## 6 Conclusions and Future Considerations  
This review has demonstrated that arsenic contamination of groundwater impacts the availability of safe and good quality water for domestic use (drinking and cooking) and agriculture in under-developed countries such as Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Nepal, as well as some parts of more developed countries such as the USA. This can have dire consequences on human health, agriculture, economic and social well-being. The need for a good understanding of the chemistry of arsenic and its fate in the environment has also been demonstrated to be very important for dealing with or minimising the consequences of groundwater contamination by arsenic. The case study about Bangladesh provided a sharp focus on the dire consequences and impact of groundwater contamination by arsenic with serious health, agricultural, social and economic impacts. Furthermore, it highlights that when groundwater contamination by arsenic is identified, rapid efforts need to be directed to reducing/minimizing the associated impacts by adopting and utilising relevant treatment and removal strategies, as well as seeking alternatives for drinking water sources where possible. Socio-economic factors will also play a significant role in the adoption of safer drinking water options. A recent study in Bangladesh illustrated the need for public education combined with the provision of alternative drinking water sources to overcome attitudes and the reluctance of people to switch to better alternatives [163]. The adoption of many of these strategies in the development of various filter systems for arsenic removal  
Figure 7: Components of a Pakistan Arsenic Filter (PAF) and its use for arsenic removal from groundwater [162]. Reproduced with permission. has had a great impact on the ability of people to access safe drinking water in some parts of the affected countries and communities. Many of the available potable treatment systems are effective in ensuring the removal and minimisation of arsenic in groundwater dependent communities to acceptable local standards. However, there are still issues with the long-term maintenance of these systems, especially in ensuring ongoing effective removal of arsenic, disinfection, filter replacement and sludge disposal. Ongoing education of local communities on how to maintain these systems, including how often the filters should be replaced and disinfection protocols is necessary to ensure safety, particularly where there is no alternative water source to groundwater. There is therefore still a need for ongoing research on developing more robust and highly effective filter systems for arsenic removal from groundwater for use for domestic consumption, with the aim of further reducing capital and operation costs, improving user friendliness, minimizing maintenance requirements and resolving or eliminating the need for sludge management and disposal. Also, portable devices that can be adopted for household and community monitoring of arsenic concentrations in drinking water are now available [164; 165]. [PERSON] et al. [164] have developed two low-cost field test kits for detection of arsenic in water. These kits are capable of detecting as low as 10 \(\upmu\)g/L of total arsenic in groundwater within 7 min. In addition, there are commercially available quick test systems for arsenic detection in water within 12 min [165]. If adopted, these devices will ensure communities can adequately assess their water safety and, thus, minimize the incidences of arsenic poisoning. Furthermore, the use of various nanomaterials will play a significant role in the development of a next generation efficient filter system.