MoU between Membracon UK and CFM

Bihar & U.P.(Ganga Basin), India

MoU Signed Between Membracon UK Ltd (Clean Water Specialists) and Community Friendly Movement (CFM) for removal of Arsenic within drinking water which targets to foster partnership between CFM (PIP) and Membracon (PFTP) to address  activities of joint interest by Fund mobilization, appropriate technology in Heavy metal  mitigation, building network and dovetailing international cooperation towards principles of  Clean Water access – aligning SDG 6,8,12,14,15.

This formal collaboration has been met between CFM and Membracon in the transfer of innovative technologies.The technologies are all capable of providing clean, safe and arsenic free, tasteless drinking water.

Throwing Light on India

Arsenic water is slowly poisoning millions of Indians in the Ganga basin. India Ranks 13th in the list of Extremely High water-stressed Countries. In India, people across 153 districts in 21 states drink water that contains high levels of arsenic. Approximately 82% of rural population does not have access to piped drinking water, at the same time 40% to 50% unaccounted water loss has been found in Urban areas.

Over 4500 habitations are arsenic-affected. Over one million people are estimated to have died  in the last 30 years because of the presence of arsenic in drinking water, according to various  reports published and available.

Arsenic occurs naturally in groundwater supplies of the Ganga  basin, as well as coming from industrial pollution and mining. This affects an estimated 40 to 60 million people in India alone and in neighbouring countries. Arsenic also seeps  into irrigation water and crops as the situation is made worse by over-extraction of groundwater. This has wreaked havoc in the villages of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal.

Issues to overcome

Millions of  people living in the villages along the Ganga are suffering from skin lesions, ailments of kidney,  liver and heart, neurological disorders, stillbirth and cancer associated with long term  consumption of arsenic found in water coming from hand pumps and even in piped water.

According to USEPA methods for evaluation of carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic

effects related to regular consumption of arsenic, we consider four important

parameters for health risk assessment: the average total dose (ATD), the chronic daily

intake (CDI), the lifetime cancer risk (CR), the hazard quotient (HQ).

• ATD (mg) = Arsenic concentration of water (mg/L) x Daily average Intake rate(L)
• CDI (mg/kg)= ATD(mg)/ average body weight of individuals (kg)
• CR = CDI (mg/kg) x Oral Route Potency Factor for Arsenic (kg/mg)
• HQ = CDI/ Reference dose for arsenic (3e-4 mg/kg/day)

**The HQ (unit-less )is an index of the non-carcinogenic toxicity of a substance.

An HQ less than 1 indicates no significant risk of non-carcinogenic effects. 

MoU – The Ultimate Solution

An MoU has been constructed between Clean Water Specialists Membracon and the leading impact development organisation Community Friendly Movement (CFM) to tackle Clean Water WASH projects across India, beginning with Arsenic removal.

Membracon seeks to implement its Arsenic mitigation technology and develop  the model of Water as a service for the community by piloting it in Bihar and UP regions of India.

CFM  with its on ground network offers to be the grassroots project implementing agency. Based on the technology acceptance and its appropriateness at selected  geographic areas, the model may be documented and presented to the Government  for large scale implementation. The work on Arsenic mitigation forms the basis of  the MoU.

IoT enabled Arsenic Mitigation System consists:

• Main Arsenic Mitigation System (Non-IoT component)
• Contains mostly common arsenic removal technologies based on the principles of oxidation, coagulation, flocculation, filtration, co precipitation, adsorption, ion  exchange, activated alumina,  reverse osmosis, and 

Two Stage Last Mile Delivery Initiated

Stage 1

• 1 Main office every 100km diameter covering about 5-6 Districts surrounding Gram Panchayats (GP).
• Can be ordered via website or app.
• Post Installation services like repairing, replacing and changing the filter can be done easily with a max commuting distance of 2-3 hours.
• Use of Big data analysis for predicting servicing periods.

Stage 2

• 1 IoT enabled Arsenic Mitigation Unit per Gram Panchayat.
• Daily fast delivery services.
• For delivery addresses we use GPS location and front gate image recognition.
• Big data collected in delivery services helps us in demand forecasting, route planning and real-time tracking.
• Providing Daily Arsenic Health Risk Feedback constituting Hazard Quotient and Cancer Research Institute study to GP units or individuals on app/website.

The MoU hence, aims to achieve its goal of eliminating Arsenic in the Ganga Basin at the nano level and further continuing to achieve it at the international level contributing to UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Vision for Next Steps:

Just removing the Arsenic from the drinking water is insufficient. Unless the toxin has been isolated and consolidated, the risk of it returning into circulation remains.

Arsenic has a variety of uses, within the pharmaceutical, industrial, wood-preservation and glass production capabilities. Exploring the mechanisms that allow our process to become fully circular is a major milestone to our WASH projects, especially with Arsenic removal.