Ex-Post Environmental and Social Review of Tsunami Involuntary Resettlement Housing Schemes in Sri Lanka

Disaster induced resettlement subject is widely discussed in recent past due to massive disaster events all around the world. The critics of resettlement projects usually argue that relocation creates tremendous negative impacts on communities. Whatever the cause of the displacement, some level of service provision are required to normalize and restore peoples’ lives and to put in place sustainable solutions-to compensate for losses, address vulnerabilities and rebuild lives and livelihoods and to increase the resiliency of community. The impacts caused by involuntary resettlement due to 2004 tsunami, by appraising the level of satisfaction of resettlers after 10 years of the disaster were studied. In adition, existing practices, policies and planning were reviewed to highlight issues considered in planning, implementation and practices of environmental and social elements of each selected scheme. In Sri Lanka there are 485 tsunami resettlement sites in 13 districts. Study was conducted in Southern province. Questionnaire surveys were carried out at 30 selected sites; sites were selected using pre-determined criteria. Per site 10 random recipients selected from different parts of the site were interviewed. Cerneas’ theoretical model for involuntary resettlement that highlights the intrinsic risk that cause impoverishment through displacement, as well as the ways to mitigate these risks to make vulnerable populations to resilience was used for analysis.Beneficiary participation for the planning with the satisfactory level of 1.13 and quality of the building, satisfactory level of 1.51 were identified as crucial factors for the satisfaction of resettlers. In addition, waste water management within the site, fire and other safety facilities, interior design, dwelling size, inconvenience to livelihood are identified as most critical factors that led to dissatisfaction of beneficiaries and which led to abandonment of houses.Keywords: Involuntary resettlement, Level of satisfaction, Tsunam

Removal of Fluoride and Hardness in Dietary Intake (water) in Chronic Kidney Disease of unknown Etiology (CKDu) Prevalent Areas by Domestic Reverse Osmosis Units

The origin of Chronic Kidney Disease of unknown etiology (CKDu) that is rapidly invadingthe dry zone of Sri Lanka has not yet been identified. However, occurrence of the disease isthought to be linked with excess levels of fluoride and hardness in drinking water. Hence, thestudy herein focuses to evaluate the suitability of domestic Reverse Osmosis (RO) units;which introduced in CKDu affected areas to remove excess fluoride and hardness.Accordingly, the drinking water quality in CKDu prevalent areas in terms of fluoride andhardness was simulated in the laboratory and the removal of aforesaid constituents usingdomestic ROs was investigated.According to water quality analyses, domestic RO units effectively removed hardness even atextremely high initial concentrations, such as 1,730 mg/L (as CaCO3). Excessive removal ofCalcium and Magnesium by the RO units was observed, thus remineralization of thepermeate up to 80-100 mg/L as CaCO3 is required to ensure health benefits. Meanwhile,fluoride removal was observed to be highly dependent upon initial fluoride and hardnessconcentrations. It was not possible to suggest an „optimum removal level‟ for fluoride, wherepermeate fluoride concentration exceeded the maximum permissible WHO Drinking WaterGuideline value of 1.5 mg/L. However, it may arise at a point where fluoride and hardnessconcentrations in raw water fall within 1.7-3.5 mg/L and 570-1,130 mg/L as CaCO3,respectively.Plausible reasons for ineffective removal of fluoride could be the relatively small size andlow ionic charge of fluoride. Additionally, high concentration of heavy ions may interferewith fluoride adsorption of activated carbon filter in the domestic RO unit. Effective fluorideremoval could be achieved by adopting appropriate pre-treatment methods for hardnessremoval. Separate threshold levels for fluoride and hardness levels in drinking water shouldbe defined, especially for CKDu patients.Keywords: Chronic Kidney Disease, Domestic reverse osmosis units, Fluoride, Hardnes

Use of Reverse Osmosis Reject Water for Value Addition in Coco Substrate Industry

Previous studies corroborated that water enriched with various compounds is a major reasonfor Chronic Kidney Disease of Unknown Aetiology (CKDu) in Sri Lanka. Reverse osmosis(RO) units are being introduced in the CKDu prevalent areas for water purification.Generally, the RO reject water is disposed of directly to the ground and/or used for irrigationpurposes because it contains several minerals, which are favourable for the growth of plants.However, this practice may cause any negative environmental issues.Calcium nitrate is used as a value addition in coco substrate industry to wash out sodiumfrom the coir products because sodium competes with other cations which are essential forplant growth in the process of adsorption. However, discharging the spent calcium nitratesolution to land for irrigation purposes may lead to nitrate pollution. This study investigatesthe possibility of using RO reject water, which has considerably high amounts of calcium, asan alternative for the use of calcium nitrate, which may also lead to reduction of cost ofimporting calcium nitrate. Leachability tests were carried out using husk chips as the solidmedium with RO reject water and calcium nitrate as the treatment solution, respectively.When RO reject water was used as the washing solution, the results manifested (amount ofcalcium, magnesium adsorbed and sodium, potassium leached out) that the leachabilitypotential was well within the acceptable range as per the protocols. Based on the findings,RO reject water could be proposed as an alternative source to calcium nitrate.Keywords: Calcium nitrate, Coco substrate, Husk chips, Reverse osmosis, Water purificatio

Migration of Phthalic Acid Esters from PET Water Bottles: Implications of Reusing Empty Bottles for Storing Ambient and Warm Water for Subsequent Consumption

Phthalic Acid Esters (PAEs) are a group of emerging contaminants that are widely used as a plasticizer in manufacturing polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles to improve softness, flexibility, durability, longevity and workability. Some of PAEs have, however, been identified to be carcinogenic. People in Sri Lanka often use the PET bottles for storing ambient and warm water repeatedly for subsequent consumption. With the reuse of bottles, PAEs are easily detached and migrated to the water, because of weak chemical bonding between the main polymer structure and PAEs. However, no comprehensive studies on the migration of PAEs from the material of the bottle to water in the context of different reuse efforts of storing ambient and warm water have been reported; hence, this study. Ten different commercial brands of PET bottles were selected. The initial storage temperature of selected PET bottles was measured and they were under room temperature conditions. It was ensured that they were not exposed to the direct sunlight under storage condition. Three bottles of each brand were filled with warm water (initial temperature 60±2º C) and another three with the same water at room temperature (27±2 ºC) and kept for 12 hours. The PAE levels of the water in the bottles were analysed by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometer (GC-MS) using EPA method 8061A. Six PAEs, bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), diethyl phthalate (DEP), benzylbutyl phthalate (BBP), dimethyl phthalate (DMP) and di-n-octyl phthalate (DnOP) were quantified.The same bottles were subject to PAE analyses for six consecutive reuse events. Characterisation of PET bottles of two brands was done to investigate the thermally induced structural changes using the Fourier-Transform Infrared spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Differential Scanning Calorimetry and X-Ray powder Diffraction.In general, DMP, DEP, DnBP, BBP, and, DnOP were not detected in the water under room temperature (27±2º C) and 60±2º C. Among the six different PAEs tested, DEHP was the only PAE that has leached out at room temperature and at 60ºC for different brands. Results manifested the maximum and minimum levels of DEHP being migrated after each event of reuse at room temperature to be 82±4 μgL-1 and 17±2 μgL-1, respectively, and the maximum and minimum levels of DEHP leached out at 60±2 ºC were 133±3 μgL-1 and 26±2 μgL-1, respectively. Characterisation studies indicate that there were structural changes with each reuse event at 60±2 ºC in comparison to those at room temperature. In conclusion, this study provides evidence of migration of DEHP from the material of the bottle to water in the reuse efforts for storing warm water for subsequent consumption. Hence, regulating the quantities of DEHP to be added during the manufacturing process of PET bottles and the reuse efforts of empty PET bottles is of utmost importance to minimize the potential health and environmental impacts.Keywords: DEHP, PAE, Polyethylene terephthalate, Reuse, Temperatur

Identification of Policy and Regulation Gaps with Reference to Environmental and Social Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction of Beneficiaries of Tsunami Involuntary Resettlement in Sri Lanka

Resettlement term is described basically, the movement of populations from one place to another other than their usual residence by force or voluntarily. The physical relocation is only one of the most significant results in the resettlement process: moreover, it involves multidimensional phenomena. It makes an opportunity to develop the living standards of those who were affected by the reconstruction of systems of production for poverty reduction and land use planning by human settlement and also increase the resiliency. Most catastrophic natural disaster recorded in the recent history of Sri Lanka is tsunami; more than 94,000 permanent houses were rebuilt. It draws a question of that did Sri Lanka grabs the opportunity well enough in the Tsunami resettlement. As observed during the field visits and acknowledged by several studies, some of the resettles abandoned their houses and return back to their previous places where they were before the tsunami or any other convenient places. After a decade of the disaster, it is important to review what went wrong considering the long term effects of tsunami resettlement. Environmental and social factors which make impacts on the long term satisfaction of the involuntary resettlement were identified through a desk study, interviews with the expertise and ground verifications. Policy and regulations gaps in planning and implementation phases were recognised with respect to identified environmental and social factors by a thorough literature review, series of interviews with expertise and a questionnaire survey was conducted to understand the practice of policy and regulations on real ground. For the questionnaire survey, 24 tsunami resettlement sites were selected by pre-determined criteria in Galle, Matara, and Hambantota districts. At the time of tsunami resettlement there was no existing policy that can be readily adopted for handle resettlement program in this scale. Policies were implemented after the disaster and during the resettlement program however many critical aspects were not identified or neglected. Absence of policies, strategies toadhere in the factors like Lighting and ventilation, Interior design, convenience to day to day activities, Neighborhood safety, Community development programin the planning and construction phases of the resettlement process led to sever social issues and finally abandonment of the houses.Keywords: Involuntary resettlement, Tsunami, Satisfaction, Polic

Suitability of Clay Water Filter for the Removal of Nephrotoxic Constituents in CKDu Prevalent Areas

Consumption of water composed of different nephrotoxic constituents such as Hardness, Fluoride, Cadmium, and Aluminum has manifested to be triggering causal factors of Chronic Kidney Disease of unknown etiology (CKDu) and non-nephrotoxic health hazards. Hence, it is a prerequisite to remove these nephrotoxic constituents from water to levels less than the permissible drinking water guideline values. Thus, an introduction of clay water filters has been reckoned to be a solution, which will provide safe drinking water to people in CKDu prevalent areas. This filter media is composed of clay and shifted rice husk mixture. The suitability of the clay water filter unit to remove nephrotoxic constituents is, however, has not been comprehensively investigated. Therefore, the present study focuses on investigating the suitability of the clay water filter unit in the removal of nephrotoxic constituents effectively and efficiently from potable water. Feed water was, therefore, synthesized simulating wet (October & November) and extreme wet (December) seasons in the dry zone in Sri Lanka, in which the feed water constituted of Hardness of 350 and 150 mg/l, Fluoride of 3 and1 mg/l, Cadmium of 1 and 1 mg/l and Aluminum of 1 and 1 mg/l for both wet and extreme wet seasons respectively. With the assumption that four members of a family consume 8 l of water per day, samples were collected and analyzed. Average concentration values of the treated water were determined as Hardness of 340 and 148 mg/l, Fluoride of 0.92 and 0.87 mg/l, Cadmium of 0.69 and 0.58 mg/l, and Aluminum of 0.74 and 0.67 mg/l during wet and extreme wet seasons. Hardness values did not comply with drinking water guideline values of 250 mg/l (SLS- 613:2013) during the wet season and Cadmium of 0.003 mg/l (WHO Guideline) during both seasons. Aluminum and Fluoride values complied with WHO permissible drinking water guideline values of 0.9 mg/l and 0.6-1.5 mg/l respectively. The XRD, FTIR, ESEM-EDX analyses of filter media of the clay filter unit confirmed that the filter media composed of clay and non-clay minerals mainly, silicon oxide, quartz, albite, gottardiite and salicylic acid, with prominent elements of aluminum, calcium, magnesium, oxygen, silicon, and sodium. In such minerals, functional groups such as Si-O-Si, Si-O, -OH, -COOH and Si-OH were found to be the most dominant ligands that can form complexes with ions in water. Al3+ions showed strong interactions with such functional groups more than Ca2+, Mg2+ and Cd2+ions did, resulting in a better removal of Aluminum through the formation of covalent bonds between Aluminum and ligands. Complexation of F- with Al3+, Ca2+, and Mg2+ions in clay minerals was too seen indicating an excessive removal of Fluoride in the water. However, Ca2+, Mg2+,and Cd2+showed poor interactions with ligands resulting in an ineffective and an inefficient removal of Ca2+, Mg2+and Cd2+ ions in water. Hence, it could be inferred that the use of the clay filter unit is not a promising solution to remove high concentrations of Ca2+, Mg2+and Cd2+ions from water in CKDu prevalent areas.Keywords: Aluminum, Cadmium, Drinking water, Fluoride, Hardnes

Suitability of Clay Water Filter for the Removal of Nephrotoxic Constituents in CKDu Prevalent Areas

Consumption of water composed of different nephrotoxic constituents such as Hardness, Fluoride, Cadmium, and Aluminum has manifested to be triggering causal factors of Chronic Kidney Disease of unknown etiology (CKDu) and non-nephrotoxic health hazards. Hence, it is a prerequisite to remove these nephrotoxic constituents from water to levels less than the permissible drinking water guideline values. Thus, an introduction of clay water filters has been reckoned to be a solution, which will provide safe drinking water to people in CKDu prevalent areas. This filter media is composed of clay and shifted rice husk mixture. The suitability of the clay water filter unit to remove nephrotoxic constituents is, however, has not been comprehensively investigated. Therefore, the present study focuses on investigating the suitability of the clay water filter unit in the removal of nephrotoxic constituents effectively and efficiently from potable water. Feed water was, therefore, synthesized simulating wet (October & November) and extreme wet (December) seasons in the dry zone in Sri Lanka, in which the feed water constituted of Hardness of 350 and 150 mg/l, Fluoride of 3 and1 mg/l, Cadmium of 1 and 1 mg/l and Aluminum of 1 and 1 mg/l for both wet and extreme wet seasons respectively. With the assumption that four members of a family consume 8 l of water per day, samples were collected and analyzed. Average concentration values of the treated water were determined as Hardness of 340 and 148 mg/l, Fluoride of 0.92 and 0.87 mg/l, Cadmium of 0.69 and 0.58 mg/l, and Aluminum of 0.74 and 0.67 mg/l during wet and extreme wet seasons. Hardness values did not comply with drinking water guideline values of 250 mg/l (SLS- 613:2013) during the wet season and Cadmium of 0.003 mg/l (WHO Guideline) during both seasons. Aluminum and Fluoride values complied with WHO permissible drinking water guideline values of 0.9 mg/l and 0.6-1.5 mg/l respectively. The XRD, FTIR, ESEM-EDX analyses of filter media of the clay filter unit confirmed that the filter media composed of clay and non-clay minerals mainly, silicon oxide, quartz, albite, gottardiite and salicylic acid, with prominent elements of aluminum, calcium, magnesium, oxygen, silicon, and sodium. In such minerals, functional groups such as Si-O-Si, Si-O, -OH, -COOH and Si-OH were found to be the most dominant ligands that can form complexes with ions in water. Al3+ions showed strong interactions with such functional groups more than Ca2+, Mg2+ and Cd2+ions did, resulting in a better removal of Aluminum through the formation of covalent bonds between Aluminum and ligands. Complexation of F- with Al3+, Ca2+, and Mg2+ions in clay minerals was too seen indicating an excessive removal of Fluoride in the water. However, Ca2+, Mg2+,and Cd2+showed poor interactions with ligands resulting in an ineffective and an inefficient removal of Ca2+, Mg2+and Cd2+ ions in water. Hence, it could be inferred that the use of the clay filter unit is not a promising solution to remove high concentrations of Ca2+, Mg2+and Cd2+ions from water in CKDu prevalent areas.Keywords: Aluminum, Cadmium, Drinking water, Fluoride, Hardnes

Use of Reverse Osmosis Reject Water for Value Addition in Coco Substrate Industry

Previous studies corroborated that water enriched with various compounds is a major reasonfor Chronic Kidney Disease of Unknown Aetiology (CKDu) in Sri Lanka. Reverse osmosis(RO) units are being introduced in the CKDu prevalent areas for water purification.Generally, the RO reject water is disposed of directly to the ground and/or used for irrigationpurposes because it contains several minerals, which are favourable for the growth of plants.However, this practice may cause any negative environmental issues.Calcium nitrate is used as a value addition in coco substrate industry to wash out sodiumfrom the coir products because sodium competes with other cations which are essential forplant growth in the process of adsorption. However, discharging the spent calcium nitratesolution to land for irrigation purposes may lead to nitrate pollution. This study investigatesthe possibility of using RO reject water, which has considerably high amounts of calcium, asan alternative for the use of calcium nitrate, which may also lead to reduction of cost ofimporting calcium nitrate. Leachability tests were carried out using husk chips as the solidmedium with RO reject water and calcium nitrate as the treatment solution, respectively.When RO reject water was used as the washing solution, the results manifested (amount ofcalcium, magnesium adsorbed and sodium, potassium leached out) that the leachabilitypotential was well within the acceptable range as per the protocols. Based on the findings,RO reject water could be proposed as an alternative source to calcium nitrate.Keywords: Calcium nitrate, Coco substrate, Husk chips, Reverse osmosis, Water purificatio

Removal of Fluoride and Hardness in Dietary Intake (water) in Chronic Kidney Disease of unknown Etiology (CKDu) Prevalent Areas by Domestic Reverse Osmosis Units

The origin of Chronic Kidney Disease of unknown etiology (CKDu) that is rapidly invadingthe dry zone of Sri Lanka has not yet been identified. However, occurrence of the disease isthought to be linked with excess levels of fluoride and hardness in drinking water. Hence, thestudy herein focuses to evaluate the suitability of domestic Reverse Osmosis (RO) units;which introduced in CKDu affected areas to remove excess fluoride and hardness.Accordingly, the drinking water quality in CKDu prevalent areas in terms of fluoride andhardness was simulated in the laboratory and the removal of aforesaid constituents usingdomestic ROs was investigated.According to water quality analyses, domestic RO units effectively removed hardness even atextremely high initial concentrations, such as 1,730 mg/L (as CaCO3). Excessive removal ofCalcium and Magnesium by the RO units was observed, thus remineralization of thepermeate up to 80-100 mg/L as CaCO3 is required to ensure health benefits. Meanwhile,fluoride removal was observed to be highly dependent upon initial fluoride and hardnessconcentrations. It was not possible to suggest an „optimum removal level‟ for fluoride, wherepermeate fluoride concentration exceeded the maximum permissible WHO Drinking WaterGuideline value of 1.5 mg/L. However, it may arise at a point where fluoride and hardnessconcentrations in raw water fall within 1.7-3.5 mg/L and 570-1,130 mg/L as CaCO3,respectively.Plausible reasons for ineffective removal of fluoride could be the relatively small size andlow ionic charge of fluoride. Additionally, high concentration of heavy ions may interferewith fluoride adsorption of activated carbon filter in the domestic RO unit. Effective fluorideremoval could be achieved by adopting appropriate pre-treatment methods for hardnessremoval. Separate threshold levels for fluoride and hardness levels in drinking water shouldbe defined, especially for CKDu patients.Keywords: Chronic Kidney Disease, Domestic reverse osmosis units, Fluoride, Hardnes