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Dear Debbie,

IMPORTANT NOTES: All enquiries and responses are posted on the internet and are open access. Therefore, enquiries and responses should not include any confidential or sensitive information. Any advice and views provided through RedR's TSS should be assessed carefully by the person requesting assistance before applying. Technical support systems provided by the operational agency should also be consulted if possible to ensure the response is in line with the overall approach of the agency. No liability can be accepted by RedR, its resource team or associated bodies

Some immediate responses:

From Harriet N: Immediate unresearched response - if I get a chance to do more later will revise, but gut reaction is - DO NOT DRINK - only take water from upstream of the polluting area.

1 - What type of WASH kits should be distributing? Is Aquatabs appropriate? What type of filters should be used? Can you recommend filter kits that we could use and distribute that would be appropriate for this situation? HN: Unlikely to be effective - such kits are aimed at bacteriological contamination.

2- What information should we include so that people know how to properly treat their water? HN: don't know. If contamination is gross, can leave to settle and remove oil from the surface, but people are unlikely to drink water with oily sheen anyway, and could have health problems from dissolved constituents. if the hydrcarbons are "heavy" you might remove most of them by filtering through material with high natural carbon content such as (coconut fibre) charcoal. treatment systems are available commercially. If light, they will vaporise but significant storage times needed (they will also be removed by carbon, but are more mobile), and may not feasible on a household basis. Maybe someone else on the list has info on household size carbon filter treatment - it is done in the west, but probably expensive. I suggest bringing in certified clean water for babies and young children

3- What issues or questions should we be asking to ensure we have a proper understanding of the oil pollution in the water?

4- What is the health risks of the oil in water that people are drinking? what are the risks to the agricultural land? HN: Health risks to people - mainly carcinogenic; agricultural land - short term not an issue, long term - human health ingestion of hydrocarbons

Other: you need to analyse the water to establish how polluted it is. What is the geology? could you use unpolluted groundwater? could you take river water and spread it on the ground and then take from shallow wells?

Harriet N

Dear Debbie,

IMPORTANT NOTES: All enquiries and responses are posted on the internet and are open access. Therefore, enquiries and responses should not include any confidential or sensitive information. Any advice and views provided through RedR's TSS should be assessed carefully by the person requesting assistance before applying. Technical support systems provided by the operational agency should also be consulted if possible to ensure the response is in line with the overall approach of the agency. No liability can be accepted by RedR, its resource team or associated bodies

Some My immediate responses:

From Harriet N: Immediate unresearched response - if I get a chance to do more later will revise, but gut reaction is - DO NOT DRINK - is not to drink it and to only take water from upstream of the polluting area.

1 - What type of WASH kits should be distributing? Is Aquatabs appropriate? What type of filters should be used? Can you recommend filter kits that we could use and distribute that would be appropriate for this situation? HN: Unlikely to will not be effective in removing the oil - such kits are aimed at bacteriological contamination.

2- What information should we include so that people know how to properly treat their water? HN: don't know. If contamination is gross, can leave to settle and remove oil from the surface, but people are unlikely to drink water with oily sheen anyway, and could have health problems from dissolved constituents. if the hydrcarbons constituents. If the hydrocarbons are "heavy" you might remove most of them by filtering through material with high natural carbon content such as (coconut fibre) charcoal. treatment Treatment systems are available commercially. If light, they will vaporise but significant storage times needed (they will also be removed by carbon, but are more mobile), and may not feasible on a household basis. Maybe someone else on the list one of the other RedR Experts has info on household size carbon filter treatment - it is done in the west, but probably expensive. I suggest bringing in certified clean water for babies and young children

3- What issues or questions should we be asking to ensure we have a proper understanding of the oil pollution in the water?

4- What is the health risks of the oil in water that people are drinking? what are the risks to the agricultural land? HN: Health risks to people - mainly carcinogenic; agricultural land - short term not an issue, long term - human health ingestion of hydrocarbons

Other: you Other thoughts: You need to analyse the water to establish how polluted it is. What is the geology? could Could you use unpolluted groundwater? could Could you take river water and spread it on the ground and then take from shallow wells?

Regards Harriet N

Dear Debbie,

IMPORTANT NOTES: All enquiries and responses are posted on the internet and are open access. Therefore, enquiries and responses should not include any confidential or sensitive information. Any advice and views provided through RedR's TSS should be assessed carefully by the person requesting assistance before applying. Technical support systems provided by the operational agency should also be consulted if possible to ensure the response is in line with the overall approach of the agency. No liability can be accepted by RedR, its resource team or associated bodies bodies.

Dear Debbie,

My immediate response is not to drink it and to only take water from upstream of the polluting area. area. My responses to your questions are below:

1 Aquatabs will not be effective in removing the oil - such kits are aimed at bacteriological contamination.

2- If contamination is gross, can leave to settle and remove oil from the surface, but people are unlikely to drink water with oily sheen anyway, and could have health problems from dissolved constituents. If the hydrocarbons are "heavy" you might remove most of them by filtering through material with high natural carbon content such as (coconut fibre) charcoal. Treatment systems are available commercially. If light, they will vaporise but significant storage times needed (they will also be removed by carbon, but are more mobile), and may not feasible on a household basis. Maybe one of the other RedR Experts has info on household size carbon filter treatment - it is done in the west, but probably expensive. I suggest bringing in certified clean water for babies and young children

4- Health risks to people - mainly carcinogenic; agricultural land - short term not an issue, long term - human health ingestion of hydrocarbons

Other thoughts: You need to analyse the water to establish how polluted it is. What is the geology? Could you use unpolluted groundwater? Could you take river water and spread it on the ground and then take from shallow wells?

Regards Harriet N