Blog 4- Water Quality

People all over the United States take advantage of the resource of clean and drinkable water everyday. Citizens don't know how lucky they are to be able to use water freely everyday of their lives without worry. With this being said, people need to be educated on what can be passed through our water and that it is a finite resource.

Coliform 
According to this PDF put out by the Ohio Department of Health, Coliform bacteria is found in soil, plants, intestines of humans, and cold-blooded animals. This bacteria aides in digestion of the food in the intestines. The presence of the bacteria in the environment often doesn't cause illness. The presence of this bacteria in water indicates that there is disease carrying pathogens that are likely present.

 There are sixteen different types of Coliform. There is a subgroup called Fecal Coliform. Fecal Coliform is obviously found in the fecal waste of warm-blooded humans and animals. E. Coli is one of the rare forms of Fecal Coliform. E. Coli has been in the news in recent years from a customer eating at the popular restaurant chain, Chipotle and getting sick from this bacteria. According to the article by WebMD, E. Coli is most commonly transferred through meat when not cooked properly. It can also transferred by water in lakes, rivers, or streams.

Coliform in drinking water means that pathogens that carry diseases are very likely present. Testing for Coliform is easy but testing for all other possible pathogens is very hard.

A picture of how to test Coliform in water. 

Turbidity
Turbidity is the measure of cloudiness of water. Cloudiness can be caused by non-disease or disease causing organisms. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set the standard for turbidity to 1 NTU. Public water sources must not exceed .3 NTU on the monthly test.

An example of turbidity in water. 

Radon
Radon is a gaseous highly radioactive element. This page by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), explains radon in the environment. Radon can cause cancer. It is found in air and water. Water that is from a surface source like river, lake, and reservoir is usually free of Radon because it gets released into the air. Radon is usually a concern in water that is gotten from underground. There is currently no federal standard for Radon in water. The EPA has proposed that community water sources be kept below 4,000 pCi/L.

A diagram of how Radon can enter a house. 

Cryptosporidium
Cryptosporidium is a parasite that can live in the intestines of humans or animals. It is passed down by feces. Cryptosporidiosis is a diarheal disease caused by Cryptosporidium. The parasites can be found in every region in the United States and can be found mainly in private wells. To get rid of these parasites you can bring your water to a rolling boil, put in clean container, and refrigerate. There is no standard for this.

Giardia
Giardia is very similar to Cryptosporidium. It is a parasite that can live in the intensities of humans or animals. It is passed down by feces. It causes a diarheal disease. To get rid of these parasites you bring your water to rolling boil, put in clean container, and refrigerate. There is no standard for this.

Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) Cyanotoxins
HAB's are caused by cyanobacteria. Cyanobacteria is the often seen blue-green algae. This algae is found naturally in lakes, ponds, and slow moving streams. These HAB's put of toxins that can affect the nerves in the brain and the liver.

Blog 3- Lead Poisoning

Lead poisoning can effect and damage every system in the human body. It is a very important issue for children all over the United States and the world. The most popular form of lead exposure is lead based paint. Other ways for exposure are cosmetics, food, soil, toys, bullets, hobbies, or jobs. Many old toys and old houses have lead in the paint. Now most paints used for toys and houses have little to no lead in them at all. It is prevelent in developing countries and poor people are at a higher risk.

In the symptoms section of an article by Healthline, light exposure symptoms include abdominal pain, cramps, irritability, headaches, memory loss, fatigue, sleep problems, and constipation. High exposure symptoms include vomiting, seizures, muscle weakness, and stumbling.

There are many ways to avoid lead poisoning. In this article, it gives parents 9 ways to prevent lead poisoning in children. These ways include getting your child screened regularly, evaluate your home, clean with purpose, don't ignore the dangers of renovation, and watch the water exposure.

Housing that were built before 1978, are likely to have lead based paint. In 1978, the federal government passed a law that consumers could not use lead based paint anymore. Paint that is in good shape is usaully not a problem. When paint starts to crack, rot, or chip, then there can be high lead exposure.

The best way to detect lead poisoning is by a simple blood test.

The first way to treat it is to identify the source of the lead. Whether it is paint, toys, or cosmetics, identifying and getting rid of the source is first and best way to stop exposure. Knowing how to properly remove the product is very important. For example, sometimes it is better to seal over the paint instead of removing it.

For light exposure, good nutrition is very important. Eating foods that are high in iron, vitamins, and minerals will help balance out the lead levels.

For high exposure, Chelation therapy is a controversial treatment. Chelation therapy is injecting a synthetic solution into the blood. The synthetic solution then takes all the hard metals out of the body and excretes it through the urine.

It is very important to use cold tap water for drinking, cooking, and bottle formula for babies. Folk medicine, Mexican candies, no lead free food containers, and toy jewerly are other things to avoid with lead.

According to the Annual Report 2015 put out by Ohio.gov, there were 153,010 Ohio children tested for lead poisoning in 2014. There were 4,596 children with confirmed blood levels of  >5ug/dl and 1,298 children with confirmed blood levels of >10ug/dl. Out of the Ohio population, .85% were tested for lead poisoning. In Athens County out of the 789 children test, 11 children had blood levels of >5ug/dl. The rest 777, had blood levels of <5ug/dl.

According to this article put out by WHO (World Health Organization),  environmental exposures to lead includes petrol, industrial processes, paint, canned food, water pipes, air, dust, soil, water, and food.

Blog 2- Zika Virus

Zika 
According to the CDC , Zika is a virus that has recently been reported in the United States. Most cases have occurred down south in areas such as Florida and Texas. Transmission of Zika is mostly done by Aedes mosquitoes. It can also be passed down by sex, blood transfusion, or mother to child during pregnancy.

An Aedes Mosquito 

Symptoms
Most people who have Zika won't have any or have mild symptoms. If symptoms are felt, they are commonly a fever, rash, joint pain, and red eyes. Symptoms can be diagnosed by a blood or urine test. The Zika Virus usually stays in the persons blood stream for about a week. Zika symptoms are a main concern for pregnant women because it can potentially effect their baby.

Areas 
According to the CDC, there has been reported cases in Brownsville, Texas and Miami, Florida. There are alerts and warnings for pregnant women to not travel to those areas if possibly. There have been many cases in Mexico, countries in the Caribbean and South America. Pregnant women are strongly encouraged not to travel to any of those countries at any stages of pregnancy.

Prevention
According to the World Health Organization there has been no vaccine or medication found for Zika yet. It can be prevented by using insect repellent, wearing clothing as much as possible, and mosquito nets. Finding a good quality insect repellent and then reapplying regularly can prevent mosquito bites and the risk of Zika.

According to an article put out by Consumer Report, the best insect repellents are Sawyer Picaridin, Natrapel 8 Hour, and Off! Deep Woods VIII. The Sawyer Picaridin and Natrapel 8 Hour both contain 20% Picaridin. Off! Deep Woods VIII has 25% Deet.

A bottle of Sawyer Picaridin

There has been other ways of prevention done by the government. Aerial Spraying can be done by planes or vehicles. It sprays insecticides mainly Naled on large areas that have many mosquitoes. Naled has been used since the 1950's and is something that degrades on surfaces with water or sunlight. There is such a small amount sprayed at a time that it doesn't pose the risk of hurting people or causes illness.

Birth Defects 
Microcephaly is the birth defect that can be caused by Zika. It is where the head of the infant is smaller then a normal infant sized head. A smaller head leads to a smaller brain that has not fully been developed yet.

Congenital Zika syndrome is the pattern of birth defects that has gone a long with the Zika Virus. It includes Microcephaly, decreased brain tissue, back of the eye damage, and joints with limited range of motion.

Guillain- Barre syndrome is a sickness of the nervous system that causes the immune system to damage nerve cells leading to weakness of muscle and/or paralysis. The connection between Zika and Guillain- Barre syndrome was made when countries has serious Zika outbreaks and reported increase in Guillain- Barre syndrome at the same time. Guillain- Barre will only last a few months and is something people rarely die from.

Pregnant women are encouraged not to travel to areas in the south that have a high mosquito population and places that have reported Zika.