This report available on the Environmental Expert.com site highlights and discusses the practical and proven methods for the removal of arsenic from groundwater aquifiers and drinking water systems. A separate section of this report summarizes the point-of-use arsenic removal methods for individual households and small groups of households. It should be noted that methods for arsenic removal in point-of-use systems are not always able to be scaled up for large municipal water system applications. Other references (refs. 2, 3, 4, 5) cover point-of-use systems well and should be consulted for any such arsenic removal systems not covered by this report.
In some areas of the world, arsenic presence in subsurface aquifiers and drinking water systems is a potentially serious human health hazard. In certain areas of Bangladesh and also in parts of the West Bengal district of India, for example, a majority of shallow subsurface aquifiers and tube wells are contaminated with arsenic at levels which are orders of magnitude above the recommended arsenic level of 50 micrograms/litre.
Serious adverse health effects, including human mortality, from arsenic contamination of drinking water are well documented by numerous scientific studies. Removal of arsenic from drinking water is therefore a worldwide priority
The report informs that there are several methods that can be applied to a given contaminated water source, but it is not clear which is best technically or the most economically for a specific field application . Given the wide variation in arsenic concentrations in different locations as well as differences in water quality before treatment and that desired after treatment, apples-to-apples comparison of the above mentioned arsenic removal methods may not be possible for many potential applications.
The report also ends by informing that some of these arsenic removal systems are undergoing field trials to determine the technical advantages/disadvantages of the method and also determine the actual installed and operating costs under field conditions. This report covers a period of time up to 2005 but does not purport to be a comprehensive study of arsenic removal systems for drinking water purification.
Download the report from below: