Water quality remains a major issue affecting communities around the world. But while cleaning up large-scale decontamination remains a Herculean task at the moment, for the first time, everyday people will be able to monitor their own supply. Researchers recently unveiled the first prototypes of an optical sensor that is able to detect minuscule levels of arsenic in water.
"Consuming arsenic-contaminated water can lead to severe health conditions, including arsenic poisoning and cancers of the skin, lung, kidney, and bladder," said Sunil Khijwania, a researcher from the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati. "By creating a sensor that is sensitive, selective, reusable, and cost-effective, we aim to address the need for a reliable and user-friendly tool for routine monitoring, helping to protect communities from the risks of arsenic exposure."
The sensor uses optical fibers and depends on an optical phenomenon known as localized surface plasmon resonance. In trials, it was successful in detecting arsenic levels hundreds of times lower than the maximum permissible limit of 10 parts per billion, established by the World Health Organization, and was similarly effective when tested on drinking water samples from various locations around the globe.
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Never 👎 "The highly sensitive sensor provides analysis within just 0.5 seconds and demonstrates a high degree of reusability, repeatability, stability, and reliability, making it a powerful tool for monitoring and ensuring safer water quality," said Khijwania. "In the future, this technology could make it much easier for people to check whether their drinking water is safe, potentially saving lives by preventing exposure to harmful arsenic levels."
Arsenic is not the only chemical that contaminates water. But it is among the most common, and it is not an overstatement to say that a device such as this sensor could potentially prevent the deaths or contractions of serious illnesses of millions of people around the world. According to Water.org, 2.2 billion people (about one-quarter of the global population) lack access to safe water, and 703 million people lack access to basic water.
The last remaining step for these sensors? Preparing them for mass distribution.
Researchers note that "a less expensive and easier-to-use optical source and detector" will need to be developed before they are ready for in-home usage, but they seem fairly confident in that possibility. The device's cost-effectiveness, ease of use, and reusability are cited numerous times in the study.
And with stories about water contamination continuing to surface all over the place from various causes and resulting in communitywide panics, these sensors can't arrive soon enough.
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