh by six households for 4 months to treat well water containing 190-750 μg/L As as well as 0.4-20 mg/L Fe and 0.2-1.9 mg/L P. The system removes As from a 16-L batch of water in a bucket by filtration through a sand bed following the addition of about 1.5 g of ferric sulfate and 0.5 g of calcium hypochlorite. Arsenic concentrations in all but 1 of 72 samples of treated water were below the Bangladesh drinking water standard of 50 μg/L for As. Approximately half of the samples also met the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline of 10 μg/L. At the two wells that did not meet the WHO guideline, observations were confirmed by additional experiments in one case ([P] = 1.9 mg/L) but not in the other, suggesting that the latter household was probably not following the instructions. Observed residual As levels are consistent with predictions from a surface complexation model only if the site density is increased to 2 mol/mol of Fe. With the exception of Mn, the average concentrations of other inorganic constituents of health concern (Cr, Ni, Cu, Se, Mo, Cd, Sb, Ba, Hg, Pb, and U) in treated water were below their respective WHO guideline for drinking water.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=3042722255&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=3042722255&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1021/es0352855
DO - 10.1021/es0352855
M3 - Article
C2 - 15260346
AN - SCOPUS:3042722255
SN - 0013-936X
VL - 38
SP - 3442
EP - 3448
JO - Environmental Science and Technology
JF - Environmental Science and Technology
IS - 12
ER -