Outbreaks of waterborne gastroenteritis continue to occur in developed countries. Darfield, a rural town in the South Island of New Zealand experienced an outbreak of campylobacteriosis following a transgression of Escherichia coli on 16 August 2012. A descriptive outbreak investigation was performed. As a result, 29 cases had a laboratory-confirmed diagnosis of campylobacteriosis and 138 were identified as probable cases. Heavy rains, contamination of water with animal effluent from nearby paddocks and failures in the treatment of drinking water led to pathogens being distributed through the town's water supply. A multi-barrier approach is advocated to ensure the quality of water and many countries have legislation or programmes to address this. Although legislation for water safety plans based on a multi-barrier approach is in place in New Zealand, at the time of the outbreak it was not a requirement for the Darfield water supply. In addition, despite the awareness of the importance of a multi-barrier approach, competing interests, including those from the agricultural industry and financial restraints on water suppliers, can prevent it from being implemented. Governments need to be more willing to enforce legislation and standards to protect the public from waterborne disease.
It is widely accepted that the general safety approach for nuclear facilities is valid for a Nuclear Desalination Plant (NDP), thus IAEA standards and guides are applicable. The coupling of a NDP should be designed with the safety objective of ensuring that it results in no adverse effect on the Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) safety. The first objective (provisions of barriers) is complied with by the known NDP design, so the relevant issue becomes the design features preventing the transfer of radioactive material to...
Providing consistent output while driving down inspection and maintenance costs is a key activity for those involved in the provision of such services, and requires the monitoring and assessment of relevant new
technologies and techniques.
The use of divers in the inspection and maintenance of hydro dam facilities is a practice that will remain central to the effective running of these resources, with fully qualified divers carrying out crucial work that cannot be replicated through the deployment of technology...
This paper describes the pro-active role of rural communities in negotiating livelihood and sustenance through the improvement of some of their local water sources. It discusses the strategies put in place to ensure the availability of water, one of the worlds scarcest natural resources. Despite some external assistance, local communities are increasingly shouldering the responsibility of ensuring the availability of water through self-reliant efforts. These attempts are being undermined by a high incidence of...
Even before the Global Reporting Initiative’s official launch in New York last month, more than a hundred companies had produced social and environmental reports following its draft guidelines. Ricardo Bayon talks to its fans, and critics
The timing of the official launch of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) couldn’t be better. While corporate accounting and reporting scandals are front-page news, an initiative designed to promote transparency and set standards for social and environmental reporting by...
The maps in this atlas depict the waters within each state that do not meet state water quality standards. States listed these waters in their most recent submission to EPA, generally in 1998, as required by section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act. This provision of the Clean Water Act requires a “Total Maximum Daily Load” or TMDL for each listed water. There are more than 20,000 such waters identified nationally, comprising more than 300,000 miles of rivers and streams and more than 5 million acres of lakes. The...
A wave of privatization is rolling through the water industry – at the environment‘s expense? In order to provide an answer to this question, the Environmental-Rating agency oekom research AG, Munich, put a number of water supply companies and manufacturers of water appliances to the environmental test. In results published today, oekom identifies the British water supplier Severn Trent as the environmental leader of the water supply group with a B grade in the overall Environmental-Rating. The Austrian water...
1.1 Scope and Objectives
A small number of viable options are presently available for the bleaching of wood pulp (delignification and brightening) during the manufacture of pulp and paper. The use of chlorine dioxide (ClO2) in the bleaching process has largely superceded the earlier use of Cl2, or elemental chlorine, in the majority of North American pulp mills: It was discovered over a decade ago that the previous widespread use of Cl2 contributed to the production and subsequent release to the environment of...
Abstract
Africa
The economic and social needs of Africa depends more on its environmental resources but these natural resources are seriously declining and that is really effecting the entire region. Sustainable development in this rapidly changing region has become an imperative, and must take place in the complex context of a diverse and changing ecosystem, political transition and evolution toward market economies.
The region is heading towards integrating environmental components into sectors like...
Where I live, in eastern, northern, southeastern Pennsylvania (you figure it out), nights are beginning to chill. I`ve noticed this for two reasons. First, the temperature is dipping below 50. Second, insects have begun finding their way inside the house. We capture most of the little buggers and release them but sooner or later someone reaches for a pesticide. We`ve already dealt with fleas on my son`s cat who recently moved home with him.
Now, let`s understand something. Pesticide is a general term for more...
Background
During the first half of the 1970s, the nation enacted strong statutes to protect air and water, regulate waste, ensure the safety of drinking water, and protect endangered species. Several years later, the Superfund statute was enacted to speed the cleanup of hazardous waste sites. In each case, a federal program was developed to address immediate and widespread threats to the nation’s natural resources. The nature of pollution problems in that era seemed to justify the passage of strong, command-and-c...
Many of the Environmental Protection Agency`s (EPA`s) methods used to monitor air, water and soil for environmental contaminants prescribe step-by-step details on how the chemical analysis must be conducted and prohibit any deviations or variations. The EPA has recognized that monitoring equipment and technology have improved tremendously over the last few years; that environmental media do not always act the same way for each analysis; and that the matrix may affect the analysis and results. The EPA has been...
Sites where halogenated VOCs may be found include burn pits, chemical manufacturing plants or disposal areas, contaminated marine sediments, disposal wells and leach fields, electroplating/metal finishing shops, firefighting training areas, hangars/aircraft maintenance areas, landfills and burial pits, leaking collection and system sanitary lines, leaking storage tanks, radioactive/mixed waste disposal areas, oxidation ponds/lagoons, paint stripping and spray booth areas, pesticide/herbicide mixing areas, solvent...
Untitled Document
The disinfection of pathogenic microbes in drinking water has been largely successful over the last century due to the use of chlorination. However, research conducted in the 1970's revealed that by-products formed during the chlorination process are potentially carcinogenic and that there is a direct correlation between the concentration of chlorination by-products and the probability of certain cancers and other health problems. Following these discoveries,...
Tech-Dry Building Protection Systems Pty Ltd has developed a range of water-based damp course chemicals for the building industry. These water-based formulations have replaced the solvent-based formulations previously used by Tech-Dry.
Background
Tech-Dry Building Protection Systems Pty Ltd was formed in 1982, and specialises in the development and supply of materials for the prevention of rising damp to the building industry. In common with other companies in the building protection industry, Tech-Dry initially...
Introduction Sustainability or `sustainable development` has become a term which is frequently applied to land use and social planning and resource issues. Sustainability is a concept which draws attention to development practices which can degrade natural ecosystems and deplete natural resources. If development is defined broadly to include any cultural activity, then sustainable development may be defined as any practice that meets the needs of the present population without compromising the ability of future...
` In order to determine the impacts of a particular discharge on ambient water quality, it is usually necessary to model the diffusion and dispersion of the discharge in the relevant water body. The approach applies both to new discharges and to upgrading of existing sources. This note provides guidance on models that may be applicable in the context of typical Bank projects.`
Introduction
Mathematical models can be used to predict changes in ambient water quality due to changes in discharges of wastewater. In...
Introduction
Any new technology must overcome perceptions of the marketplace, which are not accurate. As a technology moves into new areas of application, new misconceptions also arise. Crossflow membrane technology is no exception.
The first man-made, pressure-driven `crossflow` membranes were made in flat sheet form. This membrane had to be configured in a device, and was first made in tile obvious `plate-and-frame` design. The spiral-wound design resulted as a response to the high cost, large size, and...
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