Reducing Drinking Water Supply Chemical Contamination: Risks from Underground Storage Tanks

Chemical contamination of groundwater has become increasingly prevalent in the U.S. Once thought to be safe from pollution, the underground aquifers that supply drinking water to about half of the U.S. population are now known to be vulnerable to contamination from leaking landfills, waste lagoons, underground storage tanks, improper use of agricultural chemicals, and various industrial operations. Manufactured chemical compounds, including industrial degreasers and solvents, as well as gasoline, pesticides and fertilizers (in all, over 700 synthetic organic chemicals) have seeped down through the soil to the aquifers and been detected in ground water. Nearly every state has identified cases of contamination serious enough to require closing of some public or private supply wells.

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Kanchan Arsenic Filters and the Future of Fe0-Based Filtration Systems for Single Household Drinking Water Supply

Processes ◽

10.3390/pr9010058 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 58

Author(s):

Zhe Huang ◽

Viet Cao ◽

Esther Laurentine Nya ◽

Willis Gwenzi ◽

Chicgoua Noubactep

Keyword(s):

Drinking Water ◽

Water Supply ◽

Low Income ◽

Operating Conditions ◽

Drinking Water Supply ◽

Low Income Countries ◽

Chemical Contamination ◽

Biosand Filter ◽

Institute Of Technology ◽

Intrinsic Reactivity

Biological and chemical contamination of natural water bodies is a global health risk for more than one billion people, mostly living in low-income countries. Innovative, affordable, and efficient decentralized solutions for safe drinking water supply are urgently needed. Metallic iron (Fe0)-based filtration systems have been described as such an appropriate solution. This communication focuses on the Kanchan arsenic filter (KAF), presented in the early 2000s and widely assessed during the past decade. The KAF contains iron nails as the Fe0 source and is primarily designed to remove As from polluted tube well waters. Recent independent works assessing their performance have all reported on a high degree of variability in efficiency depending mostly on (1) the current operating conditions, (2) the design, and (3) the groundwater chemistry. This communication shows that the major problems of the KAF are twofold: (1) a design mistake as the Fe0 units disturb the operation and functionality of the biosand filter, and (2) the use of poorly characterized iron nails of unknown reactivity. This assertion is supported by the evidence that the very successful community filter designed by the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay works with iron nails and has been efficient for many years. Replacing iron nails by more reactive Fe0 materials (e.g., iron fillings and steel wool) should be tested in a new generation KAF. It is concluded that a methodological or systematic approach in introducing and monitoring the efficiency of KAF should be used to test and disseminate the next generation KAF worldwide. Moreover, better characterization of the Fe0 materials including their intrinsic reactivity is required.

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