Strategy and development direction for arsenic pollution control in drinking water in Bangladesh
LIU Ruiping1,2,3,, MOHON SHADHU KHAN Tushar4, MD RAHMAN Saifur4, QU Jiuhui1,2,3,, 1.CAS-TWAS Center of Excellence for Water and Environment, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China 2.Key Laboratory of Drinking Water Science and Technology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China 3.Center for Water and Ecology, State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China 4.Department of Public Health and Engineering, Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh
Abstract:Bangladesh is an important node along the Belt & Road countries. Owning to its rapid socio-economic development during the recent twenty years, Bangladesh is transitioning from a least-developed to a developing country. Meanwhile, Bangladesh is suffering from the most serious arsenic pollution in drinking water all over the world. Thus, the geochemistry mechanisms of arsenic pollution in ground water, the exposure pathways and potential risks of local residents, as well as arsenic toxicology and control principles have become critical but remained unclear yet in the context of Bangladesh. In recent years, Bangladesh’s local government and international communities have devoted many efforts and achieved preliminary outcomes to control arsenic pollution and endemic arsenisms. For the sake of reducing further the arsenic contamination and relevant health risks, it is vital to establish scientific-reasonable, technological-feasible, and economic-effective solutions to fundamentally resolving the arsenic-derived issues and ensuring water safety in Bangladesh. Key words:arsenic pollution/ arsenic exposure pathways/ arsenisms/ arsenic removal technology/ control strategy.
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1.CAS-TWAS Center of Excellence for Water and Environment, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China 2.Key Laboratory of Drinking Water Science and Technology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China 3.Center for Water and Ecology, State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China 4.Department of Public Health and Engineering, Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh Received Date: 2020-06-10 Accepted Date: 2020-06-22 Available Online: 2020-08-13 Keywords:arsenic pollution/ arsenic exposure pathways/ arsenisms/ arsenic removal technology/ control strategy Abstract:Bangladesh is an important node along the Belt & Road countries. Owning to its rapid socio-economic development during the recent twenty years, Bangladesh is transitioning from a least-developed to a developing country. Meanwhile, Bangladesh is suffering from the most serious arsenic pollution in drinking water all over the world. Thus, the geochemistry mechanisms of arsenic pollution in ground water, the exposure pathways and potential risks of local residents, as well as arsenic toxicology and control principles have become critical but remained unclear yet in the context of Bangladesh. In recent years, Bangladesh’s local government and international communities have devoted many efforts and achieved preliminary outcomes to control arsenic pollution and endemic arsenisms. For the sake of reducing further the arsenic contamination and relevant health risks, it is vital to establish scientific-reasonable, technological-feasible, and economic-effective solutions to fundamentally resolving the arsenic-derived issues and ensuring water safety in Bangladesh.
1. 孟加拉国饮用水砷污染概况 饮用水安全是重要民生问题。长期以来,孟加拉国主要以地表水为饮用水源。由于社会经济发展和人口城镇化聚集,地表水逐渐被污染。相对于地表水,地下水可以提供可靠的水量、稳定的水质。孟加拉国政府自20世纪70年代起,在国际组织援助下打了数百万口单户地下水井,使大部分人口饮用水源改为地下水,大幅降低了水致疾病的发生。然而,孟加拉国的地下水中存在大范围、高浓度的砷污染,这无疑打开了“潘多拉的魔盒”。20世纪90年代末,使用这些管井的居民逐渐表现出砷中毒症状。自1993年首次在饮用水中检出砷以来,全国64个县中的62个县发现砷污染案例,481个乡中的271个乡存在严重砷污染。2000年,世界卫生组织(World Health Organization,WHO)发布的报告指出,孟加拉国约有4 000万人饮用水砷超标,约200万人表现出砷中毒症状,近30万人可能因此患癌症而死亡。饮用水质调查研究发现,孟加拉国高砷暴露人口达4 500万人,每18例成人死亡中就有1例为饮用水砷暴露造成[2]。孟加拉国农村地区饮用水和灌溉水源97%为地下水,英国地质调查局(British Geological Survey, BGS)和孟加拉国公共健康工程局(Department of Public Health and Engineering,DPHE)调查显示,地下水中除砷污染以外,还含有较高浓度的铀、锰、硼、硫化物、氟化物、钼、钡及磷酸盐等污染物[3]。在使用了数十年含砷地下水之后,孟加拉国成为世界上饮用水砷污染最严重的国家之一,而饮用水砷污染也被认为是该国“最大的自然灾难”。
4. 孟加拉国政府在饮用水砷污染控制方面的努力 1998年,孟加拉国政府颁布了国家安全饮用水和卫生政策。之后,还制定了多项相关计划和方案。2004年,孟加拉国政府制定了《孟加拉国砷污染控制政策和行动方案》(National Policy for Arsenic Mitigation & Implementation Plan for Arsenic Mitigation in Bangladesh);2005年,批准了地方政府与城乡发展部(Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development,LGRD)的部门行动计划(Sector Development Plan, SDP 2005-2015),并于2011年进一步颁布了修订后的行动计划SDP 2011-2025。 根据这些方案,孟加拉国政府提出并实施了具体砷污染控制策略:提高公众对砷污染及其危害的认识;采用现场测试试剂盒测定管井水中砷浓度,开展含砷井水普查;采用红色、绿色对有砷或无砷的井水进行标识;对于高砷水井,倡导更换水源或改用其他低砷水井;提供替代的供水方案;砷中毒患者识别与管理等。 孟加拉国政府还积极组织实施了砷污染控制的重大项目,如孟加拉国供水项目(Bangladesh Water Supply Program Project, BWSPP)、孟加拉国农村地区环境卫生与供水工程、国家农村供水项目、孟加拉国环境技术认证-除砷技术(Bangladesh Environmental Technology Verification-Support to Arsenic Mitigation, BETV-SAM)等。过去20多年来,DPHE在全国共安装、提供或分派了大约44.2万个供水井,其中15.5万个安装于砷污染地区;实施了300个村级的集中式供水工程,孟加拉国政府先后认证许可了6种除砷技术,且安装1.4万个单户和290个社区除砷过滤器。DPHE后续将在政府相关规划和行动计划支持下,在25万个供水点提供无砷水过滤器。孟加拉国大约有3 500万人受砷污染影响人口,过去25年政府覆盖解决了大约1 600万人的饮用水安全问题。 此外,孟加拉国政府还与国际组织合作开展多个饮用水砷污染控制项目,主要包括SHEWA-B项目和DART项目[13]。SHEWA-B项目由英国国际发展部(UK Department for International Development)推动实施,目的在于提高公众对卫生、安全饮用水认识,并有效控制砷污染。该项目目标是建设2.1万个新型无砷安全饮用水的供水点,其中安全饮用水源包括深层管井、挖掘井、塘或河水过滤器、雨水池和除砷系统等。项目实施超过5年,覆盖31个区超过1 000个聚居点。DART项目由加拿大国际发展局(Canadian International Development Agency, CIDA)资助,在26个砷污染严重且缺乏替代水源的地区实施。截至2008年,该项目共安装近2万个单户型和50个社区型除砷过滤器,受益人口超过10万人。 20多年来,孟加拉国政府及国际社会对孟加拉国砷污染治理开展了大量工作,但从根本上控制砷污染仍任重而道远。2015年,孟加拉国颁布“安全无砷饮用水规划”,提出在今后15年逐步解决全国饮用水砷污染问题,预计总投资达210亿美元。然而,尽管全世界针对饮用水除砷技术做了大量的研究,但仍缺乏经济、操作方便、适用于发展中国家的可行技术[14]。因此,实现“安全无砷饮用水规划”目标对于孟加拉国而言,无疑具有重大挑战。
5. 中国科研团队推进孟加拉国饮用水除砷扶贫援外 中国科学院生态环境研究中心在饮用水除砷领域开展了近20年研究、技术开发与工程应用的系统性工作,开发了基于铁锰复合氧化物的非均相氧化-吸附一步法除砷原理、关键技术和核心装备[15-18],形成了针对村镇、城市等不同规模的饮用水除砷工艺原理和系统化方案,完成数十个农村、城镇和城市饮用水除砷工程建设或水厂强化除砷改造工程,相关技术成果被纳入水利部《村镇供水工程设计规范》、住建部《城镇供水设施建设与改造技术指南》、科技部《水污染治理先进技术汇编》。围绕孟加拉国饮用水砷污染重要需求和重大难题,中国科学院-发展中国家科学院水与环境卓越中心(以下简称“水与环境卓越中心”)依托中国科学院生态环境研究中心在饮用水除砷领域的成果积累,积极推进在孟加拉国的饮用水除砷扶贫工作。水与环境卓越中心多次组织专家团队前往孟加拉国与LGRD、DPHE、孟加拉国科学和工业研究委员会(Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, BCSIR)、孟加拉国工程技术大学(Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, BUET)等交流合作,并积极推进孟加拉国饮用水除砷援外项目(第一期)。该项目拟采用中国政府援外资金,建设一座处理规模为2×104 t·d?1的除砷水厂。目前,该项目已完成前期采样实验、技术可行性评估和立项建议与批复等工作,并已报送中国驻孟加拉国大使馆。 2018年,DPHE派团访问水与环境卓越中心,总结过去20多年孟加拉国在控制砷污染方面的经验、成效与不足,提出在后续工作中希望中国科学院重点协助的几方面工作:1)技术转移,引进经济高效、操作方便、运行稳定的除砷技术和设备;2)系统提出涵盖地下水、地表水、雨水等水源的农村供水可行解决方案;3)提出针对农村、城市砷污染地区可持续性的综合解决方案;4)拓展资金来源,解决城市和农村除砷供水系统的投资缺口;5)提高公众认知,开展骨干人员培训;6)研究和评估地下水资源,在保证水质安全的前提下挖掘地下水潜力。 此外,水与环境卓越中心积极推进两国科技文化交流,在中国科学院白春礼院长见证下,与BUET签订双方合作框架协议,推进包括饮用水除砷合作、建设联合实验室等的全方位合作。BUET大学校长ISLAM Saiful教授受聘担任“一带一路”国际科学组织联盟(Alliance of International Science Organization, ANSO)理事会理事。水与环境卓越中心与BUET联合申请ANSO项目,在孟加拉国开展村镇饮用水除砷技术示范。目前,双方的合作已逐渐形成了以解决重大民生问题为导向、以科技文化交流合作为基础、以具有自主知识产权核心技术和装备输出为着力点的“一带一路”科技合作模式。