Toxins in drinking water supplies, such as arsenic which affects millions of people living in the Bay of Bengal area, pose a dual problem.   First how to remove the toxins.   Second how to detect, or sense, the presence of the toxin with reasonable accuracy and repeatability.   Most existing methods of sensing the presence of arsenic are either expensive or do not give a reliable measurement.

Reading in the above context a report in the MIT Technology Review dated 20 January 2009 gives cautious hope.   It states that, “researchers at Penn State University have come up with a way to guide single nanowires into place on a silicon chip using an electric field.   Once the nanowires are in place, the researchers deposit electrodes on top to make arrays of sensing devices.”   This could pave the way towards cheaper hand held sensors.

So why only cautious hope?   Well, lessons from history tell us that developing the technology is only one step.   For it to be used effectively requires many partnerships to be made with key stakeholders.   Prime amongst these are the communities themselves who need to feel that they have a choice over the technology used and a voice in its development.   The scientists and researchers are urged to reach out to the end users so that the technology might meet their real needs.

For more information about the work of Practical Action in this area, see our web pages on nanotechnology and water.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 22nd, 2009 at 9:11 am and is filed under Nanotechnology, New Technologies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.