A filter developed in Nepal to remover arsenic from drinking water is one of three finalists for the prestigious US$ 50,000 St Andrews Prize for the Environment. As reported in Nepali Times (\'Easy to Swallow', #280) the Kanchan Arsenic Filter uses everyday items, including sand, brick, chips, gravel and iron nails to remove arsenic, pathogens, iron and other contaminants from water. The filter was developed by the Environment and Public Health Organisation (ENPHO), a Nepali NGO, working with researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and another local NGO, Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Support Program (RWSSSP). More than three million Nepalis living in the terai are drinking arsenic tainted water. Long-term exposure to this poison can lead to melanosis, vascular diseases, birth defects and even lung cancer and kidney problems. The St Andrews Prize is awarded by the University of St Andrews in Scotland and the international energy company ConocoPhillips to celebrate practical solutions to environmental challenges. There are two other finalists for the 2006 award, a wind power hydrogen production plant in Scotland and a project to educate women in Mexico and Central America on the use of the Maya Nut. The winner will be announced on 9 May.