So far only half of the 10 million tubewells in Bangladesh have been tested for arsenic, according to UNICEF water and sanitation specialist, Rick Johnston. "The only way to test so many wells in such a short time is through field testing kits", Johnston said. For this purpose UNICEF Bangladesh has purchased 50 "digital arsenators" to be used in collaboration with the government and NGO partners.

The digital arsenator is a digital field instrument developed by Walter Kosmus of Karl-Franzens University in Austria. It is capable of measuring arsenic in water down to ppb levels.

In Bangladesh the acceptable level of arsenic in drinking water has been set at 50 parts per billion (PPB) or 0.05 microgrammes per litre of drinking water, while the approved global standard set by the World Health Organization (WHO) is 10PPB.

Besides delivering fast results, this portable field testing kit is seen to be accurate, easy to use, and environmentally friendly. The machine costs about USD 2,000 (EUR 1,270).

Web sites: Wagtech International - Digital Arsenator ; UNICEF Bangladesh - Arsenic Mitigation and Measurement Project

Contact: Wagtech International Ltd, UK, export@wagtech.co.uk.; UNICEF Bangladesh, dhaka@unicef.org

Source: IRIN, 09 Jul 2008

Tags: south asia, water quality