Une pompe à eau intégrant un filtre anti-arsenic posé dans un village du district de Maldah

Anti-arsenic filter in a village in the Maldah district


Anti-arsenic filters

The underground water in the whole of the West Bengal and Bangladesh region is severely contaminated with arsenic. According to the WHO it is one of the worst water poisoning catastrophes in the world affecting millions of people living in these areas.

Calcutta Rescue together with the GTZ Project Arsenic Mitigation West Bengal has installed 4 pumps with anti-arsenic filters in the Chanchal villages and Ratua Blocks in the Maldah district around 320km north of Calcutta. The pumps can provide drinking water for  around 5000 people living in these zones.

An information campaign has been mounted to inform people of the dangers of arsenic poisoning and the long-term effects it has on their health and their children.

Filter maintenance is carried out by the villagers themselves under Calcutta Rescue’s supervision so that function properly and last longer. This is clearly a long-term project and the organisation hopes to extent into the neighbouring villages.

AS – Arsenic

Arsenic is a odourless and tasteless metalloid that belongs to the azotes family. It is found in its natural state in the earth and in rocks. It can associate itself with other elements to form organic and inorganic compounds. The latter is generally more toxic and more prevalent in water. The WHO warns that consumption of drinking water containing a surplus of 10 micromilligram’s per litre over a long period can lead to chronic arsenic poisoning that causes skin problems, gangrene and cancer of the kidneys and spleen.

For more information please refer to the WHO site

Cutaneous symptoms


Severe cutaneous symptoms caused by arsenic
  MOOFL180208