Public Health

Although iron is one of the earth's most abundant resources, when too much of it is present in drinking water, it poses a few concerns. While not considered dangerous to your health, water too...

Diarrhea is the frequent passing of loose, watery stools. Water plays a large role in the onset of diarrhea. It can be caused by drinking contaminated water or by the body absorbing too much water.

Lead poisoning continues to be an issue today nearly 40 years after the U.S. government banned it’s use in paints as well as gasoline. Because lead was so commonly used in industry and...

One of the smallest rooms in the house presents many fire and electrical hazards that are easily overlooked. Following a few basic bathroom safety rules could prevent serious injury or death from...

Whether you're camping, piloting a plane or driving long distances, a personal urine container can help provide the level of comfort you and your bladder need. Yet, if left uncleaned, the...

Staph, or staphylococcus, is a common bacteria that often lives on the skin around the nose, mouth and genitals. Usually, staph doesn't cause illness on the surface of the skin, but if the...

It is a fact that washing your hands the right way is the best way to stop the spread of germs and sickness. Here is the proper and most effective way to wash your hands. Follow these steps and...

Potassium chloride is effective at removing metal ions dissolved in water, making it an effective water softener. While it is not as widely used as sodium chloride, it does offer some benefits...

Storing water in reusable plastic containers is an easy way to always have a drink on the go. Whether you are taking water to the gym, to your desk at work or just keeping it handy in your purse,...

Potassium permanganate, otherwise known as KMnO4, is a chemical oxidizing agent that is commonly used to purify and sanitize fish ponds and drinking water. Potassium permanganate can come in...

Antimony is a black mineral. It is widely distributed in nature and is frequently associated with the ores of copper, silver, lead and iron. Antimony contamination in drinking water supplies often...

Perchlorate (ClO4) is a chemical compound made up of chlorine and oxygen. In March 1998, it was listed as a contaminant, even though a National Primary Drinking Water Regulation for perchlorate...

Drinking water each day is highly recommended for health since water is our body's means of flushing out toxins, and therefore a key to disease prevention. Water is also responsible for our...

Sodium Polyacrylate, otherwise known as the super-slurper, acrylic sodium salt polymer and simply ASAP, is a super-absorbent polymer (i.e. it can absorb water many times its own weight)...

Sodium carbonate occurs naturally as dry deposits in the lakes of many arid regions like Egypt, east Africa, and California. It forms transparent crystals and is known as washing soda. In contact...

Salmonella Typhi was first isolated in 1880 by Karl J. Erberth and is a multi-organ bacterium that lives in the lymphathic tissue of the small intestine, liver, spleen and bloodstream of infected...

The water supply in at least 24 major U.S. cities is contaminated with trace quantities of expired or unused medication, according to a 2007 report in the New York Times. Among these are birth...

Thanks to the actions of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, this country has one of the safest water supplies in the world. The agency, along with state organizations, ensures the...

Arsenic is an odorless and tasteless metal pollutant that can cause significant harm at low levels in water. The EPA has decided that .010 parts per million (10 parts per billion) is the...

Ozonation is the process of generating ozone (O3), usually by running high-purity oxygen (O2) through an electric corona. The resulting ozone gas is bubbled through water as a treatment...

One of the main ways illnesses are spread is through the hands. That's why proper hand washing is so important. Although hand washing is a basic sanitary practice, often times it is not done...

Iron is prevalent in all geologic formations. When rainwater filters through soil and rocks, iron drains into the groundwater--a naturally occurring process. Most potable water contains some iron...

Ionized water is obtained from mild electrolysis. Ionized water changes the structure of tap water to an ionized state. Water in its ionized state has numerous benefits for users, including health.

Wrestling mats in regular use require frequent cleaning. Wrestlers leave large amounts of germs and bacteria on the mat, and contact with a dirty mat can result in illness, worms being one of the...

Water is vital for our bodily functions to work properly. Lack of water has been shown to cause headaches, heartburn and arthritis. There are many benefits to drinking water, among them the...

Water is one of the most essential components of all living organisms. Life on earth absolutely depends on water. Organisms have high water content, so they can also absorb a lot of energy and heat.

There is more to hand washing than you think. Proper hand washing can stop the spread of 99% of the germs. Antibacterial soap is not any more effective at killing germs than just regular soap....

Ultraviolet light is part of the invisible light spectrum emitted by the sun. It is the UV spectrum, rather than the visible portion of the spectrum, which causes burns to the skin and damage to...

Ionic water is produced from tap water through water ionization process. It is the most simplest and convenient way of adding minerals to your diets. Proper hydration is also necessary for...

Water main testing procedures focus on hydrostatic pressure reliability and are driven by the American Water Works Association (AWWA) set of standards. The rule of thumb is that the system must...

Although many people expect to live to a ripe old age today, only a few hundred years ago the average person did not live very long by today's standards. Scientific breakthroughs are at the...

Diseases often spread via person-to-person contact, so proper hand-washing techniques are essential to preventing the spread of illness. In addition to the common cold, more serious diseases such...

Cleaning and disinfecting a medical mattress not only kills bacteria, fungi and viruses, it also helps to reduce cross contamination from patient to patient. Mattresses need to be clean whenever...

Bacteria need certain things to grow. The most important factors are physical environment, such as temperature, oxygen, acidity and water concentration, and nutrition.

Water typically is harvested from underground sources to provide the water you use for drinking, showering, or watering your lawn. However, as this water moves through the dirt and rocks of the...

Sodium bisulfate is a common ionic compound made from the combination of sodium, hydrogen, sulfur and oxygen ions. Although it is acidic and can be dangerous in high concentrations, sodium...

It might seem like a good idea to reuse old plastic water bottles and refill with fresh water for later. But some plastic bottles should not be reused. There might be health concerns when it comes...

Chemical Water Purification Processes may be used in any of the primary treatment steps: Sedimentation, Filtration and Disinfection. In Sedimentation, chemicals are added to make impurities in...

Ultra-violet water disinfection is a proven, non-chemical treatment system. UV light kills waterborne disease-carrying organisms upon exposure. Advantages of UV systems include the lack of...

Ozonation is a common method of water disinfection in Europe and is gaining popularity in the United States. Diffusing ozone in water is an effective way to destroy waterborne pathogens...

Minerals found in fresh water most commonly include calcium, sodium, potassium, copper manganese, iron and magnesium. Other minerals and the amounts of dissolved minerals will largely be...

Nausea, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea. Sounds like a job for Pepto-Bismal! And the residents of Morrison, WI., surely wish these symptoms, which recently laid them low, along with...

Hydrogen dioxide is more commonly known as hydrogen peroxide, a disinfectant, bleaching agent and pesticide. It is an environmentally friendly chemical compound found in most homes and first-aid...

A natural disaster not only brings suffering at the time it strikes, but afterward, too, in the form of infectious disease. The agents of infectious disease find favorable conditions after a...

Everyone is talking about how to avoid swine flu, the H1N1 virus. The Centers for Disease Control, the CDC, says that the best way we can avoid spreading germs and getting sick is by washing our...

Coliform bacteria is a mostly harmless microscopic organism that public health agencies watch for when testing water supplies. Its presence indicates that other contaminants might be in the water.

Weather you're caught in a bad situation or you're out enjoying the world, we need water....good clean water. There are many ways to purify your water and they all have their pros and cons, so...

Access to safe drinking water is important to the well-being of every human being. There are a variety of physical and chemical methods for purifying water including filtration, boiling, chemical...

Access to safe drinking water is important for human health. Filtering, boiling, distilling, UV treatment and reverse osmosis are some of the ways of improving the quality of drinking water.

Bromide is derived from bromine, a chemical element discovered in the 1800s that is part of the Periodic Chart of Elements. In its liquid state, it can be volatile and harmful to humans,...