Principles Of Drinking Water Testing

By Judy Sullivan


Have you ever questioned the source of the water that you use for drinking? If you have not, it is a high time that you did. A great majority of people all over the world suffer from numerous diseases that arise from use of untreated water. This is a major problem for communities that live in hardship areas particularly in the developing world. Drinking water testing is one of the major strategies used by public health departments in disease prevention.

Regular sampling should be done to ensure that purity is maintained and safety is guaranteed. As much as this is the responsibility of the public health department, you should not take any chances. Instead you should take the initiative to collect samples and ensure that indeed they are of good quality. Depending on the location of the source, various substances may be detected. These include radon, sulphate, iron, manganese, pesticides and so forth. The most common quality challenge is bacteria, which has to be tested at least once a year.

A number of changes and occurrences may call for testing of samples more than once a year. One should suspect extremely high levels of manganese, sulphate and iron in the event of changes in clarity, taste, color and smell. The tests are also crucial when unexplained illness occur within the immediate environment. Pregnancy is another critical indicator for home testing.

Specific conditions call for specific tests to be carried out. For example, there should be tests for the presence of coliform bacteria when users develop recurrent gastrointestinal illness. Failure of soaps to lather easily during washing may require a test for hardness. Rapid wear of pipping equipment is a sign that samples need to be tested for PH, alkalinity, corrosion and hardness.

Babies are highly susceptible to nitrate poisoning. Exposure to high concentrations of nitrates may result in blue baby syndrome (methemoglobinemia) where oxygen levels in the body are insufficient to meet the body demands. Immediate medical attention is crucial for the survival of affected babies.

The samples used for this process are taken in different ways. The first sample is what comes out of the tap first once it is turned on in the morning. Another sample should be taken after the stream runs for some time. Samples can be collected at different points in the piping system when contamination has occurred in more than one section. Suggested points include inlet and outlet of a filtering device or before and after entry in storage tank. An allowance of 12 hours should be given when collecting the sample from a system suspected of corrosion.

Installing filters in the home can help get rid of some troublesome contaminants such as lead. This should be done after the samples have been tested to know exactly what impurities are to be removed. There are particular types of filters: distillation systems and reverse osmosis systems filter out fluoride. In such cases, measures have to be taken to ensure fluoride is obtained by other means to avoid tooth decay. Also, change the filters often to prevent accumulation of contaminants.

Water is essential for the survival of humans and other living organisms. It makes up over 70% of the human body weight. Sampling is the most important part of drinking water testing. Therefore, instructions should be carefully followed to obtain accurate results.




About the Author:



0 comments:

Enregistrer un commentaire