Chain effects of clean water: The Mills-Reincke phenomenon in early 20th-century Japan.

This study explores the validity of chain effects of clean water, which are known as the "Mills-Reincke phenomenon," in early 20-century Japan. Recent studies have reported that water purifications systems are responsible for huge contributions to human capital. Although some studies have investigated the instantaneous effects of water-supply systems in pre-war Japan, little is known about the chain effects of these systems. By analyzing city-level cause-specific mortality data from 1922 to 1940, we find that a decline in typhoid deaths by one per 1000 people decreased the risk of death due to non-waterborne diseases such as tuberculosis and pneumonia by 0.742-2.942 per 1000 people. Our finding suggests that the observed Mills-Reincke phenomenon could have resulted in the relatively rapid decline in the mortality rate in early 20-century Japan.

Reconstruction of historical 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin discharges from a former pesticide manufacturing plant to the Lower Passaic River.

Based on chemical fingerprinting and other lines of scientific evidence, a former pesticide manufacturing plant in Newark, New Jersey (U.S.A.) has been implicated in numerous journal articles as the major source of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) in the sediments of the Lower Passaic River (LPR). Although the site has been extensively studied for over three decades, no previous study has identified a pathway capable of discharging an amount of 2,3,7,8-TCDD comparable to the mass estimates made for 2,3,7,8-TCDD in the sediments of the LPR and Newark Bay, or examined the timing of specific manufacturing processes at the site in relation to 2,3,7,8-TCDD concentrations in dated sediment cores. A reconstruction of the historical operations at this site was performed, supporting it as the major source of 2,3,7,8-TCDD to the LPR. A 2,4,5-trichlorophenol purification process, utilized prior to September 1954, was specifically identified as a significant source of 2,3,7,8-TCDD to the LPR. This purification process generated a dioxin-rich sludge that was discharged to the river prior to September 1954. Annual 2,4,5-trichlorophenol production, coupled with modeling to predict concentrations of 2,3,7,8-TCDD, indicate that 2,3,7,8-TCDD discharges to the LPR from this one process (20-80 kg) are consistent with mass estimates of 2,3,7,8-TCDD in the river (30-50 kg). 2,3,7,8-TCDD and cesium-137 data from nearby sediment cores support this purification process as a major pathway by which 2,3,7,8-TCDD entered the river.

An Assessment of Current and Past Concentrations of Trihalomethanes in Drinking Water throughout France.

In France, 95% of people are supplied with chlorinated tap water. Due to the presence of natural organic matter that reacts with chlorine, the concentrations of chlorination by-products (CBPs) are much higher in chlorinated water produced from surface water than from groundwater. Surface water supplies 33% of the French population. Until the 1980s, almost all surface water utilities pre-chlorinated water at the intake. Pre-chlorination was then gradually banned from 1980 to 2000. Trihalomethanes (THMs) are the only regulated CBP in France. Since 2003, THMs have been monitored at the outlet of all utilities. This study assessed current (2005⁻2011) and past (1960⁻2000) exposure of the French population to THMs. We developed an original method to model THM concentrations between 1960 and 2000 according to current concentrations of THMs, concentration of total organic carbon in raw and finished water, and the evolution of water treatments from 1960 onward. Current and past mean exposure of the French population to THMs was estimated at 11.7 µg·L-1 and 17.3 µg·L-1, respectively. In the past, approximately 10% of the French population was exposed to concentrations >50 µg·L-1 vs. 1% currently. Large variations in exposure were observed among France's 100 administrative districts, mainly depending on the water origin (i.e., surface vs. ground), ranging between 0.2 and 122.1 µg·L-1 versus between 1.8 and 38.6 µg·L-1 currently.

Wastewater pond systems using chemical precipitation (fellings dams): state of the art in Sweden.

Chemical precipitation in wastewater stabilization ponds - in Scandinavia called fellings dams - has been in operation for more than 50 years. Slaked lime and aluminium salts are the most common chemicals used for precipitation. Long and narrow forms of the ponds and a detention time of at least 5 days have shown, even at a low water temperature and below an ice cover, to produce an average effluent quality of 70 mg CODCr/l, 0.2 mg Tot-P/l, 20 mg Tot-N/l (CODCr: chemical oxygen demand; Tot-P: total phosphorus; Tot-N: total nitrogen) and low levels of pathogenic bacteria. The systems use low amounts of energy and no wastewater is by-passed at the plants. Fellings dams have recently been tried to support overloaded wastewater collection systems.

Reconstructing long-term trends in municipal sewage discharge into a small lake in northern Manitoba, Canada.

Ross Lake lies within the City of Flin Flon (Manitoba, Canada), a mining community originally formed by the Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Company (now Hudbay Minerals Inc.) in 1927. At the time of this investigation, a continuous effluent stream from Hudbay Minerals (approximately 80 years) and a discontinuous and unknown amount of raw and minimally treated municipal sewage (>20 years, likely ending in 1951) was discharged into the north basin of the lake. Maximum concentrations of fecal sterols, such as coprostanol and terrestrial phytosterols, such as: ß-sitosterol, campesterol, stigmastanol were measured in vertical sections of sediment cores, collected from Ross Lake, in the 15-16-cm section, which likely corresponds to the 1930s. Concentrations of coprostanol increased from <1 µg g(-1) in older sediments, to 252.3 µg g(-1) organic carbon at the peak. Observed changes in concentrations of sterols, in combination with radiometric dating and changes to sediment physicochemical characteristics, support the conclusion that sediments of a depth of less than 17.5-cm depth were deposited during the post-industrial era from approximately 1930 onwards. Ratios of coprostanol to cholesterol>1, peaking at 3.6 are consistent with anecdotal information that municipal sewage was discharged into Ross Lake during the early years of urbanization, prior to changes in treatment of sewage and discharge practices that began in 1951. Finally, historical concentrations of terrestrial phytosterols followed trends similar to those of coprostanol and cholesterol and may possibly be the result of an increase in the flux of terrestrial organic matter into Ross Lake as the result of regional deforestation due to logging and fire.

Geração de lixiviados de aterros sanitários na Região Metropolitana de São Paulo: histórico e perspectivas / Generation of leachate from landfills in the metropolitan region of São Paulo history and perspectives

O tratamento e a disposição final de resíduos sólidos urbanos é um dos grandes problemas ambientais da atualidade. No caso dos aterros sanitários, as áreas para implantação desses empreendimentos são cada vez mais escassas, especialmente nos grandes centros urbanos, exatamente onde há grande geração de resíduos. É notória a necessidade de se buscar alternativas adequadas para a disposição final de resíduos sólidos urbanos. A correta disposição de resíduos em aterros sanitários exige que esses empreendimentos sejam tratados de forma integral, desde a escolha do local, o desenvolvimento do projeto e a execução da obra até o gerenciamento da operação e ações correlatas de monitoramento ambiental. O objetivo dessas ações é minimizar os potenciais impactos ao meio ambiente, dos quais o de maior gravidade é a contaminação do solo e das águas pelos lixiviados gerados nos aterros. Os lixiviados de aterros sanitários são produzidos durante toda sua vida útil e após seu encerramento, devendo ser coletados, tratados e monitorados por várias décadas. Atualmente, não se sabe de maneira precisa qual é o volume e por quanto tempo ocorre a geração de lixiviados na maioria dos aterros sanitários no Brasil. Para esse trabalho realizou-se o levantamento dos aterros sanitários em operação e encerrados no período de 1998 a 2012 na Região Metropolitana de São Paulo, bem como da geração de lixiviados durante o mesmo período. A partir dessas informações traçou-se a série histórica referente a esse...

The treatment and final disposal of urban solid wastes is one of the great environmental problems of present. In the case of sanitary landfills, the areas for settlement of such projects are increasingly scarce, especially in great urban areas, exactly where there is great waste production. It is notable the necessity of searching adequate alternatives for the final disposal of solid wastes. The correct disposal of solid wastes in sanitary landfills requires that these projects be treated in an integral approach, since the choice of the site, the project development, and the execution of the construction, to the operation management and correlated environmental monitoring actions. The intent of such actions is to minimize potential risks to the environment, being one of the most serious the soil and water contamination by the leachate generated in landfills. Landfill leachate is produced during the operation and after closure of landfills. They must be collected, treated and monitored for several decades. Currently, in most of landfills in Brazil, there is no accurate information about the volume of generated leachate and for how long it is produced. For this dissertation it has been held a survey of operating and closed landfills from 1998 to 2012 in the metropolitan area of São Paulo, as well as the leachate generated. Using these data, a historical series of this period has been traced, from which one can infer the magnitude of the problem for the next years. This study...

Adapting military field water supplies to the asymmetric battlefield.

Army transformation to a brigade-centric force has created a distributed battlefield, challenging the surveillance and logistical supply of field water. The daily requirement of up to 15 gal of potable water per person per day from bulk water supplies has been achievable for many years using currently fielded ROWPUs. However, the need to reduce the transport of water and move towards a sustainable force has created a gap in materiel capable of producing safe water at the individual and unit level. While materiel development is slow, the PM community, tasked with doctrine development and battlefield oversight of field water, is beginning to address the requirements of field water on the changed battlefield. In addition to materiel gaps, the transformed battlefield has created a lack of trained personnel for water production and oversight. Without trained operators and PM oversight, to what level of health risk are consumers of this water exposing themselves? Currently PM is unable to answer this question but is working diligently with the RDT&E community to develop materiel solutions, and with the medical community to provide interim guidance to reduce the potential health risks to using such equipment.

[The Vienna School of Water Hygiene from the End of World War II until now]. / Die Wiener Schule der Wasser-Hygiene nach dem 2. Weltkrieg bis heute.

After the economic stagnation of the 1930s and World War II the water-hygiene had to revive. Besides basic research for large projects as the 3rd Viennese water-conduct, the Danube hydroelectric power station in Hainburg and the Marchfeldkanal new fields were opened. The evidence of fecal spring-water contamination by determination of the spectral-absorption-coefficients avoids the delay by bacterial cultivation and enables immediate satellite-transmission to central stations for turning-off the afflux. Determination of the origin (human and ruminant) of isolated E. coli by Real-time-PCR indicates necessities for sanitation. Investigation on UV-water-disinfection, considering also the formation of carcinogenic and genotoxic compounds, resulted in the only European national UV-norm and the establishment of one of the wordwide four testing institutions of UV-water-disinfection. The department for water-hygiene of the Medical University of Vienna carries out specific duties in various national committees of public health importance as well as in collaboration with EU, WHO, ISO and other international commissions.

Mao Zedong's fight against schistosomiasis.

In 1956, Mao Zedong began a mass campaign against schistosomiasis in the People's Republic of China. The campaign, which integrated mass mobilization, science, agricultural production, local construction projects, and prophylactic measures, was fueled primarily by a determination to accelerate China's agricultural development. The initial success of this campaign encouraged Mao to embark on the next stage of socialism, the Great Leap Forward. As attention was diverted away from schistosomiasis, however, the disease has again become a major burden to the health of the country.

Sodium hypochlorite: history, properties, electrochemical production.

This paper analyses the evolution of hypochlorite as strong disinfectant. The electrochemical production of hypochloric acid or sodium hypochlorite represents the best method to obtain a pure product. To have a good production (as quality and quantity), it is necessary to optimize the electrochemical process with the optimal of electrocatalytic electrodes (cathode and anode) the gap between electrodes, the temperature of electrochemical cell. It is very important for the product stability during a long period, avoid the presence of heavy metal ions and particulate as impurity-like carbon micro-powders in suspension. It is necessary a rigorous control of the pH of final product to have the optimal disinfection power of hypochlorite solution. The most stable sodium hypochlorite solutions are those that show the following characteristics: (1) low concentration of hypochlorite; (2) pH -> 11.5 and <13; (3) absence of graphite particulate and metallic ions; (4) storage at controlled temperature <30 degrees C. Packing in containers impermeable to light.

William J. Morrison (1860-1926): co-inventor of the cotton candy machine.

William James Morrison (1860-1926), from Nashville, Tennessee was a noted dentist, lawyer, author and leader in civic and political affairs. An 1890 graduate of the University of Tennessee Dental College, Dr. Morrison became President of the Tennessee State Dental Association in 1894. He had a wide interest in both science and politics, and was personally associated with both William Jennings Bryan and President Woodrow Wilson. Additionally, he was a popular author of children's books and particularly effective in fostering reading among youngsters. Also, Dr. Morrison patented several important inventions. He developed a process for extracting oils from cotton seed, and converting them into a lard substitute. Likewise, he devised a chemical process to purify the public drinking water for Nashville. In 1897, he and John C. Wharton (a fellow Nashville candy maker) conceived and co-patented an "electric candy machine" which produced cotton candy (then called "Fairy Floss".) This article provides background information about the production of spun sugar during medieval times and later, it describes the development of their cotton candy machine, the process of its operation and details about its eventual worldwide commercialization. In addition, it discusses the introduction of this new confection to the public, during the 184 day, Louisiana Purchase Exposition, held in St. Louis, MO. in 1904. In late 1926, Dr. Morrison, died of a stroke at age 66.

"Clever Microbes": bacteriology and sanitary technology in Manchester and Chicago during the progressive age.

A neglected aspect of the history of germ theories is its use in the purification of sewage. In the 1890s, progressive reformers rapidly developed bacteriological methods of wastewater treatment. A comparison of the United Kingdom's Manchester and the United States' Chicago shows, however, that science and technology were mediated by political culture and institutions. In Manchester, a politics of deference and strong extralocal government gave the authority of scientific expertise a decisive role in policy formation. In Chicago, devolution of power to the ward bosses meant a quarter-century of defiance against the national authority and its effort to get the city to install a modern sanitation system.

Some thoughts about future perspectives of water and wastewater management.

The ideals of sustainability have a longer history than is sometimes realised, as they can be traced back to the insights of Von Carlowitz in 1713. However in the intervening centuries early successes in sanitation based on the "flushing sewer" led engineers to focus too much on sewerage-based solutions that are increasingly uneconomic and unequal to the challenges arising from population growth and urbanisation. The future strategy for globally sustainable sanitation will surely involve source separation and recycling and reuse: these are the technologies that environmental scientists and engineers should now be addressing.