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The dream of arsenic-safe water for all
Two new Canadian technologies
could help small communities and developing countries
Removing arsenic from drinking water is a standard water treatment practice
in larger towns and cities across Canada. Now, a Network of
Centre of Excellence team is working to bring effective, low-cost
solutions to small communities and rural homes.
Health Canada is considering strict new regulations for
arsenic levels in groundwater that could prove particularly
problematic in Nova Scotia. High concentrations of arsenic
occur naturally in underlying bedrock in areas throughout
the province, including Halifax and Guysborough Counties.
The province estimates that some 12,000 households with private
wells would be effected by the new rules. Installing treatment
systems would cost residents more than $12 million.
"The (Nova
Scotia) Department of the Environment was so keen
to have us involved with the CWN on this project
because it provides them with validity of their
work. The same goes for a small company like Brooke
Oceans Technologies, which benefits from being associated
with a national organization with such credibility
in the water field."
Dr. Graham Gagnon
Dalhouse University |
|
"Because of the natural geology of Nova Scotia, we could
have quite a few homes and small communities that will have
problems meeting the new Health Canada guidelines so we decided
to partner with the Canadian Water Network (CWN) in search
of cost-effective solutions," says Judy MacDonald, Supervisor,
Drinking Water Management at the Nova Scotia Department of
Environment.
The problem is compounded by insurance companies which want
greater assurances that arsenic is being treated before insuring
homeowners. "This has been a particularly big driver
for this research project," says Dr. Graham Gagnon,
a Canada Research Chair in Water Quality and Treatment at
Dalhousie University.
Dr. Gagnon is the principal investigator on a two-year CWN
project that is working with the province and private industry
to assess the performance of existing commercial systems and
to develop and commercialize two arsenic treatment technologies
that would meet the new regulations.
One of those technologies is already showing results at
a mine site in Trail BC. Developed by Nature Works Remediation
Corp., the system uses inexpensive biodegradable nutrient
sources (i.e. manure, spent mushroom compost) to filter arsenic.
The process produces less contaminated sludge than chemical
systems.
Unfortunately, biological treatment systems are not well understood
and therefore difficult to replicate. That's where the NCE program
proves valuable. It encourages diverse scientific disciplines
to collaborate to find solutions.
To understand what makes this
particular biofiltration system so effective, the CWN has brought
together an arsenic specialist (Dr. William Cullen) and
a microbiologist (Dr. William Mohn) from the University
of British Columbia, an analytical chemist (Dr. X. Chris
Le) from the University of Alberta and a chemist with experience
with remediation technologies (Dr. Ken Reimer) from the
Royal Military College.
"Ken Reimer's group at the RMC is working with Tech
Comenco (the mine site in Trail) and other mines trying to
get this technology to work. It's like backwards engineering
to understand the design parameters that made it work,"
says Dr. Gagnon.
"There's a definite demand out there for a system like
this," adds Dr. Reimer. "In addition to arsenic,
the Trail system also removes zinc and cadmium from landfill
leachate. If we can understand the microbiology and the chemistry
behind the system, there are opportunities to remove other
metals in the wastewater stream." A commercial biofilter
could also be made available to small communities and individual
households.
Building on previous NCE research
A second technology under development would use a chemical
absorption process to remove the arsenic. The research builds
on a previous CWN project in which Dalhousie University Ph.D.
student Maruf Mortula developed a low-cost system for removing
phosphorus using alum sludge from water treatment plants.
"The results from my project with the CWN encouraged
other graduate students to try alum residuals as an adsorbent
for arsenic, and the results proved successful," he explains.
"Disposal of these residuals is of huge concern economically
and environmentally. Therefore effective adsorption of arsenic
can lead to efficient and cost-effective commercial application
of this technology."
| Partners
- Brook Oceans Technology,
Inc.
- CANMET, Natural Resources Canada
- City of Brampton
- Enviro Soil
- Halifax Regional Municipality
- Halifax Regional Water Commission
- McGuire Environmental
- Nature Works Remediation Corp.
- Nova Scotia Department of Transportation and
Public Works
- Nova Scotia Department of Environment and Labour
- Regional Municipality of Waterloo
- Veolia Water International |
|
Dr. Gagnon says an added benefit is that the process uses
industrial waste materials. "Nova Scotia is doing everything
in its power to get 50% diversion from landfills, including
any industrial waste, by 2007. This process offers an opportunity
to use industrial waste."
The potential markets for this technology extend well beyond
Canada. Arsenic is a problem in the southwestern United States,
as well as in poor countries such as Sri Lanka and Bangladesh,
where much higher concentrations of arsenic poison millions
of people each year.
Dr. Reimer and Dr. Cullen are working with the Canadian
International Development Agency on its arsenic mitigation
program in Bangledesh and see opportunities to link that work
to the CWN.
The CWN researchers move from the lab to field testing at
two sites in Nova Scotia in 2006, with preliminary results
expected by the Summer. The next step will be market studies
and further talks with companies interested in bringing the
technologies to market.
Project Researchers
| Researcher |
Organization |
Department/Affiliation |
| William Cullen |
University of British Columbia |
Chemistry |
| Graham Gagnon* |
Dalhousie University |
Civil Engineering |
| X. Chris Le |
University of Alberta |
Environmental Health Sciences |
| William Mohn |
University of British Columbia |
Microbiology and Immunology |
Ken Reimer
|
Royal Military College |
Chemistry and Chemical Engineering |
* CWN Principal Investigator
| Advantages to working
with the CWN
Working on a Network of Centres of Excellence
team has given graduate students a whole new perspective
on the value of networking.
Principal investigator Dr. Graham Gagnon, who
has worked on three Canadian Water Network projects,
says NCE funding makes it possible for students
to travel to other labs, collaborate with other
researchers, and attend Network events and workshops.
"This is the biggest bang for me and it's
an intangible benefit that resonates very strongly
with the students," he says.
For Maruf Mortula, who's currently working on
a Ph.D. in civil engineering at Dalhousie University,
the NCE experience opened his eyes to the advantages
of networking and collaborating with other scientific
disciplines.
"The project I worked on (removing phosphorous
from wastewater) helped me to realize the importance
of networking with researchers from other disciplines
for the sake of environmental sustainability.
I'm more aware now of the importance of networking
for sustainable application of technology than
ever before."
Another Dalhousie Ph.D. candidate, Meaghan Gibbons,
says working with the CWN allowed her to attend
a CWN conference, participate in proposal writing
for the arsenic treatment project and travel to
a partner lab to learn new water analysis techniques.
"The CWN conference that I attended in
2004 was actually the first conference that I
had attended, and I found it to be a very welcoming
and encouraging environment," she says.
The networking skills developed through the
CWN become a career-building skill for many students,
adds Dr. Gagnon. "I see many students who
are intelligent, but don't know how to make connections,
how to network, which they need when they enter
the marketplace." |
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www.cwn-rce.ca
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