Bhubaneswar: In India, 62 million people, including 6 million children, are estimated to have serious health problems (dental and skeletal fluorosis) due to the consumption of fluoride contaminated water. Keeping the scale of this phenomenon in view, the city-based CSIR- Institute of Mineral and Material Technology has developed a new technology for groundwater de-fluoridation.
An Interactive meet was organised recently at the SS Bhatnagar Hall of CSIR-IMMT, Bhubaneswar with the representatives from the government, NGOs, potential stakeholders, and people from fluoride-endemic villages of Odisha.
The session started with opening remarks by IMMT E&S department head NK Dhal. He welcomed all the participants and said that with the certified laboratory at the institute they are always trying to serve society.
Speaking on this occasion, CSIR-IMMT director S Basu said, “IMMT has a tradition of working on water and to make it contaminant free. The fluoride content in water is a great problem in Odisha that leads to various diseases. This groundwater de-fluoridation technique is cheap, implementable, chemical free and easy to handle.”
“Our motto is just application oriented technology development that can help the society immediately. We wish this technique can be implemented in the ground level so that the common people can be benefited,” Basu added.
E&S department chief scientist MG Sujana demonstrated the new technology to the audience followed by a documentary video. The absorption process is used for the de-fluoridation of the ground water. The metal ions from the soil are used to make the nano particles and then it is converted into the granules, which will be packed in a pouch and are easily separable. One gram of these granules can purify 2,000 liters of fluoride from the contaminated water.
The people from Nayagarh’s Nimani, Panchukota, Balasinga and Jajpur’s Oleichandanpur, which are majorly affected by fluoride, also participated in the demonstration programme and sought water treatment in their areas. IMMT informed that it is trying to participate in the government’s Jal Jeevan mission through which they can work at the ground level.