Thousands Of Wells Across The United States Have Arsenic In Their Water. Are You At Risk?

Chemists Without Borders is presenting a field event to look at ways to remove arsenic from ground water.


You can learn more about the "arsenic problem" and be part of the solution on Saturday, March, 12, when the $1 million dollar prize-winning SONO arsenic filter will come to Boron, California. Members of the public will have a unique opportunity to help bring this life-changing technology to tens of millions of people around the world in need of clean and safe drinking water.

The Mojave Desert Section of the American Chemical Society in conjunction with Chemists Without Borders and Verdant Technology Ventures will be evaluating the arsenic removing potential of the SONO filter in the Section's first ever "public science experiment" in Boron, California on Saturday March 12th, 2011. "This event will help fulfill the mission of Chemists Without Borders, which is to alleviate human suffering through the use of proven chemical technologies" according to Dr. Steve Chambreau, the organization's co-founder. "We hope that people will show up and help us do the proving."

Contaminated drinking water remains problematic on a large scale in countries such as Bangladesh and India owing to naturally occurring arsenic in the aquifers. Due to heavy bacterial contamination in the surface waters in Bangladesh, 8.6 million tube wells were dug by UNICEF to provide a clean source of drinking water. Unfortunately, the water in many of these tube wells has high levels of arsenic - a fact that was not discovered until years later, when arsenicosis reached epidemic levels, labeled by Dr. A. K. M. Munir as "the largest mass poisoning in history." While the "arsenic problem" in Bangladesh is highly publicized, many people are not aware that modestly elevated levels of arsenic are present in wells in locations across the United States, including the High Desert. In the past two decades, The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has collected and analyzed arsenic in potable water from 18,850 wells in 595 counties across the United States. These wells are used for irrigation, industrial purposes, and research, as well as for public and private water supply. Arsenic concentrations in ground water generally are highest in the western U.S., and in 24 percent of the U.S. counties where data were available, at least 10 percent of samples had arsenic concentrations exceeding 10 µg/L, the World Health Organization provisional guideline for arsenic. Although the local water is safe to drink, its elevated arsenic content allows it to be used to test innovations such as the SONO filter for arsenic removal. Chemists Without Borders is in the process of licensing the SONO filter and helping to distribute it in areas with elevated levels of arsenic in drinking water, thus this experiment is an opportunity to help others affected by arsenic contamination.

The local chapter of the American Chemical Society partnered with Chemists Without Borders to help organize the event as part of its celebration of the International Year of Chemistry. "We wanted to give the public a chance to see how chemistry is helping people around the world every day," said ACS section chair Dr. Andrew Guenthner. "This event will let people do more than just see it -- they can actually do it with their own hands." Not to worry if you are not a chemist, though, for according to Dr. Guenthner: "If you can pour yourself a glass of water, you can play an important part in this experiment."

The SONO filter was developed by Professor Abul Hussam at George Mason University in Virginia, and is based on a composite iron matrix (CIM), which effectively removes both forms of arsenic (As(III) and As(V)) from water. The SONO filter won the 2007 Grainger Challenge Gold Prize for Sustainability from the US National Academy of Engineering. Verdant Technology Ventures in Virginia has licensed the SONO technology, and has sent a SONO prototype for testing at the event. Volunteers are needed to participate in the field event, which starts at 10 AM on Saturday, March 12th at the Boron Recreation Center, 26996 John Street in Boron, CA. In addition to testing the filter, the event will include presentations on the risks posed by arsenic in drinking water and possible remedies, as well as a demonstration of portable equipment for arsenic testing. For more information, please contact Steve Chambreau at (951) 529-1057 or stevechambreau@chemistswithoutborders.org

Company Contact Information
Chemists Without Borders
Steve Chambreau
P. O. Box 2438
Helendale, CA
92342
951-529-1057

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