 Joshua Kearns, Aqueous Solutions, Huntington, WV
“Providing Safe Drinking Water to Rural Communities in Thailand Using Charcoal Filtration to Remove Pesticides"
(Category: Health)
This grant in health is sponsored by the Jim and Maureen Lloyd Grant Endowment
According to the World Health Organization, 1.1 billion people, roughly 1/5 of the world’s population, are without access to safe drinking water sources. Although nearly ¾ of the surface of the earth is water, less than 1% is freshwater available for drinking and much of that is unsafe due to biological and chemical pollutants that can cause cancer, infertility, neurological disorders, etc. Currently, residents of the Pun Pun Farm, an organic farming community of 50 in rural Thailand, collect rainwater run-off from rooftops during the rainy season for their drinking water. It is not possible, however, to collect and store enough water to sustain the community during the dry seaso n. Bottled drinking water is expensive and must be transported over long distances, contributing to fossil fuel consumption. Irrigation canals fed by a nearby lake would provide a reliable year-round source of freshwater, however it is contaminated by agricultural runoff from neighboring farms.
Mr. Kearns plans to develop a household-to-community-scale drinking water treatment system. An earthen kiln will be constructed on-site and will be used to make home-made charcoal from various local sustainably harvested materials such as bamboo, straw, rice husks, nut hulls, etc. He will then test each charcoal sample to determine which is most effective at removing chemical pesticides. In addition, ultraviolet radiation will be used to remove bacteria. The entire treatment system will be constructed and maintained by the local people using simple, inexpensive and locally abundant materials. Mr. Kearns has also developed a curriculum that deals in part with water purification techniques so that the knowledge from this project can be shared with others. Mr. Kearns believes this is an appropriate technology approach to empowering communities worldwide to ensure access to safe drinking water.
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