Innovative DIY drinking water disinfection for underserved communities.

Waterborne pathogens threaten 2.2 billion people lacking access to safely managed drinking water services, causing over a million annual diarrheal deaths. Individuals without access to chlorine reagents or filtration devices often resort to do-it-yourself (DIY) methods, such as boiling or solar disinfection (SODIS). However, these methods are not simple to implement. In this study, we introduced an innovative and easily implemented disinfection approach. We discovered that immersing aluminum foil in various alkaline solutions produces alkali-treated aluminum foil (ATA foil) that effectively adsorbs Escherichia coli (E. coli), Salmonella, and Acinetobacter through the generated surface aluminum hydroxide. For example, a 25 cm2 ATA foil efficiently captures all 104E. coli DH5α strains in 100 mL water within 30 min. Using a saturated suspension of magnesium hydroxide, a type of fertilizer, as the alkaline solution, the properties of the saturated suspension eliminate the need for measuring reagents or changing solutions, making it easy for anyone to create ATA foil. ATA foils can be conveniently produced within mesh bags and placed in household water containers, reducing the risk of recontamination. Replacing the ATA foil with a foil improves the adsorption efficiency, and re-immersing the used foil in the production suspension restores its adsorption capacity. Consequently, ATA foil is an accessible and user-friendly alternative DIY method for underserved communities. Verification experiments covering variations in the water quality and climate are crucial for validating the efficacy of the foil. Fortunately, the ATA foil, with DIY characteristics similar to those of boiling and SODIS, is well-suited for testing under diverse global conditions, offering a promising solution for addressing waterborne pathogens worldwide.

Fatigue Analysis to Evaluate Workloads in Production Area at Crumb Rubber Factories of Padang city, West Sumatra Indonesia.

BACKGROUND: Work fatigue had the potential to cause work accidents that had an impact on losses to the company. This study aimed to analyze the level of subjective-work fatigue and evaluated the effect of workload on fatigue in the production area at The Crumb Rubber Factories of Padang City, West Sumatra, Indonesia. METHODS: The research respondents were all workers in the production area in the three largest crumb rubber factories in Padang, totaling 348 workers. The respondents consisted of 135 workers in the wet division and 213 workers in the dry division. Subjective fatigue analysis uses the Industrial Fatigue Research Committee (IFRC) questionnaire method. Measures workload based on Indonesian Standards No. 7269 of 2009 concerning Workload Assessment based on Calorie Level according to Energy Expenditures. RESULTS: The percentage of work fatigue in the production area was 26.32% light level, 72.63% medium level, and 1.05% heavy level. The workload had a significant effect on work fatigue, with a P value of 0.003. CONCLUSION: On the basis of the results of multiple regression analysis of all the variable characteristics of the respondents and work area, the most influential factor affecting the occurrence of fatigue in a crumb rubber factory was the workload. All crumb rubber factories in Padang should make improvements related to workload in controlling work fatigue.