September-October 2012, Volume 3, Issue 5 ...... Feature ......

Somenath Mukhopadhyay Along the Mayurakshi River in West . three women drink freshwater with this traditional method of digging holes in the riverbank.

In Brief About 10o million people in and in the nearby Indian state of are exposed to very high levels of naturally occurring arsenic in groundwater, which is their main source of drinking water. The World Health Organization recommends a maximum contaminant limit (MCL) for arsenic in drinking water of ro µg/1iter; in some areas of Bangladesh arsenic levels are as high as 800 µg/liter. This has rightly been called the largest case of mass poison­ ing in the history of mankind. Recent research indicates that chronic arsenic exposure is the underlying cause of about 20 percent of adult deaths in Bangladesh. Despite 20 years of public knowledge about arsenic-bearing drinking water in rural West Bengal and Bangladesh, as of 2006 less than 1 percent of the exposed population had access to arsenic­ remediated drinking water. Our own field visits during 2008-2012 indicate that the situation has not changed much in recent years. To meet this challenge requires both effective technology and sensitivity to social dynamics. A technology invented in Berkeley for affordable and reliable arsenic remediation of ground water has been successfully tested in a commu­ nity in West Bengal, and steps towards its successful establishment and social acceptance are under way by engaging local government, nonprofits, and local community and opinion leaders.

40 I Solutions I September-October 2on I www.thesolutionsjournal.org A Development Dead End access to arsenic-safe technological Independent researchers detected installations-however the reality is arsenic in the groundwater of West Key Concepts otherwise. According to our survey Bengal as early as i983. In the arsenic­ data, almost 95 percent of newly clffected areas, people continue to installed arsenic treatment units substantially rely on this groundwater • The largest mass poisoning in the are defunct within six months of history of mankind is affecting about for drinking and irrigation. Arsenic 70 million people in rural West installation due to inadequate or enters the groundwater from Bengal and Bangladesh, with highly inappropriate social placement of naturally occurring arsenic-bearing toxic levels of naturally occurring the technology. Typically, private arsenic in their drinking water. Th ese sediments in the sunounding rock, are among the poorest people on the companies and non-governmental though the details of the mechanism planet. with little access to technol- organization (NGO) operators were by which arsenic becomes mobile in ogy or formal education, and weal< contracted for a fixed period to under­ infrastructures and institutions. water is still being discussed in the take replacement of arsenic filters and scientific literature. A third of West • Adverse health consequences of general upkeep. However, when their Bengal's population is at an elevated chronic arsenic exposure include a contracts expired the systems broke health risk from arsenic exposure. variety of cancers. cardiovascular down and became defunct. Studies have revealed that over half disease. gangrenes leading to The government has responded amputations, neuropathy. and a of West Bengal's districts contain reduced IQ in children exposed to to Lbe crisis \vith alternative strate­ arsenic-polluted wells, with new arsenic. About 20 percent ol adult gies. such as pressurized piped-water water samples continuing to reveal deaths in Bangladesh are attributed systems or deep aquifer tube wells, to consequences of ch ronic arsenic more aquifers with arsenic concentra­ exposure. that bypass the need to access arsenic­ tions above 50 flg/liter. contaminated shallow aquifers for Public demand for arsenic-safe • Scientists in Berkeley have invented water. Piped water and deep-aquifer water has emerged through various a technology "ECAR .. that removes tube well projects are commonly more fonns of public grievances and socia1 arsenic from typical arsenic-contam· costly and time-consuming to execute. inated groundwater at an affordable conflicts between local inhabitants price (estimated about USS 0.004 Another major problem is that of per­ and the government Local communi­ per liter) and can operate with an spective; users continue to be seen as ties have staged mass deputations intermittent power supply. These sci- "beneficiaries," not as customers, and entists are _working with social and to the government officials and engineering scientists from Jadavpur integration with social practice-one expressed their strong dissatisfaction University. Kolkata, and Kandi Raj of the core insights of the Jast few through various methods including College, (both in ). decades of development studies-is to undertake technology maturation. hunger strikes, rallies, and evenboy ­ including its social embedding thrown by the wayside. The result is cotting of government campaigns for among relevant stakeholders and that most of the affected population polio vaccination. Media often report indigeniwtion. must choose their drinking water from on serious adverse health effects and either the local arsenic-bearing tube deaths in the populace from arsenic • New technologies, even if techni- wells or unevenly distributed, and cally robust and economically while economists llke Professor affordable. don't operate in isolation. scarce, deep tube wells. Joyashree Roy of the Global Change To be successful. they have to be Program al )adavpur University have socially embedded with planned and Innovations that Engage deliberate engagement with various initiated high-profile research projects stakeholders. Building trust with and the Community on the cost of arsenic to West Bengal. feedback from these stakeholders is Yet, despite the systemic failure to The state government's response critical to the success of the eventual provide arsenic-safe drinking water final product or service. has been limited. In r983, the adminis­ in West Bengal and Bangladesh, tration created a technical committee there have been some innovations • This paper describes the above to better understand the science and process for ECAR as it progresses that reveal the strategies for success. suggest solutions. It took almost a through successive field trials and One such tool is Electrochemical decade for the government to then technology maturation, as well Arsenic Remediation (ECAR). as moves forward through the create the Arsenic Task Force, with deliberate engagement with various ECAR technology was invented the goal of installing arsenic-filtration stakeholders to prepare the grounds at Lawrence Berkeley National systems al all arsenic-contaminated for its success in the real world Laboratory and is being developed by and for moving toward large-scale tube wells. Per official headcount implementation. the University of CaJjfornia·Berkeley. statistics 59 percenl of the popula- ECAR uses a small electric current tion as of 2007 has been provided lo generate an arsenic sorbent in situ

wwu1.1htsolutiomjo11mal.or9 I Scptember-Octobe:r 2on I Solutions I 41 ,

Marla Sm1th·N1lson I land pumps like this one. often connected to arsenic-contaminated wells, are a common sight in West Bengal. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is working with local, regiona l. and national stakeholders to help with the diffusion of an affordable :echnology that treats arsenic-contaminated water.

42 I Soluuons I Scptcmbcr-Octobu 1011 I 14114•141/Jino/utionsjouma/.org water would have a natural alliance with other school programs, such as the midday meal, for promoting com­ munity wellbeing. Amirabad High Madrasah, a school in the of West Bengal, was selected as the test-pilot school. In December 2010 a pilot test of a 100-liter ECAR prototype, built and brought in from Berkeley, was success­ fully conducted in partnership with an NGO ("BAJS-Amirabad") founded and operating in the village of Amira bad, which helped to both select the school and manage the school's and com­ munity's expectations and provide the interface with local government. The final necessary technical step Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory was to work out what to do with the The problem of arsenic poisoning in West Bengal and Bangladesh has been cal led the largest case of mass poisoning in the history of mankind. Two protesters are interviewed at a 2009 sit-in in West arsenic-bearing waste removed from Bengal that demanded access to arsenic-safe water and medical treatment. the water. All arsenic removal tech­ nologies produce arsenic-laden sludge or waste that must be safely disposed within contaminated groundwater. overheads and margins, the final of. The amount of wet sludge collected The only consumables required are price would be about 20 paise per 1 oo-liter batch is approximately ordinary mild steel plates and low (US$0.004) per liter. 0-4 1i ters, and the expected amount of voltage ( < 3 V) electricity-the latter Inventing a robust, effective, dry sludge even less, for initial arsenic can be supplied from the grid, solar simple-to-operate, and locally concentrations of between 600 and PV panels, or batteries. affordable technology is only the 3000 µg/liter in real groundwater. ECAR technology has many first of many steps toward successful Previious studies suggested that leach­ advantages over other low-cost implementation. Other steps include ing of arsenic from the sludge may arsenic removal methods such as efforts to transfer technical knowl­ occur in a landfill or hazardous waste chemical co-precipitation with ferric edge and scientific capacity to local burial site; therefore, we sought an salts and filtration through activated institutions. One crucial develop­ alternative method for disposal by alumina or granular iron-based ment was to replicate the ECAR unit casting the waste material in concrete adsorbent media. These advantages indigenously at Jadavpur University bloclks for use in roadways (thereby include the simplicity of inputs, very in Kolkata. In 2011, this prototype also :suggesting a business model for low maintenance (electrodes can be was successfully field tested by the the waste's collection). Initial tests cleaned by automatically reversing Jadavpur University scientific team in have been very promising. the current direction during opera­ collaboration with Berkeley. tion). high effectiveness (even in A concurrent challenge was to Getting Back to Basics the presence of arsenic-III, which is embed the units in local communities. From the experiments in West Bengal more difficult to remove), and low For some time, schools in India have several principles for the scaling up of overheads. The estimated operating been identified as centers for intro­ this and other remediation technolo­ costofECAR for removing 500 µg/ ducing a range of poverty-reducing gies iean be discerned. These include: liter arsenic from real groundwater measures. By providing schools with to below 10 µg/liter is about 1 paisa arsenic-safe water-access installa­ 1. The technology must be robust. (US$0.0002) per liter. We estimate tions to deliver arsenic-safe water By this we mean that the inventors that after including capital amortiza­ to children and others (e.g., teachers and innovators must apply the tion, salaries of relevant personne1 and staff), knowledge of how the constraint that the technology will for maintenance, operations, and ECAR device works can be publicly perform its intended task under management, periodic arsenic test­ demonstrated and seeded throughout stressful and difficult environ­ ingof treated water, and business the community. The provisions of safe mental and operating conditions

www.theso/11tionsjoumal.ov9 I Septemb er-October 2012 I Solutions I 43 Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratllf)' Pictured here is the fu ll Electrochemical Arsenic Remediation. or EGAR. unit. The soci al and engineering sciences are both equally critical in successful deployment of each unit.

44 I Solutions I September-October 2012 I www.thesolutionsjouma l.org encountered in the field (such as 3. The invention and innovation materials; no toxic or corrosive power blackouts and brownouts, must be scalable. In business lan­ chemicals are required for any media­ dust, ambient heat and humidity, guage, "scalability" means the ability regeneration; and the bound arsenic and being serviced by individuals for the invention to be replicated in the (small amount of) resulting with little formal technical training, and delivered to millions or even sludge is easy to immobilize. under weak regulation and missing hundreds of millions of end users. The technology must be effective, markets). This constraint of robust­ Many inventions that we now take robust, affordable, and scalable-but ness must be applied right from the for granted bave gone through this the real secret lies in how the technol­ early stages of conceptualization process successfully, and many other ogy is seeded within a local community. and idea generation so we don't inventions could not go to scale and Technical innovation of ECAR, supple­ mented by social engineering, forms the core of our model of technology maturation, field trials, stakeholder The technology must be effective, robust, affordable, engagement, social embedding, and and scalable-but the real secret lies in how the transfer to licensees for scale-up. The technology and the approach for its technology is seeded within a local community. social embedding a:re likely to be useful in other countries in the regfon (e.g., Nepal, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Vietnam) affected with natural arsenic end up in a blind alley. Implied in ended up as only curiosities. For an contamination of groundwater. this statement is the desire that invention to go to scale, its bare cost It's still early days in West Bengal, the technology must perform at a must be at least four to five times but the hope is that social innovations level that is expected for first-world lower than its perceived monetary like the use of schools can be scalable inhabitants. In other words, we value to the end user. Only then is by local governments in order to stop should apply our best knowledge there a business case to be made for this entirely preventable scourge of and creativity to ensure that we do mobilizing finance capital, which is Bengali and Indian families. 0 not provide a lower service level to essential for large-scale production

the poor people in the developing and delivery of the innovative prod­ ...... ;······ ······················ countries, by assuming that it uct or service. We note that there ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS would be "good enough" for them. are other aspects of the scalability We gratefully acknowledge support constraint. The invention must not for this work by the Richard C. Blum 2. The technology must be locally rely on some unique material that is Center for Developing Economies, affordable and culturally in short supply, it must not produce USEPA P3 Program (Phase II), The acceptable. This is essential waste products that are difficult to Sustainable Products and Solutions to ensure a financially viable dispose of, and it must not cause Program at Haas School ofBusiness, technology in the long run. Only environmental damage that will Eureka Forbes Ltd., WaterHealth (India), locally affordable technology will be unacceptable when deployed on Global Change Programme, Civil allow a sustainable solution that scale. Ifus ed on scale, the innovation Engineering Department and Funding does not require continuous infu­ must not have foreseeable unaccept­ support under UGC-UPEII at Jadavpur sion of external subsidy or cash able consequences in economic or University, UGC major research grant to to keep it operational and make social spheres. Kandi Raj College, SANDEE (south asian it available to millions of people. network for development and envi­ Furthermore, the technology must It Takes a Community ronmental economics, and a National not run counter to local culture. to Build a Well Science Foundation fellowship to S. In the ideal case, the inven tjon ECAR is a promising technology for Miller. We are grateful to Saumen Ray will be adopted, without compro­ arsenic remediation in poor rural of the Rotary Club of Calcutta for his mising its technical performance, parts of South Asia. It is technically enthusiastic support and efforts. This to suit the culture and habits of highly effective in reducing arsenic work would not be possible without the the end users, and the inventors and has a locally affordable cost per generous efforts ofTaimur Khan, Pragya will not need to push to change liter; the technology has very few Gupta, Suman Das, Arpita Sarkar, Andy the culture or even daily habits for moving parts; it is easy to operate Torkelson, Shreya Ramesh, Jonathan the invention to work. and maintain and uses indigenous Slack, and Howdy Goudey.

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