Contending with a Development Disaster: SONO Filters Remove Arsenic from Well Water in Bangladesh (Innovations Case Discussion: SONO Filters)

Abstract

ishing with it. Instead, engaging with science for the public good requires one to solve problems in a manner acceptable to the people whom research breakthroughs will benefit. This premise has guided my thinking for at least the last fifteen years of my career, during which time I have joined with many other concerned scientists and physicians in mitigating the effects of arsenic laden ground water in the Ganges river delta region of South Asia. I originally come from Kushtia, Bangladesh, an area very much affected by this problem and where much of my family still lives, but for over twenty years I have taught and researched at George Mason University in Virginia, where I specialize in analytical chemistry. Since 1997, I have worked closely with my brother, Dr. A.K. Munir, on the problem of arsenic poisoning, a matter of great urgency that hundreds of thousands of people throughout Eastern India, Bangladesh, and Nepal face every day when they satisfy their most simple of needs by drinking a cup of water. Beginning in the late 90’s with the development of detection systems to measure the trace amount of arsenic in the groundwater, my brother and I then began experiments with filtration systems that could remove arsenic from ground water