Scientists “listen” to plants to find water pollution

Scientists in Israel have discovered a new way to test for water pollution by “listening” to what the plants growing in water have to say. By shining a laser beam on the tiny pieces of algae floating in the water, the researchers said they hear sound waves that tell them the type and amount of contamination in the water. “It is a red light, telling us that something is beginning to go wrong with the quality of water,” said Zvy Dubinsky, an aquatic biologist at Israel’s Bar Ilan University. “Algae is the first thing to be affected by a change in water quality.”

[Testing algae photosynthesis] could be used to monitor water quality faster, more cheaply and more accurately than techniques now in use, Dubinsky said. [...] With proper funding, Dubinsky said a commercial product could be ready in about two years.

Related journal article: Pinchasov, Y. … [et al.] (2007). Photoacoustics : a novel tool for the determination of photosynthetic energy storage efficiency in phytoplankton. Hydrobiologia ; vol. 579, no. 1 : p. 251-256. doi:10.1007/s10750-006-0408-5

Source: Ari Rabinovitch, Reuters,14 Aug 2008

Solar pasteurisation: Kenyan project uses solar cookers to provide safe water

In November 2007, Solar Cookers International (SCI) began a two-year pilot project to increase water quality awareness and introduce [and train local staff to use] the Safe Water Package and the Portable Microbiology Laboratory to communities in western Kenya. The effort is led by SCI founder and board member Dr. Bob Metcalf, professor of Biological Sciences at California State University, Sacramento.

[...]

When used in conjunction with SCI’s Water Pasteurization Indicator (WAPI), simple solar cookers can safely

Solar CooKit

pasteurize drinking water and reduce incidence of waterborne diseases, while saving precious cooking fuel. The Safe Water Package (SWP) that families will receive provides all the necessary tools: a CooKit solar cooker, a black pot, a WAPI, and a water storage container.

[...]

[The project also distributes] the Portable Microbiology Laboratory (PML), a gallon-sized kit with materials for 25 water tests. Each PML contains Colilert® and Petrifilm^TM tests for Escherichia coli contamination, sterile plastic pipettes, collection bags, and a battery-operated UV lamp for reading Colilert® tests.

See the slide-show on Water testing & Pasteurization in Africa.

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Scientists develop tool for quick analysis of water purity

Sydney: Researchers have developed a tool that analyses water purity within minutes, against the 20 to 48 hours required by existing methods.

The tool will boost “water safety and reduce health risk from use of contaminated water in the developing world”, said David Garman, executive director of Environmental Biotechnology Cooperative Research Centre (EBCRC) at the World Water Congress in Vienna.

“Our technology mimics the human body’s ability to detect pathogens. By using antibodies in combination with nano and micro particles, we can easily identify pathogens in an environmental sample,” said Garman.

“By providing highly specific results in the field, the system will enhance the early detection and management of disease outbreaks and contamination. Other systems similar to ours require complex lab equipment or high temperatures, which are just not viable in remote field operations,” he said.

The user friendly system will feed results directly into to portable devices via simple electronic readouts, laptops and PDAs. It will detect a broad range of water borne contaminants like faecal coliforms and E. coli, among others. The system is also adaptable to food and environmental applications.

Methods currently in use to identify waterborne microbes are either sensitive but slow, requiring up to three days for a result, or relatively fast but insensitive when used with diluted samples.

Source: IANS / India edunews.net, 10 Sep 2008 ; EBCRC, 09 Sep 2008

Arsenic detection: UNICEF Bangladesh purchases 50 “digital arsenators”

Digital Arsenator / Wagtech

So far only half of the 10 million tubewells in Bangladesh have been tested for arsenic, according to UNICEF water and sanitation specialist, Rick Johnston. “The only way to test so many wells in such a short time is through field testing kits”, Johnston said. For this purpose UNICEF Bangladesh has purchased 50 “digital arsenators” to be used in collaboration with the government and NGO partners. Besides delivering fast results, this portable field testing kit is seen to be accurate, easy to use, and environmentally friendly.

Source: IRIN, 09 Jul 2008