KARACHI, Jan 27: The estimate ratio of arsenic in water was 10 particles per billion (10 microgram per litre) in Pakistan, enough to cause various forms of cancer to one out of every 500 people, said Prof (Dr) Prosun Bhattacharaya, research leader and coordinator at the Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden, while referring to the study of Pakistan Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.

While delivering a lecture on ‘Arsenic contamination in groundwater of South Asia and sustainable mitigation options’ at the geology department of Karachi University, he said arsenic was not just introduced into water through natural resources such as dissolution of minerals and ores and rock erosion but also by the industrial and organic waste, which used arsenic and its compounds as its basic ingredients.

The lecture, aimed at creating a better understanding about the sources of arsenic as well as the ways to make its mitigation possible, was jointly organised by the KU geology department, Society of Economic Geologists and Mineral Technologists and the Association of Geoscientists for International Development.

Dr Bhattacharaya pointed out it was the need of the hour to educate the masses about arsenic and the diseases caused by it. He emphasised that methods introduced to purify water should be easy so that the common man could adopt it.

He said there were two ways to avoid arsenic pollution; one was treatment of contaminated water while the other was targeting safe water.

At the end, Dr Viqar Hussain said research studies should be carried out to combat the water pollution problems.