Brief Review of Water Pollution by Arsenic in Nicaragua and its Impact on Public Health in Rural Communities.

Doctoral research : Subsurface Arsenic Removal for Drinking Water Treatment for Rural Communities in
Nicaragua.

Summary
Arsenic is extremely poisonous. Based on the research performed by Dr. Allan Smith, from the
University of Berkeley, water ingestion with high concentrations of Arsenic (As), leads to
greater cancer risk than any other common water contaminant. (Smith AH et al, 2007)
According to a study published by Barragne-Bigot in 2004, in Nicaragua approximately 55,700
people were ingesting water contaminated by arsenic (As). Most of those people lived in
scattered small rural communities or were semi-concentrated in municipal and small towns.
The number of people who currently are ingesting water with arsenic in rural Nicaraguan
communities is unknown.
A clean and safe drinking water supply is a basic human right that is being denied to poor and
rural communities affected by arsenic poisoning and a limited access to water. The main
objective of this study is to develop an effective and affordable treatment system for the
removal of arsenic in groundwater for rural communities and small towns in Nicaragua, in order
to ensure the safety and sustainability of drinking water for the dwellers.
Brief Review of Water Pollution by Arsenic in Nicaragua and its Impact on Public Health
in Rural Communities.
Ground water is one of the most important sources for drinking water supply. As surface water
is more likely to have biological contamination from the atmosphere, ground water is
considered to be a safer option. Nevertheless, chemical contaminants should be removed from
ground water to make it potable. Out of several chemical contaminants, arsenic is reported to
be one of the hazardous elements. It is found in groundwater in over 70 countries and it is
affecting 150 million people worldwide (Brammer & Ravenscroft, 2009).
Arsenic (As) is a metalloid element, with atomic weight 74.92. It is found in several oxidation
states in nature such as 0,-3, 3, and 5. Among them the most frequent ones are Arsenate [As
(V)] and Arsenite [As (III)]. Arsenic is extremely poisonous. IARC (International Agency for
Research on Cancer, 2004) has classified arsenic as a human carcinogenic substance group 1.
Long-term intake of drinking water with elevated arsenic concentrations can cause the
development of Arsenic poisoning, the collective term for diseases caused by chronic exposure
to arsenic. It includes several kinds of skin lesions and cancers, like hyper-pigmentation,
hyperkeratosis, gangrene, skin cancer, lung cancer and bladder cancer (WHO, 2006). The
World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended arsenic level to be less than 10g As/l for
water to be safe for drinking.
The first documented case of arsenic poisoning in Central America was reported in 1996, in El
Zapote, a rural community located in northern Nicaragua. There, 125 people were found with
the characteristic skin lesions of chronic poisoning by arsenic, after ingesting water for two
years (1994-1996) from a public borehole with 1,320 g As/l. Later the same people consumed,
along with the rest of the community, private well water with 45-66 g As/l total arsenic (Alina
Gomez, 2002). Since then, several assessments have confirmed the presence of high levels of
arsenic in several areas of the country (INAA, 1996; Gonzalez et al., 1997; CARE 2002;
PIDMA-UNI, 2001; PIDMA-UNI-USAID, 2001; PIDMA-UNI-UNICEF, 2002; Barragne-Bigot,
2004; PAHO/WHO/UNICEF, 2005). Figure 1, Figure 2 and Figure 3 show the effect of the
consumption of arsenic in a pregnant woman and one of her children, both residents of El
Zapote Community. These pictures were taken by Dr. Alina Gomez in 1996.

Bayardo Gonzlez Rodrguez

Nicaragua

Brief Review of Water Pollution by Arsenic in Nicaragua and its Impact on Public Health in Rural Communities.
Doctoral research : Subsurface Arsenic Removal for Drinking Water Treatment for Rural Communities in
Nicaragua.

Figure 1 Macular caused by ingestion of water with arsenic to a resident of the El Zapote community (Alina
Gomez, 1996)

Figure 2 Keratosis caused by ingestion of water with arsenic to a resident of the community of El Zapote
(Alina Gomez, 1996)

Bayardo Gonzlez Rodrguez

Nicaragua

Brief Review of Water Pollution by Arsenic in Nicaragua and its Impact on Public Health in Rural Communities.
Doctoral research : Subsurface Arsenic Removal for Drinking Water Treatment for Rural Communities in
Nicaragua.

Figure 3 Pregnant woman and her child affected by ingestion of water with arsenic, El Zapote, 1996 (Alina
Gomez, 1996).

Bayardo Gonzlez Rodrguez

Nicaragua

Brief Review of Water Pollution by Arsenic in Nicaragua and its Impact on Public Health in Rural Communities.
Doctoral research : Subsurface Arsenic Removal for Drinking Water Treatment for Rural Communities in
Nicaragua.

According to Barragne-Bigot (2004) the national prevalence of water points which are naturally
contaminated by arsenic in Nicaragua is 5.7% (total As> 10g / l). The same study estimated
that 278 water systems were contaminated at the time. Most of these supply systems are
located in small rural communities or in small towns.
Altamirano Espinoza and Bundschuh (2009) reported that in Llano La Tejera, a community
located in the Jinotega municipality, around 714 people consumed water from 33 dug wells
containing As in concentrations exceeding the national norms (total As> 10g / l). Recently
Longley (2010) reported a case of rural communities ingesting water with arsenic in the north of
the municipality of Telica, Leon. Using this research as a base in 2011, an NGO called Nuevas
Esperanzas conducted a study (Action Against Arsenic) for the World Health Organization and
determined that around two thousand people have been drinking water contaminated with
arsenic for the past two decades in the municipality of Telica. This study was led by Alina
Gomez M.D and Andrew Longley PhD. Figure 4 shows the location of municipalities in
Nicaragua with water sources where arsenic concentration exceeds the national regulatory limit
of arsenic in drinking water (10g/l).

Figure 4 Municipalities of Nicaragua with water sources where arsenic concentration exceeds the national
regulatory limit of arsenic in drinking water (10g As/ l) as of 2011. (Bundschuh J, et al, 2011)

The number of people who currently are ingesting water with arsenic in the rural communities in
Nicaragua is unknown. To the best of my knowledge, today there is not a study similar to the

Bayardo Gonzlez Rodrguez

Nicaragua

Brief Review of Water Pollution by Arsenic in Nicaragua and its Impact on Public Health in Rural Communities.
Doctoral research : Subsurface Arsenic Removal for Drinking Water Treatment for Rural Communities in
Nicaragua.

one performed by Barragne-Bigot (2004) that estimates the number of people who are
ingesting water with high levels of arsenic in Nicaragua in 2013.

Arsenic Treatment in Nicaragua

In urban and rural areas, when potential water sources are found to be contaminated by
arsenic, the corresponding authorities proceed to close such sources and look for alternative
ones. These measures are taken in order to avoid the costs related to the removal of arsenic in
water for human consumption. As could be foreseen, the most affected by these measures are
the rural communities that use public wells and do not have any nearby and suitable alternative
water supply sources. In some cases, despite of the fact that the authorities have prohibited the
consumption of water of the wells affected by As, the population still uses them because of the
lack of alternative water sources (There is a saying in some rural communities: Id rather die of
arsenic poisoning than of diarrhea).
An alternative solution for the rural communities affected by arsenic poisoning that have limited
access to water is the low-cost arsenic removal system (household treatment units), which
consists of arsenic removal units attached to tube wells. However, it is necessary to point out
that in Nicaragua, in spite of the fact that the national institutions in charge of water supply are
aware of the presence of arsenic in several areas of the country, so far they have not put into
practice arsenic removal systems in any area of the country. The knowledge of arsenic removal
systems comes from the research performed by universities or NGOs working with water and
sanitation. Despite the great efforts of the universities and NGOs, there is still very little handson experience with arsenic removal. Worldwide, several of these technologies are being piloted
and have promising results, but there are still many unsolved questions regarding the selection
of appropriate technology. Moreover, this technology has to be adapted to the local situation in
Nicaragua, and it is necessary to test it and validate it over time before large scale replication.
Therefore, the main objective of this study is to develop an effective and affordable treatment
system for the removal of arsenic in groundwater for rural communities and small towns in
Nicaragua, in order to ensure the safety and sustainability of drinking water for the dwellers.

The point of view of the local experts

To prepare this answer, besides conducting a "literature review," I made an effort to interview
various local experts on the topic of arsenic in Nicaragua. I had the opportunity to talk with Prof.
Sergio Gamez from PIENSA-UNI (a local research institution) who will be the Co-Supervisor of
my PhD research and who has extensive experience in research related to arsenic in
Nicaragua. I also talked with Andrew Longley, PhD, who is Director of Nuevas Esperanzas
(http://www.nuevasesperanzas.org), the organization that discovered arsenic in some
communities located in Leon. I also had an interview with Alina Gomez, M.D, who reported the
first case of arsenic poisoning in Nicaragua in 1996. I also talked with Philippe Barragne-Bigot,
Director of UNICEF in Nicaragua, who a few years ago led several research related with
arsenic problem in rural communities in Nicaragua.
In our conversation Philippe defined
arsenic as a forgotten deadly threat. Indeed, all of them agree that:

Inasmuch as there is no cure for arsenic poisoning, and since the arsenic removal units
are prevention systems, these could be of great help to guarantee the public health of
the rural communities.

Bayardo Gonzlez Rodrguez

Nicaragua

Brief Review of Water Pollution by Arsenic in Nicaragua and its Impact on Public Health in Rural Communities.
Doctoral research : Subsurface Arsenic Removal for Drinking Water Treatment for Rural Communities in
Nicaragua.

We know that arsenic poisoning is a problem, but this problem could be much greater
than we think. Therefore, it is urgently necessary to increase our present level of
knowledge related to the arsenic question in Nicaragua.
The arsenic removal systems should be widely used and adapted to the local situation
in Nicaragua. In addition to the proper technology for arsenic removal, it is necessary to
have an educational campaign focused on both the authorities in charge of water and
the dwellers.

The benefits that my country will obtain from my doctoral research

Having low-cost technology for arsenic removal will guarantee the supply of clean and
safe drinking water to these rural and poor communities, which are affected by arsenic
poisoning and a limited access to water, making the basic human right of having water a
reality. Only then can the public health of these rural communities be guaranteed.
This research project will expand our current knowledge on arsenic poisoning in
contemporary Nicaragua.
By combining scientific inquiry with a concern for social welfare, this study will be useful
as a document of reference in universities, research centers on water resources, NGOs
and institutions working on water supply projects or managing this service at a private or
public level.

References

Altamirano Espinoza M. Bundschuh J. Natural arsenic groundwater contamination of the

sedimentary aquifers of the southwestern Sbaco valley, Nicaragua. In: Bundschuh J. Armienta
MA Birkle P. Battacharya P, Matschullat J, Mukherjee AB, editors, Natural arsenic in
groundwater of Latin America, Leiden, The Netherlands : CRC Press/Balkema Publisher :
2009. P 109- 2002
Barragne P (2004). Contribucin al estudio de cinco zonas contaminadas naturalmente por
arsnico en Nicaragua. UNICEF, Managua, Nicaragua.
Brammer, H., & Ravenscroft, P. (2009). Arsenic in groundwater: A threat to sustainable
agriculture in South and South-east Asia. Environment International, 35(3), 647-654.
Bundschuh J et al (2011). One century of arsenic exposure in Latin America: A review of
history and occurrence from 14 countries, Sci Total Environ (In press 2011),
doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2011.06.024
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Matagalpa

(2002).

Estudio

hidrogeolgico

de

trece

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resultados de muestreo de As en comunidades rurales del municipio de San Isidro. JulioAgosto
Longley A (2011). Telica Arsenic Study. Nuevas Esperanzas. www.nuevasesperanzas.org

Bayardo Gonzlez Rodrguez

Nicaragua

Brief Review of Water Pollution by Arsenic in Nicaragua and its Impact on Public Health in Rural Communities.
Doctoral research : Subsurface Arsenic Removal for Drinking Water Treatment for Rural Communities in
Nicaragua.

OPS/OMS, UNICEF (2005). Evaluacin rpida de la calidad del agua de bebida Nicaragua.
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San Isidro, Nicaragua, con nfasis en la presencia de Arsnico.
PIDMA-UNI, EHP Environmental Health Program USAID (2001b). Calidad fsico-qumica del
agua para consumo humano de 124 pozos en la regin noroccidental de Nicaragua con
nfasis en la presencia de Arsnico.
PIDMA-UNI, UNICEF (2002). Evaluacin rpida de la contaminacin por Arsnico y metales
pesados de las aguas subterrneas de Nicaragua.
Smith AH et al (2007). Royal Geographical Society and IBG annual conference.
London,August. http://www. geog.cam.ac.uk/research/projects/arsenic/symposium/

Bayardo Gonzlez Rodrguez

Nicaragua