Bangladesh Environmental Technology Verification Support for Arsenic Mitigation (BETV-SAM) Project

Over 20 million people in Bangladesh are consuming groundwater from wells contaminated with concentrations of naturally-occurring arsenic above the Government of Bangladesh limit of 50 parts per billion. This problem also exists in other countries in the region that are part of the Himalayan watershed (parts of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Cambodia, Vietnam, etc), but it is particularly severe in Bangladesh, where there have already been tens of thousands of documented cases of arsenicosis. The World Health Organization has called this crisis the largest case of mass poisoning in history.

There is no single technical solution to this problem. The Government of Bangladesh’s National Policy on Arsenic recognizes that different solutions will be needed in different locations in the country, depending on such factors as groundwater characteristics, geological conditions, income levels, etc.

This project focuses on one type of solution: the use of simple arsenic removal technologies by villagers. These technologies enable households or communities to treat their well water by themselves, by pouring (or in the case of community sized systems, pumping) their well water through the device.

Until relatively recently, little was known about the effectiveness of these arsenic removal technologies. Organizations like the World Bank were reluctant to invest in the mass use of what were for all intents and purposes, unproven technologies. In a previous project carried out by OCETA, the Government of Bangladesh decided that any arsenic removal technology would have to tested and validated, before it could be sold in Bangladesh. The Bangladesh Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) was designated as the agency responsible for the verification of these technologies.

The current project is entitled Bangladesh Environmental Technology Verification, Support to Arsenic Mitigation (BETV-SAM). OCETA works with BCSIR to build their capacity in all aspects (scientific, managerial, policy) of the arsenic removal technology verification process. Technology Verification allows BCSIR to:

1. Design and execute a rigorous, objective and transparent evaluation of an arsenic removal technology's ability to meet the performance claims made by its manufacturer, based on good field test design and execution, and a sound analysis of the test results.
2. For those technologies that pass the verification process, set the deployment conditions governing where the technology can be deployed, frequency of filtration media change, waste disposal requirements, etc.

OCETA also works closely with the Bangladesh Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE), the agency responsible for monitoring the use of these technologies after they are validated by BCSIR and deployed in the country.

Some of the main activities of the BETV-SAM Project are:

• Field testing, verifying and monitoring the performance of up to 14 candidate arsenic removal technologies, submitted by their proponents (manufacturers, local distributors, etc.) for verification and certification. Those technologies which pass the verification process will be issued certificates which allow them to be sold in Bangladesh, deployed by international organizations, etc.
• Developing and implementing Water Safety Plans (WSPs) for each arsenic technology that passes verification and is certified for sale. The WSP outlines procedures to foster the safe and effective operation and maintenance of these technologies. It clearly identifies the roles and responsibilities of the technology vendors, international organizations distributing these technologies, Government of Bangladesh agencies and villagers themselves, for the safe and effective use of these technologies. The project is also "pilot testing" the WSPs, to ensure that they are realistic and comprehensive.
• Building the capacity of the Government of Bangladesh agencies, including laboratories, to play their respective roles in both the verification and monitoring of arsenic removal technologies.

This project will contribute towards reducing the consumption of arsenic-unsafe water in Bangladesh.

The knowledge and practices developed in this project will also benefit other countries that are affected by arsenic contamination of their groundwater.

For further information on the BETV-SAM Project, contact John Wanczycki, Vice President, International Development, at (902) 475-3610, or by email at jwanczycki(at)oceta.on.ca.