Arsenic management guidance
Rolling revision of the WHO Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality
Arsenic management guidance is included in the plan of work of the rolling revision of the WHO Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality.
Background
Arsenic in drinking-water is of significant concern in several geographic areas and is recognized as a priority issue for health.
Expected end-product(s)
Management guidance document on arsenic.
Progress to date
The 1998 Working Group meeting adopted the target of production of a monograph on arsenic in drinking-water as a high priority. Following the Working Group meeting, the United Nations Administrative Committee on Co-ordination (the body responsible for coordination among UN agencies) subcommittee on water resources adopted a closely related objective. Efforts have been made to merge these two initiatives and ensure a single multi-agency product. At the Chemical Aspects Working Group meeting (Tokyo, 2002), it was noted that the draft monograph was available on the web site and that there were unresolved issues regarding the analytical methodology for arsenic. The monograph was not discussed at the Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality Working Group meeting (Geneva, 2004). The monograph will be published in 2009.