Domestic water purification paper-new development

Water borne infectious diseases are a major scourge in many developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The problem becomes acute when it comes to rural areas where access to clean water is an exception rather than a rule. A typical human being need about a liter of water for drinking every day and providing this to the citizen is the bounden duty and responsibility of any independent nation. Look at India itself which boasts itself as an economic power close on the heels China with an annual per capita GDP of Rs 72000 per year. But even after 68 years of independence from Britain the country's governing class has not been able to set up necessary infrastructure for supplying protected water to its citizens. Though most towns and cities have democratically elected administering bodies, they are all conspicuous by their neglect of the well being of the citizens residing within their areas. The water supply system is so archaic and under performing that average citizens do not repose much confidence on the safety of water made available sporadically for a couple of hours a day! Imagine the situation in the rural hinterlands where water sources are scarce, most depending on ground water supplied through single outlet at a common place. Water is never treated exposing the population, already with compromised health conditions, to a number of pathogens which can wreak havoc and health damage to them. If boiling water can sanitize the water, shortage and high cost of fuel for achieving the same in these poverty ridden areas is very difficult. Probably same situation exists in hundreds of other poor countries grappling with this huge human problem. Against such a background, development of a low cost water purification gadget is a welcome news indeed. Read further to understand and appreciate this innovative gadget called Drinkable Book.  

"For people in developing nations or rural locations, getting clean water may soon be as simple as opening a book and ripping a page out. That's the idea behind The Drinkable Book, developed by Carnegie Mellon University postdoc Theresa Dankovich. Each of its pages is made from a thick sheet of paper impregnated with silver and copper nanoparticles, that kill 99.9 percent of microbes in tainted water that's filtered through it. Dankovich began work on the technology when she was earning her doctorate at McGill University, continuing it at the University of Virginia's Center for Global Health. She has now formed a non-profit company, pAge Drinking Paper, to get the book into production and distribution. Every page of the book is made up of two filters, each one of which in turn being capable of cleaning up to 26 US gallons (100 liters) of water – one book should reportedly be able to handle one person's water needs for four years. After the filter is removed from the book, it's placed in an included box-like holder which is then mounted on top of a 5-gallon bucket. The dirty water is then poured through."

Some time average denizen cannot help thinking that the governments are not serious about clean water supply because of its involvement with vested interests. To day bottled water market is so huge, making billions of rupees of profit for the industry, that continuing the present situation with just nominal progress in this sector suits the class of politicians, bureaucrats and the industry! Since drinking from a bottle of water is becoming a status symbol, those who can afford, seem to have no complaint either. It is the poor man who suffers with no end in sight to his travail. Though the Carnegie University innovation is a  breakthrough when it comes to eradication of water borne diseases, the million dollar question is whether national governments will be serious in promoting manufacture of Drinking Books in adequate numbers and make them available in the vast rural hinterlands of the country. Probably  this innovation will be relegated to a few honest and sincere voluntary organizations to promote which may not create much impact at national level.      

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

BOTTLED WATER INDUSTRY-THE WANING FORTUNES!

Is bottled water a basic necessity of day to day life? An interesting question that may elicit different answer from different people. If this question is asked of any citizens in India, the answer definitely will be in the affirmative. Why? Because there is hardly any source of water in India that can be considered safe for drinking without causing water-borne diseases like Hepatitis B or jaundice! In countries like the US or in Europe piped water supply can be depended upon for safety and bottled water at best may be only for convenience for carrying around where ever one goes. No wonder that not providing potable water in almost all so called protected water supply regimen in urban areas, GOI has opened up a great invest opportunity to thousands entrepreneurs to set up shop, peddling so called potable water! While some are genuine processors there are many fly-by-night operators fleecing the citizens by selling bottled water of dubious quality and safety. A global movement seems to be in early stage of growth which calls for banning of bottled water in many cities and other public places and encouraging drinking from public outlets from where potable water of assured quality is ensured. There is a report about a civic body in Italy which has banned bottled water and instead has branded its piped water with guaranteed quality and safety! Here is a take on this new movement with far reaching implications.

"When students at the University of Vermont resume classes on the snow-covered Burlington campus Monday, something will be missing: bottled water. UVM is the latest university to ban on-campus sales of bottled water. At one of UVM's recently retrofitted refill stations, students fill up their reusable bottles with tap water. For many of the 14,000 students and staff on this campus, topping off their refillable bottles is an old habit."It's much more convenient to fill up your water bottle at a water fountain than to buy bottled water," says Mikayla McDonald, a recent graduate, who a few years ago helped to launch the campaign that led to UVM's ban. McDonald hopes it will reduce waste. But for her, it's not just about changing behavior on campus. "Bottled water is a symbol of our culture's obsession with commodifying things that should be public trust resources," she says. In that spirit, a few other American colleges have restricted or banned the sale of bottled water to promote sustainability. But the University of Vermont is the largest public institution to do so, and that development disappoints beverage companies.
"I think they're concerned because it's such a radical step," says lobbyist Andrew MacLean, who represents local water and soft drink distributors in Vermont. He agrees with the students' environmental goals, but he thinks an outright ban restricts free choice and will ultimately fail. "The factors that will result in more materials getting out of landfills is going to be a cooperative effort promoting strong recycling," he argues. But at least one New England town says recycling isn't enough to keep plastic bottles out of its waste stream. Concord, Mass. — perhaps best known for its role in the American Revolution — joined the student movement this month, outlawing the sale of single-serve plastic water bottles in its stores".

Branded bottled water is considered a big blessing for millions of Indians who have no accessibility to safe potable water due to suspect quality of water supplies all over the country. Whether resource crunch or apathy is responsible for thousands of urban entities to shirk their responsibility to establish viable water supply schemes in their township is a matter of debate. It was only recently that Karnataka High Court pulled up the government for the apathy it has shown in not regulating the bottled water industry by aggressive overseeing to ensure the products conform to ISI standards  but knowing the apathy of the government no honest citizen expects any thing dramatic to come out as a result of such strictures from the judiciary! The manufacturers of domestic water treatment equipment are laughing all the way to their banks because of high demand for their gadgets from millions of households who do not want to jeopardize their health by drinking unsafe "government water"!

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

AN OVER BEARING GOVERNMENT-BASHING THE CITIZEN

Inflation is supposed to eat into the real buying power of people and all responsible governments try hard to rein in such distortions in the economy. India is no exception to this bitter reality. Inflation affects different people in different ways, the affluent families not feeling the pinch to the same extent as those in the low and middle income groups of population. Economic liberalization in India two decades ago has unleashed a force that is influenced more by international developments than by any ameliorative policies of the national government. In a democracy every citizen has a right to protest against the policies of the government elected by him if they are found to be heaping misery on him. While the suffering citizens do expect the government to be sympathetic to his woes, bashing him for raising his voice against price rise especially of staple foods, is not an acceptable behavior of a responsible official of the very same government. Here is the controversial "admonition" from a senior minister in Indian Government who expressed his displeasure against citizens railing against price rise. 

"Answering a question on the burden on the common man, the Home Minister referred to the different segments of the population and the schemes that benefit the different segments.  He referred to higher MSP (as benefiting the farmers); MGNREGA (as benefiting the rural poor); mid-day meal scheme (as benefiting millions of children); and he referred to PMGSY (as benefiting thousands of villages).  He referred to the price of crude oil and how the Government was constrained to first raise petrol prices and then how it was reduced twice to benefit the middle class.  He then said (as can be seen from the exact text of the answer): "You mentioned high food prices.  Yes food inflation is high.  But higher procurement prices will reflect in slightly higher food prices.  But higher procurement prices benefits millions of farmers.  If you increase the price of sugarcane, sugar cannot be cheaper than before.  If you increase the price of procured wheat or procured paddy, rice and wheat for the consumer cannot be less. Sometimes, and I have written about this once, we are prepared to pay fifteen rupees for a bottle of water but we will not bear one rupee increase in the price of a kilo of wheat or a kilo of rice.  We are prepared to pay rupees twenty for an ice cream cone but won't pay a rupee more for a kilo of wheat or rice." 

Here is a comment by an enraged citizen after hearing the above statement which aptly reflects the revulsion among the masses.

"Tea Re.1.00 Soup Rs.5.50 Dal Rs.1.50 Meals Rs.2.00 Chappathi Rs.1.00 Dosa Rs.4.00 Veg Briyani Rs.8.00 This is actual price list. These items are meant for "POOR PEOPLE" & is available at Indian Parliament Canteen. The salary of those poor people is Rs.80,000.00 per Month!! PLUS HEFTY BONUS IN SCAMS.... Pls forward to all Indians (this all money comes from our pocket, TAXES YOU PAY)" 

Probably the minister, drunken with absolute power felt that he is not answerable to the people who elected him as his survival in the government depends more on paying obeisance to people not answerable to the constitution of India where accountability is the last thing that counts in public life. With luxurious life given on a platter to the "elected" representatives in the name of "serving" people, there seems to be a disconnect between common man and their representatives as reflected by the comments quoted above. Whether it is the salary, perks, living facilities, transport, communication facilities the "leaders" seem to be united in granting these privileges liberally to them selves unanimously with hardly a few seconds deliberations! Probably it is time that the present constitution is thoroughly over hauled to return the real power to the people of the country in the true sense.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

BOTTLED WATER CONTROVERSY-THE NEW ZEALAND EPISODE

One of the critical questions that haunts small scale food processors world over is whether the application of food laws are discriminatory in nature, invariably favoring large industries with financial and political clouts. It is a matter of concern that the transnational food and beverage giant Coca Cola Corporation was allowed to get away with just a rap on its knuckles after committing a grave mistake in the form of manufacturing bottled water products contaminated with mold which caused diarrhea and vomiting when consumed. Instead of punishing the manufacturer with severe penalties, the New Zealand food safety agency pushed the incidence under the carpet after administering a mild rebuke. The manufacturer was able to get away by apologizing to those "inconvenienced" by drinking the contaminated water! Here is a take on this episode.

"NZFSA initially agreed on a trade level recall, rather than asking consumers to return the product, because the water was usually drunk soon after it was bought and people would not have drunk much of the water as it tasted horrible. However, it was then decided that the scope of the recall was not enough and it was extended to more water produced at the factory. Between August and February Coca-Cola sold more than 2.5 million Pumped bottles. Following an investigation which concluded last month NZFSA identified a number of deficiencies in Coca-Cola's processes. It said a marketing company, not Coca-Cola, alerted NZFSA to the trade recall and Coca-Cola had not notified its third party auditor it was recalling the product. NZFSA was also unaware Coca-Cola's had changed its third party auditor. MAF said Coca-Cola's recall plan was now being rewritten with its guidance. Coca-Cola realised major improvements had to be made to its recall plan and was pro-active in getting to the source of complaints, MAF said. However, MAF warned that although it was closing the file, if Coca-Cola breached the Food Act again it would consider legal action. In a statement Coca-Cola apologised for taking Pumped off the shelves, especially to those who had bought the contaminated bottles".

It is shocking that a company like Coca Cola can commit a mistake in the simple process of sterilizing water and obviously one cannot attribute this to any genuine problem. The mishap must have happened because of the negligence of the company staff including the QC group and the concerned authorities should have taken a more serious view of this episode. Not only that, the manufacturer should have been taken to the court for awarding financial compensation to the affected consumers as per international norms. One may recall that the same company was hauled up in India a few years ago for contaminating the waters around their bottling plant, for which heavy financial compensation is being sought. No matter how powerful the industry is, liability for damages wrought about by its mistakes on the community must be enforced.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

BOTTLED WATER-THE QUALITY AND SAFETY QUESTIONS

Who ever could think of "recall" of bottled water products from the market based on safety considerations, that too in a country like the US where normal piped water supply is considered safe for drinking? But such things do happen and the industry deserves some appreciation for this action, though the intention behind such recalls might have more to do with brand image protection that consumer safety.

"This list (which I will soon post online) includes a remarkable list of contaminants. In addition to the benzene found in Perrier, bottled water has been found to contain mold, sodium hydroxide, kerosene, styrene, algae, yeast, tetrahydrofuran, sand, fecal coliforms and other forms of bacteria, elevated chlorine, "filth," glass particles, sanitizer, and in my very favorite example, crickets.Yes, crickets. In 1994, a bottler in Nacogdoches, Texas issued a recall for sparkling water found to be contaminated with crickets. The water was distributed in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia and the recall notice wasn't issued until seven months after being bottled and distributed, making it unlikely that consumers were notified in time to avoid buying the contaminated bottles. Maybe they thought it was a bonus, like that worm in tequila, or the weird things sometimes found in flavored vodkas".

Indians can take solace that no one has so far complained seriously about the safety of bottled water though there are more than 1000 bottling units working across the country. Here again the reason for such a "clean" record has more to do with the slack safety vigilance system than the efficiency of the industry! There was a hiccup some time back regarding presence of pesticide residues in the products manufactured by some major players but nothing much has happened there after. The ISI marking and safety overseeing by the Bureau of Indian Standards are nothing but a sham as this agency is more interested in the revenue coming out of the licensing process rather than enforcing the specifications for which it has neither the expertise nor the personnel and the infrastructure. Indian consumers are left to fend for them selves while the bottling industry is laughing all the way to their banks with their undeserved bounty.

V.H.POTTY

http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

BOTTLED WATER-THE UGLY SIDE

It is a mystery as to how bottled water industry has got such a stranglehold on the citizens in many wealthy countries where piped water supply is considered safe for potable purpose. The reported effort in Italy to even give easily recognizable brand name to the public water supply reflects the ground reality that bottled water industry has hooked millions of people to its products through mind boggling investments in hard sell promotional programs. What many in the West feel about this tragic societal distortion is borne out by a commentary published on the recently "celebrated" World Water Day.

"The bottled water industry is taking a page from the playbook of big tobacco in promotion of its product," said Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch. "As activists around the world today observe World Water Day, it is especially important to draw attention to these misleading tactics that are distracting consumers from the most responsible water source there is: the tap." Recent advertising campaigns by bottled water companies such as Nestle, Coca-Cola, and PepsiCo have cited their respective contributions to water-related charities as evidence of their commitment to sustainability, yet the bottled water industry has financial incentive to sell as much water as possible. Some 8.7 billion gallons of bottled water were sold in the U.S. in 2008, but their production used an estimated 26 billion gallons of water.

What catastrophe a country can face is amply demonstrated by the trials and tribulations of a whole community in Kerala which openly canvassed for setting up a bottling plant in their area and what devastation visited on them years later by their short sighted initial enthusiasm. It is another matter that the multinational bottling company is being sued for more than Rs 2 billion for the damages to the community by their over exploitation of water resources in the area.

V.H.POTTY

http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com