NAE Announces Winner of $1 Million Safe Drinking Water Challenge

The National Academies | News | NAE Announces Winner of $1 Million Safe Drinking Water Challenge:

"Abul Hussam from George Mason University will receive the National Academy of Engineering’s 2007 Grainger Challenge Prize for Sustainability. Hussam received the $1 million gold award for his SONO filter, a household water treatment system that removes arsenic from drinking water. The silver ($200,000) and bronze ($100,000) winners were also announced."

Arsenic, found in ground water, has become a major health problem in the SubContinent since huge numbers of wells were dug for irrigation and drinking water. It was not realized when the well drilling program was created that the waters of India and Bangladesh were so badly polluted, and it was only after many years that the health effects of arsenic poisoning were recognized and attributed to the water being used.

Hussam first developed a test for arsenic in water, and then a low cost, simple filter to get rid of it. According to Rick Weiss in The Washington Post:

The filtration systems are being assembled at the rate of about 200 a week in Kushtia for $35 to $40 each, Hussam said. More than 30,000 have been distributed, bringing clean water to about 400,000 people. About 1,000 have been distributed to elementary schools in Bangladesh.

Hussam said he will use 70 percent of his winnings to distribute his SONO filters to needy communities with the help of nongovernmental organizations, including one he created with his brother, a doctor in Bangladesh. He said 25 percent will go toward further research and development, and 5 percent will be donated to GMU.

* News Release
* Grainger Challenge Web Site