Arsenic Test Kit Training

 1st October 2020

It is estimated that about 0.5 million people in Terai region are living at a risk of arsenic poisoning and analysis of same might not be possible in all areas of the county. This problem may arise due to lack of proper infrastructure and laboratory facility, electricity and skilled technicians, difficult terrain and access. Despite the availability of a few Arsenic kits in Nepal, majority of the population residing in the Arsenic contaminated zones of Nepal cannot afford these kits owing to their high cost. To overcome this barrier, EcoConcern in collaboration with ENPHO has modified the previous model to introduce AFT kit (Arsenic Field Test kit) which is capable to detect Arsenic levels up to 500 ppb in the untreated water sample. The kit was launched in October 2020 and is able to test up to 50 water samples per kit with sulphide tolerance up to 1 ppm.

EcoConcern conducted a 1-day training on the newly modified Arsenic Field Test kit on 1st October 2020 within its premises to the production and lab team by Ms. Ushnish Tuladhar, who had been working on the design and research of the same. The lab team participated in the training through virtual platform (Zoom).

The training was conducted through theory sessions, demonstration and hands-on session on the Arsenic Test kit. In the first phase of the training an overview on the working and background of Arsenic Test kit was explained which was followed by a practical one-on one demonstration on its working. On the next phase of the training, production staff members were given orientation on the preparation of the kit. Each of the member were assigned a specific role in the preparation of kit from filling of chemicals to packaging and assembling of the kit. Finally, the participants were then made to perform their assigned tasks based on the training provided on the supervision of the trainer. Out of the 6-production staff, 3 of them had to analyze Arsenic in water samples using the kit while the rest were assigned tasks related to preparation of kit component, labelling and packaging. The training ended with a closing remark from the trainees discussing their understanding on the use of the kit.

Fig 1 Training participants from EcoConcern

Left to right : Mr. Ganesh Chaudhary , Ms. Ambika Khanal, Mr. Arjun Dangol, Ms. Ushnish Tuladhar (trainer) , Mr. Bhajaram Maharjan, Mr. Pushpa Raj Khatri