By Sarah Oprysk
In the summer of 2011, junior Thabit Pulak visited his native country, Banglaesh, and met a neighbor afflicted with severe arsenic poisoning – a condition called arsenicosis. The only treatment available for arsenic poisoning was a filter costing $70, which was vastly expensive to villagers who earn only one dollar per day.
Pulak saw his residency in America as an opportunity to look into a cheaper way to filter water.
Spoiler alert: he found it.
Arsenic is not only extremely poisonous, but it can cause a variety of cancerous diseases. The mineral is naturally occurring in Bangladesh, often seeping into water and contaminating village wells.
Pulak has an interest in cars, electronics and politics. But he has also made it his personal mission to solve problems affecting underdeveloped nations.
When he started to look into solutions for arsenic poisoning, he said uncovered a treasure trove of information. Natives of Bangladesh also suffer from Thalassemia, which is a lack of iron in the blood.
Coincidentally, many existing filters – such as the most popular, Sano – contain iron particles that only filter out arsenic, not other potentially deadly toxins.
“It turned out that iron nanoparticles were being used in some way to remediate the iron back into the blood,” Pulak said. “That’s how I heard about nanoparticles initially. Back then I was very young, so I didn’t really think about it much.”
A plan formed in Pulak’s head for a filter using iron nanoparticles, which can filter out more arsenic and can be created at home by boiling rust and soap for an hour – a much cheaper alternative. The nanoparticles are also used to bring iron back into the blood to cure Thalassemia.
He created a webpage while in Bangladesh, iKormi.org, which addresses the problems.
“Our mission is to help underprivileged people in Bangladesh who are afflicted with thalassemia by giving them Internet jobs through which they can support their medical costs,” iKormi’s mission statement says. “Seven percent of Bangladesh are carriers of Thalassemia, and 7,000 babies are born [infected] annually. Thalassemia is treatable through blood transfusions, which has proven to be effective.”
Despite being a junior, Pulak takes senior-level courses such as BC Calculus and Advanced Placement Biology. Even with his heavy course-load, he made time for three-hour meetings with his iKormi team.
He patented his project and continued to improve it – and only then did he finish his homework and finish his night.
In the midst of this process, Pulak became a United States citizen.
At the Intel International Science Fair, the EPA recognized Pulak’s project, and he was invited to the P3 fair. The fair is for university and post-grad students who compete for get grants for their projects and research.
Still a high school student, Pulak couldn’t compete. He was, however, invited as a special guest. He presented his project to EPA administrator Bob Perciasepe.
“The college students really encouraged me to persist in research and participate in the fair when I become a university student,” Pulak said.
Pulak’s filter is currently being used in Bangladesh, and after its success, Pulak hopes to draw attention back to it from the EPA to spread it to people in need around the world. However, he said he doesn’t see his work as monumental.
“I see my project as a small step into helping people.” Pulak said. “If this is what I work on for the rest of my life, I wouldn’t feel like I’ve accomplished much, because arsenic poisoning is just one problem. There are many other problems as and even more serious. I want to help the people of Bangladesh with political problems. Right now the country is very poor and the government doesn’t meet the needs of the people. Hopefully, one day I can take a leadership role in the country and help the people. This just me dreaming right now as a teenager in high school. There are many problems that need to be tackled.”