Technology Used in India To Remove Arsenic From Groundwater Heads To US

A pioneering technology used in India to remove arsenic from groundwater without using chemicals is being used to create safer drinking water in the United States.

The technology-Subterranean Arsenic Removal-has been developed by scientists at Queen's University Belfast.

The team of European and Indian engineers, led by Bhaskar Sen Gupta in Queen's University School of Planning, Architecture and Civil Engineering developed the technology based on the principle of oxidation and filtration processes, is already in use in six plants in West Bengal.

And the technology has now been successfully tested in the United States, in a rural community outside Bellingham, in Northwest Washington State, where high levels of arsenic in the water had previously caused challenges for local residents.

Jeremy Robinson, a member of the Washington State installation team, said, "We first read about the SAR technology on Wikipedia. Initially, it seemed too good to be true. Arsenic is a significant problem for many of the wells in our area. None of the conventional approaches for arsenic treatment have worked well for us. But, once we recognised the advantages and elegance of the SAR approach, we started preparing to test it here."

Gupta, who visited Washington State to oversee the installation, said: "I'm delighted that the Washington State plant testing has gone to plan. The key aspects of this life-changing technology are its affordability and simplicity of installation and operation."