Environmental Health
Visit the LibraryOn emerging environmental health issues such as sanitation, waste management, and health risks, and policies surrounding essential environmental health services
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Environmental Health
POLICY BRIEF: From Research to Impact: Transformative Actions Against Arsenic Groundwater Contamination In Batangas
On the 12th of January 2020, Taal Volcano, located in Southwest Luzon in the Philippines, erupted greatly impacting the livelihood and health of the people in Batangas Province. With majority of Batangas province relying on the groundwater aquifer surrounding Taal Volcano, one of the world’s most active volcanoes globally, for drinking water, this volcanic event followed by continuous volcanic activity throughout 2020 prompted an investigation on the quality of groundwater sources in communities surrounding the volcano.
Environmental Health
A TAALe of Arsenic: Sharing the narrative through an interactive map
Arsenic is a highly toxic and carcinogenic trace metal that can potentially contaminate groundwater sources in volcanic regions and affect communities in the area, like those residing around the Taal Volcano. The volcano’s eruption last 2020 encouraged an investigation into the quality of groundwater sources in communities surrounding the volcano. In response, the EnviHealth team in ACRI conducted a comparative documentation, “Arsenic in Groundwater Sources from Selected Communities Surrounding Taal Volcano, Philippines”. Water samples from 26 wells were collected across 11 municipalities and 1 city in Batangas province within danger zones from the volcano which were used to analyze total arsenic levels of the samples. Geographic coordinates of the sampling points were also recorded for mapping.