Arsenic Sensor Technology Workshop
...towards a design brief for an arsenic sensor device
"...Providing adequate supplies of clean drinking water may not be the most exciting challenge facing scientists working in developing countries. But it is certainly one of the most pressing - and, potentially the most rewarding." - David Dickson (2004)
Key Challenges: Arsenic
This paper asks the question: "how can science led new technologies contribute to adaptation and mitigation of arsenic in the water?" (2007). This paper was written for Science for Humanity by David J. Grimshaw and Amy E. Beaumont Download
Workshop Report
A draft report on the proceedings of this workshop, 26 May 2009.
Department of Water Supply and Sewerage, Government of Nepal
Our main local partner for this event. Other key stakeholders include UNICEF and ENPHO.
On 26 May 2009 we facilitated a discussion with a range of stakeholders in Nepal. Download Workshop Plan »
The workshop held on 26 May 2009 in Kathmandu brought together multiple stakeholders including scientists and representatives of communities, together with our local partner the Department of Water Supply and Sewerage, Government of Nepal.
The main purpose of the event was to critically understand the local context in which arsenic sensing takes place, the current technologies, including their deficiencies and then to build an agreement about how (or if) new science led technologies can help.
The main outcome of the workshop was hoped to be a design brief for an improved arsenic sensor device that overcomes current deficiencies. We hope this may lead to a research project that would develop a device to a prototype stage. The partners involved in the workshop would then test the new device before it could be adopted in the field.
We would like to thank the Body Shop Foundation for funding this workshop.
Presentations during the Workshop:
Arsenic Testing, Mitigation and Information Management in Nepal, Madhav Pahari, UNICEF
The Potential of Nanotechnology, James Bendall, University of Cambridge
Science Facts
The UN has estimated that around 1.4 million people are at risk from arsenic contamination in Nepal . Testing of the 400,000 tube wells in the Terai is the first essential step . The current cost and accuracy of existing technologies presents a challenge to the important on-going cycle of testing.
Sources:
UNICEF (2006) Diluting the Pain of Arsenic Poisoning in Nepal
Panthi et al (2006) Recent Status of Arsenic Groundwater in Nepal, Kathmandu University Journal of Science and Technology, Vol.2, No.1
