Lucknow: For areas affected with contaminated water, the CSIR-Indian Institute of Toxicology Research (IITR) has developed a portable water analysis kit to test purity of water.
The kit, the first-of-its-kind in the country, can test 100 samples of water. The results will give a bacteriological and chemical analysis of the water. “The kit is ideal for testing contaminated water in rural areas where laboratory facilities are not available. It could be supplied to gram panchayats to monitor arsenic, fluoride and other types of pollutants in water resources,” said IITR director Alok Dhawan.
He said the portable kit can be easily used in far-flung areas where people largely depend on untreated water. Nearly 70% of diseases occur due to contaminated and unsafe drinking water and the kit will be an effective tool to measure potability of water. The kit will also be useful in urban areas for health workers and laboratories. It can test total dissolved solids, fluoride, iron, nitrate, residual chlorine and alkalinity in water to ensure its safety for drinking purpose.