Towards a Sustainable Solution: Factors and Prerequisites of Improving the Kanchan Arsenic Filters used in the Terai of Nepal. A Review

Abstract

Unfortunately, Nepal's current arsenic issueconcerning ground water was recognized much later than in other countries of South-Asia (e.g. West Bengal (India), Bangladesh, Cambodia, Vietnam, China). Nepal did not seem to be much affected by As poisoning ground water hosted by quaternary alluvial sediments as the landlocked country is dominated by the mountain chain of the high Himalayas and only features a very narrow band of flat land (the so called Terai, the Indo-Gangetic Plain of southern Nepal) builtup by those quaternary alluvial sediments. The actual drinking water guideline (10 μg/l) for As imposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) is exceed in several districts (namely Nawalparasi, Bara, Parsa, Rautahat, Rupandehi, and Kapalivastu (Shrestha et al., 2014). As soon concentration of arsenic exceeds the guideline, detrimental health effects are likely to occur.Characteristic skin lesions including pigmentation changes (melanosis, keratosis); various reproductive, neurological, respiratory, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and diabetic effects as well as cancers of almost all inner organsare among the most prominent health impacts caused by the longterm intake of As (Smith et al., 2000; Adhikari and Ghimire, 2009; Smith and Steinmaus, 2009; Abdul et al., 2015).