Water supply of a small town was contaminated with hexavalent chromium (chromium
ID: 3044339 • Letter: W
Question
Water supply of a small town was contaminated with hexavalent chromium (chromium VI)
from a nearby industrial plant, causing severe illness and disease. Suppose the level of
chromium VI in drinking water has been 0.6 mg/L.
a.
Wo
uld there be any reason to suspect a potential health problem? Explain your
reasoning with supporting calculations.
b.
Identify and briefly discuss four risk management options that might be used to
address the problem of contaminant drinking water, assume th
e town’s water supply
comes from a local groundwater source contaminated with chromium
Explanation / Answer
NO reference data is provided with the question.So ihave taken the help of reference data readily avaialbe on internet.
The permissible amount of chromium VI (as per WHO) =0.05ppm =0.05mg/L
Sample Level of Chromium VI =0.60mg/L
Clearly in comparison ,we can see that the level of Chromium VI is very high in comparison to permissible limits and hence .It is a health hazard.
b). Few risk management options that might be used to address the problem of contaminant drinking water are:-
1).
Amplification: once released into the aquatic environment,microbiological contaminants can cause infections and multiply. This can have detrimental effects by increasing the pathogen load on end of pipe barriers as well as leading to increased prevalence of pathogens in the environment generally. This contamination also reduces the value of the water upstream of the end-of-pipe treatment point.
2.Multiple barrier protection: reliance on end-of-pipe treatments can lead to almost total reliance on a single barrier for protection.Unless this barrier is extremely reliable and effective, this will expose end-users to risk during barrier failure.
3. Polluter pays: an emphasis on controlling pollution at source reduces the cost transfer from the polluter to the end-user of the water. Instead, the polluter is more likely to bear a greater share of the cost of preventing contamination or of cleaning it up. As well as being ethically attractive, prevention of contamination and treatment at source may in fact turn out to be the lowest community-cost solution for some contaminants.
4.)Managing people behaviour:-The development of a realistic plan describing how things should operate is only the first step in managing risk. If the plan is to work it must be followed in practice. There needs to be a supporting programme of good operating practice. Furthermore, the people and processes responsible for managing risk need to follow the plan as intended. To achieve this involves leaving the realm of hard science and HACCP theory and entering the world of quality management systems – systems for gaining control of people and processes to ensure the desired outcome. The importance of this control of day-to-day activities cannot be overstated and it is worth noting that the organisations that have implemented HACCP plans, be they food, drink or tap-water suppliers, have seen it as essential to underpin the process with a quality management approach. Key elements of a supporting quality management programme are:
x Strong commitment at all organisational levels;
x Good operational practices described in standard operating procedures for repair, maintenance and operation;
x Ongoing education and training of employees in good operational practices;
x Product and raw material traceability;
x Control and use of key documents, checklists and data records; and
x A compliance culture with strong auditing to ensure procedures are followed.
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