Environmental Challenges: Arsenic Contamination in Asia

EART32102 Environmental Challenges: Arsenic Contamination in Asia 10 Semester 2 Undergraduate Level 6 David Polya Unit coordinator 1 FHEQ level (Framework for Higher Education Qualifications) ' Last part of a Bachelors ' European Credit Transfer & Accumulation System Rating : 5.0 <div> The focus of a set of third year modules will be on large scale, complex, cross disciplinary, environmental challenges by applying the key concepts/skills/techniques learned in previous years using a series of specific case studies, in this case the impact of groundwater arsenic in Asia and elsewhere. After this module the students should be able to 1) synthesise and evaluate environmental data; 2) evaluate the impact on society and ultimately 3) create and/or evaluate new and innovative solutions/hypotheses related to this specific challenge.</div>  <div>The focus of a set of third year modules will be on large scale, complex, cross disciplinary, environmental challenges by applying the key concepts/skills/techniques learned in previous years using a series of specific case studies, in this case the impact of groundwater arsenic in Asia and elsewhere. After this module the students should be able to 1) synthesise and evaluate environmental data; 2) evaluate the impact on society and ultimately 3) create and/or evaluate new and innovative solutions/hypotheses related to this specific challenge.</div> The aim of this course is to synthesise and evaluate environmental data with the final goal to be able to create and/or evaluate new and innovative solutions/hypotheses related to the impact of groundwater arsenic on human populations in Asia and elsewhere. <div><figure class="table"><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="width:496px;" colspan="2">On the successful completion of the course, students will be able to:</td><td style="width:72px;">Developed</td><td style="width:66px;">Assessed</td></tr><tr><td style="height:59px;width:64px;">ILO 1</td><td style="height:59px;width:432px;">Evaluate the causes and controlling factors of groundwater arsenic on human populations in Asia</td><td style="height:59px;width:72px;">x</td><td style="height:59px;width:66px;">x</td></tr><tr><td style="height:67px;width:64px;">ILO 2</td><td style="height:67px;width:432px;">Synthesise and evaluate environmental and activity data related to groundwater arsenic in Asia and elsewhere.</td><td style="height:67px;width:72px;">x</td><td style="height:67px;width:66px;">x</td></tr><tr><td style="height:76px;width:64px;">ILO 3</td><td style="height:76px;width:432px;">Assess impacts on society caused by groundwater arsenic in Asia and elsewhere</td><td style="height:76px;width:72px;">x</td><td style="height:76px;width:66px;">x</td></tr><tr><td style="height:66px;width:64px;">ILO 4</td><td style="height:66px;width:432px;">Create and/or evaluate new and innovative solutions/hypotheses related to the impacts of groundwater arsenic in Asia and elsewhere.</td><td style="height:66px;width:72px;">x</td><td style="height:66px;width:66px;">x</td></tr><tr><td style="height:66px;width:64px;">ILO 5</td><td style="height:66px;width:432px;">Communicate and defend their ideas and findings clearly and concisely to a scientific and lay audience</td><td style="height:66px;width:72px;">x</td><td style="height:66px;width:66px;">x</td></tr></tbody></table></figure> </div>  Sequence of lectures and the reading seminar titles may depend upon the dynamic decisions made by student-led groups and by the availability of external expert speakers. W1 Lecture 1: Introduction to groundwater arsenic and its impacts in Asia and elsewhereW1 Group problem-based work session 1: Introduction & dividing groups (1 hour) W2 Group problem-based work session 2: Aims and directions of group work. (1 hour)W2 Group problem-based work session 3: Designing individual projects; alignment to overall aims/objectives (1 hour) W3 Reading seminar 1: Contrasting theories of arsenic mobilisationW3 Lecture 2: Geochemistry of arsenic W4 Reading seminar 2: Contrasting exposure routesW4 Reading seminar 3: Controversy over the magnitude arsenic attributable impacts W5 Lecture 3: Basics of exposure science and toxicology of environmental agentsW5 Lecture 4: Modelling health & economic impacts W6 Reading seminar 4: Contrasting mitigation - types & evaluationW6 Lecture 5: Making an impact – evaluating & changing behaviours W7 Group problem-based work session 4: Student-led development of group-work (2 hours)W8 Group problem-based work session 5: Student-led development of group-work (2 hours) W9 Group problem-based work session 6: Preparation of presentations & case (2 hours) W10: Oral presentations/debates.(2 hours) <div>The course will be delivered using a variety of methods. There will be 5 lectures (1 hour each) related to specific fundamentals of the case study, with podcasts enabled and notes posted online. This will be supported by a series of themed discussion sessions (1 hour each) during which recent or ground-breaking literature regarding specific aspects of the environmental challenge will be discussed. Video conferencing will be used to communicate/discuss specific aspects of the environmental challenge with specialists in the field. Thus, to be successful, it is essential that students attend every lecture and themed discussion sessions, and revise the previous week's materials between classes. In addition, students, working in groups, will be given a specific aspect of the environmental challenge and with the aid of a facilitator identify issues and questions in weekly seminar sessions (1 hour each). Students will be expected to work collaboratively outside of class time to find, evaluate, manage and curate information and develop a capacity to work effectively as a team. To promote leadership skills the ‘manager’ will rotate weekly through the group. There are no exams. The work will be assessed through:(i) individual reports (50 % of marks; due week 7) in which they summarize their specific aspect of the group environmental challenge,(ii) a group oral & poster presentation around a given aspect of to the environmental challenge, evaluate the environmental data available, assess the impact on society and propose and/or evaluate new and innovative solutions.. This will be done in a conference style seminar in the final week (week 10) of the course.</div> 3 Report 50% 7 Oral assessment/presentation 50% <figure class="table"><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="0"><tbody><tr><td style="height:68px;width:102px;">Assessment type</td><td style="height:68px;width:85px;">% Weighting within unit</td><td style="height:68px;width:76px;">Hand out and hand in dates</td><td style="height:68px;width:85px;">Length </td><td style="height:68px;width:170px;">How, when and what feedback is provided</td><td style="height:68px;width:123px;">ILO tested</td></tr><tr><td style="height:101px;width:102px;">Report (individual)</td><td style="height:101px;width:85px;">50%</td><td style="height:101px;width:76px;">Hand out Week 2 Hand in Week 7</td><td style="height:101px;width:85px;">Max 2500 words</td><td style="height:101px;width:170px;">Written/oral feedback will be provided when marks released as well technical feedback by Week 9</td><td style="height:101px;width:123px;">1, 2, 3. 4, 5</td></tr><tr><td style="height:139px;width:102px;">Oral (group)</td><td style="height:139px;width:85px;">50%</td><td style="height:139px;width:76px;">Hand out Week 2 Hand in Week 10</td><td style="height:139px;width:85px;">15-20 min followed by poster session</td><td style="height:139px;width:170px;">Written/oral feedback will be provided when marks released</td><td style="height:139px;width:123px;">3, 4 & 5</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>  BSc (Hons) Earth and Plan Scie BSc (Hons) Earth (Geochemistr) Third Year Optional MEarthSci (Hons) Ea and Pl Sci MEarthSci (Hons) Earth (Geoch) Third Year Optional MEarthSci (Hons) Earth Industr MEarthSci EPS w IE (GeoChem) Third Year Optional MEarthSci (Hons) Earth Abroad MEarthSci EPS w YA (Geochem) Third Year Optional MEarthSci (Hons) EPS with Res MEaSc (H) EPS w R (GeoChem) Third Year Optional Reviews & CommentaryUNICEF 2018. UNICEF-WHO Arsenic Primer (Revised). UNICEF. ISBN 978-92-806-4980-2.Bhattacharya, P., Polya, D.A. and Jovanovic. D. (Eds.) (2017) Best Practice Guide for the Control of Arsenic in Drinking Water, International Water Association Publishing, ISBN13: 9781843393856 Available from: https://www.iwapublishing.com/books/9781843393856/best-practice-guide-control-arsenic-drinking-waterPolya, D.A., Sparrenbom, C., Datta, S. and Guo, H.M. (2019) Groundwater arsenic biogeochemistry – Key questions and use of tracers to understand arsenic-prone groundwater systems. Geoscience Frontiers, 10, 1635-1641. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gsf.2019.05.004 (open access)ZHU, Y.G., XUE, X.M., KAPPLER, A., ROSEN, B.P. and MEHARG, A.A. 2017. Linking Genes to Microbial Biogeochemical Cycling: Lessons from Arsenic. Environmental Science and Technology, 51, 7326-7339Polya, D.A. and Richards, L.A. (2017) Arsenic and the provision of safe and sustainable drinking water: aspects of innovation and knowledge transfer. Asia-Pacific Technical Monitor, UNESCAP (United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific) APCTT (Asian and Pacific Centre For Transfer of Technology) July –September 2017. http://techmonitor.net/tm/images/7/73/17jul_sep_sf2.pdfJOHNSON, C.A. and BRETZLER, A. (Eds) 2015. Geogenic Contamination Handbook. Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (EAWAG). http://www.eawag.ch/en/research/humanwelfare/drinkingwater/wrq Last accessed 15th April 2019.WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION 2011. Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality: Fourth Edition, Geneva.RAVENSCROFT, P., BRAMMER, H. & RICHARDS, K. 2009. Arsenic pollution - A global synthesis, Chichester, Wiley-Blackwell.Polya, D.A. and Charlet, L.. (2009) Rising arsenic risk ?. Nature Geoscience, 2, 383-384.Charlet, L. and Polya, D.A. (2006) Arsenic hazard in shallow reducing groundwaters in southern Asia. Elements, 2, 91-96 .MUKHOPADHYAY, R., ROSEN, B.P., PHUNG, L.T. and SILVER, S. 2002. Microbial arsenic: from geocycles to genes and enzymes. FEMS Microbiology Reviews, 26, 311-325.SMEDLEY, P. L. & KINNIBURGH, D. G. 2002. A review of the source, behaviour and distribution of arsenic in natural waters. Applied Geochemistry, 17, 517-568.SMITH, A. H., LINGAS, E. O. & RAHMAN, M. 2000. Contamination of drinking-water by arsenic in Bangladesh: a public health emergency. Bulletin of the World Health Organisation, 78, 1093-1103.PapersWu, R., Xu, L. and Polya, D.A. (2021) Groundwater arsenic-attributable cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality risks in India. Water. 13(16), 2232. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13162232 (open access)Podgorski, J., Wu, R., Chakravorty, B. and Polya, D.A (2020) Groundwater Arsenic distribution in India by Machine Learning Geospatial Modeling. Int. J. Env. Res. Public Health, 17(19), Art. No. 7119. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17197119 (open access)Podgorski, J.; Berg, M. Global threat of arsenic in groundwater. Science 2020, 368, 845–850.Ahmad, A. van der Wense, P., Baken, K., de Waal, L. Bhattacharya, P. and Stuyfzand, P., 2020. Arsenic reduction to<1 μg/L in Dutch drinking water, Environment International,134, Art. 105253Richards, L.A., Kumar, A., Shakar, P., Gaurav, A., Ghosh, A. and Polya, D.A. (2020) Distribution and Geochemical Controls of Arsenic and Uranium in Groundwater-Derived Drinking Water in Bihar, India. Int. J. Env. Res. Public Health, 17(7) Art. 2182 https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17072500 (open access)Richards, L.A., Magnone, D., Sueltenfuss, J., Chambers, L., Bryant, C., Boyce, A.J., van Dongen, B.E., Ballentine, C.J., Sovann, C., Uhlemann, S., Kuras, O., Gooddy, D.C. and Polya, D.A. (2019) Dual In-Aquifer and near surface processes drive arsenic mobilization in Cambodian groundwaters. Scienc 0 0 100 <figure class="table"><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="0"><tbody><tr><td style="height:68px;width:139px;"> </td><td style="height:68px;width:85px;">Type</td><td style="height:9.75pt;padding:0cm;width:169.5pt;" width="226">Example student activity</td><td style="height:68px;width:75px;">Total Hours</td><td style="height:68px;width:160px;">New material</td></tr><tr><td style="height:39px;width:139px;">Contact time (students are in front of staff)</td><td style="height:39px;width:85px;">Lecture (new material)</td><td style="height:39px;width:75px;">Mostly listening & taking notes (mostly new material)</td><td style="height:39px;width:75px;">5</td><td style="height:39px;width:160px;">5</td></tr><tr><td> </td><td>Lecture (revision/examples)</td><td>Mostly listening & taking notes (no new material- revision of course)</td><td> </td><td> </td></tr><tr><td style="height:101px;width:139px;"> </td><td style="height:101px;width:85px;">Practical (new material and practice. Typically 25-50% of practical time is spent on new material)</td><td style="height:101px;width:75px;">Interactive individual or group work (problem solving, experiments, watching demonstrations, describing and interpreting samples, paper-based exercises, computer-based exercises)</td><td style="height:101px;width:75px;"> </td><td style="height:101px;width:160px;"> </td></tr><tr><td style="height:101px;width:139px;"> </td><td style="height:101px;width:85px;">Tutorial</td><td style="height:101px;width:75px;">Interactive small group work</td><td style="height:101px;width:75px;"> </td><td style="height:101px;width:160px;"> </td></tr><tr><td> </td><td>Seminar/examples class</td><td>Working on and discussing questions (here: field seminar)</td><td>15</td><td>5</td></tr><tr><td>Independent study time</td><td style="height:9.75pt;padding:0cm;width:131.5pt;" width="175">Pre/post lecture work</td><td>Reading own notes, re-solving examples, prep work, revisit podcast</td><td>5</td><td> </td></tr><tr><td> </td><td>Pre/post practical work/write up</td><td>Complete practical work, prep work, reading feedback</td><td>5</td><td> </td></tr><tr><td> </td><td>Studio/Workshop time</td><td>Individual or group work (student led), discussion, problem solving</td><td>15</td><td>5</td></tr><tr><td> </td><td>Reading</td><td>Guided reading of research articles, books, online resources etc</td><td>20</td><td>10</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>