Arsenic in Bengal Groundwater: From field scale to molecular modeling
Talk by: Laurent CharletAbstract :
Millions of river floodplain and delta inhabitants across SouthEast Asia rely on shallow tubewells to avoid drinking surface water that is highly contaminated with microbial pathogens. Sadly, the elevated arsenic content of groundwater from many of these wells slowly poison over 100 million villagers relying on inexpensive shallow tubewells (Smith et al, 2000). The level of exposure has caused widespread illness including deadly cancers and, significantly hampers the mental development of children.
We present an overview, based upon work carried out by our group and elsewhere (Charlet and Polya, 2006, Polya and Charlet, 2009), of (i) the distribution of arsenic in these groundwaters in well-characterized sites; (ii) the biogeochemical reactions/processes controlling the fate and transport of arsenic, understood by coupling laboratory experimentation with diffractometric (neutron, X-Ray), microscopic (AFM) and spectroscopic (XAFS, Mössbauer) studies; and (iii) human exposure routes.
Effective comprehensive remediation strategies need to consider these factors as well as: (iv) economic, cultural and political factors, including communication mechanisms; (v) current availability, development and implementation of various remediation strategies.
Short biography (see also http://tinyurl.com/charlet) :
- Engineer in Agronomy in France
- MSc and PhD in Soil and Environmental Science at UC Riverside
- Postdocs with Dr Stumm (EAWAG, Zurich) and Dr Schindler (University of Bern)
- Since 1992, Professor at the University of Grenoble
- 2007: CNRS Silver medal for excellence of research
- 2008-2009: Sabbatical leave at ESPM, UC Berkeley
- 2008 onwards: Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Hydrology
- 2009 onward: IUF endowment Chair of Aqueous Geochemistry