Arsenic Contamination in Groundwater and Food and Remediation Measures in Myanmar

Few studies have looked into how agricultural or mining activities affect rural groundwater and how industrial/urban activities affect urban groundwater. The Irrawaddy delta area has the highest likelihood of exceeding the WHO Drinking Water Quality Standard (2017) 10 µg/L, and National Drinking Water Quality Standard of Myanmar 50 µg/L for arsenic. In the Bago Region, they also reported 41 and 8% exceeding of 10 and 50 µg/L, respectively. The Gravel Sand Filter system (GSF) is the most common and a possible way to remove arsenic from groundwater which is economic and technologically feasible. Myanmar needs capacity building training of advance arsenic mitigation technologies and equipments for short and long-term training.