Water contamination from arsenic is in the headlines almost daily. And for very good reason: It is a highly toxic compound and major public health hazard affecting at least tens of thousands of people. The fact is we really don’t know how many of our people and communities are affected by this insidious naturally occurring chemical compound because arsenic, dissolved in water, is odorless, colorless and can only be detected by actually testing the water source.

And in our company’s opinion, there has been far, far too little testing done, except in the larger population centers which are served by the Instituto Nacional de Acueductos y Alcantarillados or a local sistema de acueductos y alcantarillados sanitarios.

In Central America, the vast majority of arsenic contamination is naturally occurring, the result of volcanic geology. Where there are volcanoes, there are associated compounds such as sulfur and arsenic, among others. For this reason the contamination can be found virtually anywhere in this country and the region. However agricultural, mining, wood treatment and electronic manufacturing processes also can add high concentrations of man-made arsenic contamination to otherwise pristine environments. Both the natural and man-made contamination are bad for one’s health.

Government institutions’ focus on population centers for testing and remediation. But a concerted national effort is needed to serve and protect not just city and town dwellers, but also the tens of thousands of people, families and businesses in the countryside who depend upon private wells and springs for their potable water. Current government programs are focused on approximately 2 percent of our nation’s population in a handful of cities and towns known to be affected.

The forgotten rural population is comprised of a wide spectrum of people and businesses. They include simple agricultural workers and their families, luxury resorts, native communities, fincas and haciendas, gated communities of largely expats, rurally based manufacturers and food processors, and others. Virtually all depend upon ground water. The only way to know if this water is contaminated with arsenic is to test it.
 
For this reason, Agua Solutions International, S.A. in Liberia has recently launched a private program to provide free arsenic testing to all private well owners. The firm is well equipped to provide this service because it provides arsenic testing equipment to the national water laboratory, it has participated with the national water laboratory in a series of pilot studies to demonstrate effective arsenic treatment methods in communities in Guanacaste; and since the firm's founding in 2005 employees always have tested for arsenic as a routine part their duties to customers establishing new water sources.

In these cases we believe that not to test for arsenic is professionally irresponsible.

The firm's current approach to arsenic testing is very different than the government’s strategy. Specifically, instead of being limited to dispatching a very small team of highly trained water technicians from the national water laboratory or small groups of university graduate students who generally go to the areas of known contamination in the population centers.  Agua Solutions takes a much broader, faster and more economical grassroots approach.

The firm is inviting the thousands of private well/spring owners to collect samples, label them, and send them to its offices for testing.

It is extremely simple to properly collect and transport a water sample for arsenic testing, because unlike a microbiological sample, it does not require any special or sterile handling. In fact, the firm recommends using a common plastic water bottle and sending the samples by mail, bus or dropping them off in person.

Specific instructions are provided on the Web site at www.AguaSolutions.com.

Test results are usually delivered to the person who sent the sample within three business days at no cost. Also, all results are treated anonymously. The firm will never divulge the identity and or arsenic level of the water samples submitted to it. So no company, resort or food processing business should fear having their water tested.

The objective is twofold. First, Agua Solutions wants to give the country’s rural population, especially those of limited economic means, a readily available means of learning if their water sources are within the ‘safe’ and legal limit for potable water in Costa Rica, which is 10 parts per billion.  A test for arsenic at a private laboratory in San José may cost as much as 60,000 colons, and the laboratory may require extra payment to travel and collect the sample. Second, Agua Solutions wants to develop a much better understanding than presently exists of the geographic extent, and degree of severity of the arsenic contamination problem, from a national perspective.

The legal upper limit of 10 parts per billion in Costa Rica is the same standard recommended by the World Health Organization as well as by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and most developed countries. Some countries and parts of the U.S.A. use a lower and stricter standard, and some countries, especially those developing countries with high arsenic levels, use a higher standard such as 50 parts per billion, or are gradually phasing in stricter standards.

Extending this service to all private well owners nationwide, regardless of their financial means, is not an inexpensive endeavor. Corporate support is sufficient for us to continue the free water testing program at least until the end of this year.


*Ryan is president of Agua Solutions International, S.A. He may be contacted at info@aguasolutions.com or by calling  2665-6161 / 7161.


Food chamber says it opposes
government plan for new taxes


The food chamber has told the finance ministry that the time is not right for new taxes.

New taxes would cause unemployment in the industry, said the  Cámara Costarricense de la Industria Alimentaria.

The chamber said that in a meeting with Álvaro Ramos, a vice minister of Hacienda, the board of directors got the impression that the government was about to send new tax proposals to the legislature.

The Ministerio de Hacienda, however, said that it is simply seeking input from the public on how to handle the country's staggering deficit and a budget that includes about 50 percent borrowed money.

The ministry has another informational meeting Thursday.

The chamber said there was no long-term plan to solve the financial crisis. The government is expected to float a value-added tax as part of the effort to bring in more money. The informational meetings are regarded mainly as public relations.

The chamber characterized the proposals as an enormous tax charge on businesses.


Public Christmas bonuses
nearly 10% more than 2012


The Ministerio de Hacienda said Tuesday that the government will pay 157 billion colons in aguinaldos Dec. 3. That is about $314 million.

The number reflects the fact that the government pays about $4 billion in salaries each year. There are about 196.000 active employees.

The amount of the Christmas bonus is 9.83 percent more than last year, said the ministry. The money goes to all the workers in ministries, the Asamblea Legislative, the Poder Judicial, the Defensoría de los Habitantes, the Contraloría General de la República and pensioners. The amount includes money due teachers.