The West Bengal Public Health & Engineering Department (PHED) ordered 150 arsenic removal handpump units from Ion Exchange India, based in Mumbai, India, for use in its Barassat and Malda divisions.
In West Bengal, seven of 16 districts with a total population of more than 34 million are reported to have groundwater arsenic concentrations above 0.05 mg/l, the limit specified by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Long-term exposure to high levels of arsenic via drinking water can cause cancer of the skin, lungs and bladder as well as pigmentation and skin thickening. Contamination of water with arsenic is a severe problem affecting Bangladesh and West Bengal.
Ion Exchange recently tied up with Apyron Technologies India (Pvt) Ltd., the Indian subsidiary of Apyron Technologies, US in an exclusive distributorship and representative agreement for arsenic removal units (ATUs). Apyron began working in India for treating arsenic-contaminated water four years ago with donor agencies, the World Bank, the Indian government and the West Bengal state government. Apyron has already installed many ATUs in India and Bangladesh.
Apyron Technologies and Severn Trent Services developed jointly Aqua-Bind SP33™, which removes 99% of arsenic from water.
