Benefits to Nepal

http://ivisitnepal.com/ethnic-people-of-nepal/

Quality of Life

The most promising way of removing arsenic to appropriate levels would be through the use of arsenic test kits and filters (Yadav, 2011). Reducing the amount of arsenic in the soil would also reduce the amount of people that are sick (Yadav, 2011). After the earthquake in 2015, 90% of health facilities that were affected by the disaster are non-functional and therefore there is only a limited number of facilities to treat people with arsenic in their body (Khanal, 2015). Majority of the arsenic in Nepal is located in wells, with all of the wells in 2011 containing arsenic (Yadav, 2011). Arsenic is a serious problem in Nepal and peoples’ health will not improve if arsenic is not reduced even the slightest (Yadav, 2011).

Knowledge

Testing for arsenic would be beneficial for the farmer, as they would be informed of the chemical itself and how it affects the crops being produced. Arsenic contamination in groundwater irrigation is not documented properly and it is not considered as serious of a problem as it should be (Safapani Project, 2013). The people of Nepal were provided filters by other organizations such as WHO but without the knowledge of the filters, were unable to maintain these filters to their full potential (Safapani Project, 2013).

Crop Yield

One factor that has an impact on crop yield is the amount of arsenic found in the soils of Nepal. A study was done within a greenhouse between two plants (Jiang, 1993). One plant was grown in soil that contained arsenic and the other was in soil that did not contain the toxin (Jiang, 1993). The results of this study showed a strong connection between a decrease in the yield of the crop and the concentration of arsenic (Jiang, 1993).

Reliability of Tests

Some of the people in Nepal may be skeptical about testing for arsenic and questioning whether this technique will work. Arsenic kits have been labeled as simple, very efficient and user-friendly (Deshpande, 2003). These kits can be used for on-site testing of the water contaminated with arsenic, and they are able to test for arsenic concentrations that are as low as 0.01 mg/L, which is a limit set by WHO (Deshpande, 2003). Many countries have used arsenic tests and filters and have had much success (Arora, 2008).

Prevalent Problem

Arsenic is a very serious problem in countries such as Nepal, India and Bangladesh (Brammer, 2008). Water that has been polluted by arsenic is used for irrigation of crops and these crops are then sold to consumers, affecting peoples’ health (Brammer, 2008). Arsenic is also a potential threat to sustainable agriculture (Brammer, 2008). The more arsenic accumulates in the soil, the more the soil deteriorates and the quality worsens (Finnegan, 2012). Seeing as this is an urgent problem that needs to be attended to, testing for arsenic in certain areas, to understand which areas need the most help, would be a step in the right direction (Brammer, 2008).