Water Quality

A 2008 World Health Organization (WHO) report cited arsenic (along with fluoride) as a critical drinking water issue that causes severe health issues at levels above its drinking water standard of 10 μg/L. In many areas, arsenic occurs naturally in groundwater at concentrations well above the WHO standard – as high as 3,000 μg/L.  In Southeast Asia, arsenic impacts at least two, ten and thirty-five million people in China, Vietnam and Bangladesh/West Bengal, respectively, causing liver and skin cancer. In addition, arsenic consumption by children can reduce intelligence and cause neurotoxic damage.

While numerous studies have demonstrated arsenic removal using iron oxide coated sand, the arsenic removal capacity of different types of iron oxides coated on sand has not been widely studied.

Read more about the WaTER Center's research

Naturally occurring fluoride in the Earth’s crust enters groundwater by natural processes, especially in soils at the foot of high mountains and in geological deposits created by the sea. It is not known exactly how many people are affected by excess fluoride, but fluorosis is endemic in at least 25 countries across the globe (Figure 1). People affected by fluorosis are often exposed to multiple sources of fluoride, such as in food, water, air (due to gaseous industrial waste), and excessive use of toothpaste. However, drinking water is typically the most significant source.

Intermediate fluoride levels (> 1.5 mg/L) can cause dental fluorosis and higher levels can cause debilitating skeletal fluorosis and impaired intelligence / neurotoxic damage. Water treatment materials are needed that approach the efficiency of commercial materials but that are much less expensive, that ideally can be produced in country, and that are culturally acceptable and can be implemented without disrupting established village routines and structures.  Materials that are currently available suffer from high cost (e.g., granular ferric oxide and activated alumina) or poor sorption capacity due to low surface area (e.g., iron coated sand).

WaTER Center researchers, with partners in Ethiopia, are exploring the effectiveness of low-cost in-country alternatives such as bone-char.

Read more about the WaTER Center's efforts at fluoride mitigation (PDF)