In Aug 2003, I lost my friend Joey ( She is 32 years old then), she died of breast Cancer. She is a film star from China, but never meet her dream in Hollywood.
In February 2004, I lost my closes eldest Sister Irene, she been battle with cancer for 3 years. I felt her plain & swallow. I am totally lost, which I cannot do much to heal her spiritually.
The observations is both like to eat deep fried foods. Junk foods, meats. My late sister don't really eat red meat after she become Buddhist. However, Joey is a fan of Red Meat, she hardly eat fish & chicken, she also like to eat prawn/shrimp also the ham & luncheon meat.
On the issue of Blood sugar & Cancer, my late God father died of Cancer in 1973. He 1st have diabetics then later have Cancer on his stomach, then he died within 6 months after having Cancer.
It is also note that both 3 person above are lack of habit of drinking Water.
All 3 have the liking of Soft Drinks, Coffee, sweet tea.
My late God father also a heavy drinker on Alcohols like XO.
Anyway, my observation is that the age old saying of "Preventions Is Better Then Cure" is a Golden Mantra.
So please for your Great Health:
Less Salt
Less Sugar
Less Fats
Less Soft Drink
Less Sour Food
Don't Take Deep Fried Food
Avoid Food That Have Preservatives
Avoid Food That with Aluminum Nitrate
Don't Cook With Aluminum Utensils
Eat More Green Vege
Eat Balance of 5 Color in Foods
Eat More Fruits
Remember Drink At Least 8 Glass of Filter Water per day.
BBC NEWS | Health | Plant diets can ward off cancer:"
Plant diets can ward off cancer
Eating lots of fruit and vegetables and limited amounts of red meat and sugary foods is the way to protect against cancer, say researchers.
Three separate studies in the Journal of the American Medical Association show the benefits of a Mediterranean-style diet.
As well as protecting against bowel cancer, eating a plant-based diet is good for the heart, say experts.
Such diets offered no extra protection against breast cancer, however.
The best advice is still as it stands to eat lots of fruit and vegetables.
Dr Steve Heggie, a scientist at World Cancer Research Fund
But US research released days ago showed adding olive oil to your diet can cut the risk of developing breast cancer.
The three new studies join thousands of research papers looking at the effect of diet on cancer risk.
Dr Steve Heggie, a scientist at World Cancer Research Fund, said: 'The best advice is still as it stands to eat lots of fruit and vegetables.'
He said the research showing no effect on breast cancer was important, but that it was vital to look at all available evidence rather than the conclusions of one study.
He said the World Cancer Research Fund was currently compiling all the available data on diet and cancer, involving some 10-20,000 studies in total, and would publish results in 2006.
What you eat
The first of the JAMA studies, conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins in the US and Yonsei University in Korea, followed more than 1.2 million people for ten years.
The people with higher blood sugar levels, regardless of whether they were diabetic or not, were at increased risk of developing and dying from cancer.
The authors believe glucose intolerance might be one way that obesity increases cancer risk, and that rising obesity rates might increase future cancer rates.
These papers add to the growing evidence about the role of lifestyle factors in cancer.
Professor Kay-Tee Khaw of Cancer Research UK
The second study, by Dr Ann Choa and colleagues at the American Cancer Society in Atlanta, looked at the relationship between meat consumption and colorectal cancer risk among nearly 150,000 people.
People who ate the highest amounts of red meat (up to about a kg per week) in the study were 50% more likely to get colon cancer than those who ate the least amount of red meat.
In the third study, researchers at the University Medical Centre in Utrecht, the Netherlands, found eating fruit and vegetables or drinking juices had no effect on breast cancer risk among more than 250,000 women.
But the authors said a modest benefit could still exist for some women.
In an accompanying editorial, Dr Walter Willett of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, said the benefits of a plant-rich diet were far reaching.
'Reductions in blood pressure and epidemiological evidence for lower risks of cardiovascular disease provide sufficient reason to consume these foods in abundance.
'The relation between red meat consumption and cancer may not be conclusive, but prudence would suggest that red meat, and processed meats in particular, should be eaten sparingly to minimise risk.
'When combined with other healthful diet and lifestyle factors, it appears that approximately 70% of colon cancer can potentially be avoided.'
Obesity
Amanda Vezey, care advisor at Diabetes UK said the blood sugar research was interesting.
'The study indicates that obesity may increase the risk of cancer and for people with Type 2 diabetes, being the right weight is an important part of managing their condition.'
Cancer Research UK's Professor Kay-Tee Khaw, said: 'These papers add to the growing evidence about the role of lifestyle factors in cancer.
'For particular cancers such as breast cancer, other factors such as reproductive history and hormonal status are a major risk, but this study provides no good reason to change current general dietary recommendations.
'Dietary patterns with high fruit and vegetable intake and limited red and processed meat intake are those most consistent with good health including lower overall cancer, cardiovascular disease and mortality rates.
'Obesity is a well documented risk factor for many cancers. The Korean study confirms previous reports that diabetes or a raised glucose level may increase cancer risk and this may well be one of the mechanisms through which obesity may influence cancer risk.'
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/4164091.stm"
Saturday, January 22, 2005
Friday, January 21, 2005
Heart Disease & Stroke
You might wonder why I post this news that I found from BBC.
Well, do you know that our body consist of 75% of water, last saturday when I was attending a class about water, I am told that our brain is consist of 90% of water, our blood is 85% of water.
These almost identical to our mother earth, which have 70-75% of water. One can imagine, once a person have dehydration then, all sough of illness would follow. My research told me that when a person have high LDL cholesterol would 1st cause the high blood presure then would have the artery
problem then stroke, all these are inter related.
To flash out the waste of the body is to consume enough filtered water a day. That is min. 8 glass of Filtered water to have great health.
Heart Disease
The UK has one of the highest rates of death from heart disease in the world - one British adult dies from the disease every three minutes - and stroke is the country's third biggest killer, claiming 70,000 lives each year.
Heart attacks occur when blood flow is blocked, often by a blood clot, while strokes are caused either by blocked or burst blood vessels in the brain. A range of other conditions, including heart failure, when blood is not pumped properly around the body, and congenital heart defects can also cause long term problems, and even death, for sufferers.
HEART DISEASE
The heart pumps blood around the body carrying oxygen and other nutrients to the areas that need it. When this process is interrupted, or does not work properly, serious illness and even death can result.
The risk of heart disease is greater for people with poor diet, who smoke and do not exercise, and men are more likely to suffer from it than women.
A range of tests and treatments, including drugs, heart bypass surgery and transplants, exist to alleviate symptoms or save the lives of sufferers.
STROKE
There are two types of stroke - those caused by blood clots in the brain and those that occur when blood vessels burst. In both cases, the brain is starved of oxygen, damaging or killing cells.
Sufferers are often left with difficulty talking, walking and performing other basic tasks. The chance of suffering a stroke is cut by eating healthily, quitting smoking and drinking less alcohol. People at risk of stroke are often treated with aspirin.
After a stroke, various drug treatments are available and rehabilitation is commonly used to improve patients' speech and movement.
BBC News | Health | Heart Disease
Well, do you know that our body consist of 75% of water, last saturday when I was attending a class about water, I am told that our brain is consist of 90% of water, our blood is 85% of water.
These almost identical to our mother earth, which have 70-75% of water. One can imagine, once a person have dehydration then, all sough of illness would follow. My research told me that when a person have high LDL cholesterol would 1st cause the high blood presure then would have the artery
problem then stroke, all these are inter related.
To flash out the waste of the body is to consume enough filtered water a day. That is min. 8 glass of Filtered water to have great health.
Heart Disease
The UK has one of the highest rates of death from heart disease in the world - one British adult dies from the disease every three minutes - and stroke is the country's third biggest killer, claiming 70,000 lives each year.
Heart attacks occur when blood flow is blocked, often by a blood clot, while strokes are caused either by blocked or burst blood vessels in the brain. A range of other conditions, including heart failure, when blood is not pumped properly around the body, and congenital heart defects can also cause long term problems, and even death, for sufferers.
HEART DISEASE
The heart pumps blood around the body carrying oxygen and other nutrients to the areas that need it. When this process is interrupted, or does not work properly, serious illness and even death can result.
The risk of heart disease is greater for people with poor diet, who smoke and do not exercise, and men are more likely to suffer from it than women.
A range of tests and treatments, including drugs, heart bypass surgery and transplants, exist to alleviate symptoms or save the lives of sufferers.
STROKE
There are two types of stroke - those caused by blood clots in the brain and those that occur when blood vessels burst. In both cases, the brain is starved of oxygen, damaging or killing cells.
Sufferers are often left with difficulty talking, walking and performing other basic tasks. The chance of suffering a stroke is cut by eating healthily, quitting smoking and drinking less alcohol. People at risk of stroke are often treated with aspirin.
After a stroke, various drug treatments are available and rehabilitation is commonly used to improve patients' speech and movement.
BBC News | Health | Heart Disease
Thursday, January 20, 2005
Perchlorate - Threat to Children from Rocket Fuel Contamination
This is really very serious. imagine our children & people are having brain defects. Then whatever we have built upon would fall apart.
In my opinion, this is not only the California Issue, this is also the issue of the nation as a whole. I urge the leader's & politicians to unite together & set the stringent standard in for our drinking water.
For the wellness & great health of our children & our people. The highest standard of Drinking Water must be set & enforced.
Threat to Children from Rocket Fuel Contamination
Threat to Children from Rocket Fuel Contamination:Report Urges State to Issue Strong Cleanup Standard for Perchlorate in Drinking Water
LOS ANGELES—Perchlorate poses a significant risk to unborn babies and newborn infants at levels higher than one part per billion (1 ppb) according to a report released today. This release comes on the eve of the publication of a National Academy of Sciences report to assess the impact of perchlorate on health.
A new report by Environment California Research & Policy Center, entitled Perchlorate and Children's Health: The Case for a Strong Cleanup Standard for Rocket Fuel in Drinking Water documents the specific impacts of perchlorate exposure on children and calls upon the California Department of Health Services to set a strong standard of one part per billion (1 ppb) that will ensure substantial cleanup of contamination. Perchlorate is the major component of solid rocket propellant and currently contaminates more than 350 California drinking water sources, including the Colorado River.
"Kids and rocket fuel don't mix," exclaimed Sujatha Jahagirdar, Environment California Research & Policy Center Clean Water Advocate and co-author of the report. "State officials should act aggressively to protect California's most vulnerable citizens from this contamination."
The State of California is currently working to release a drinking water standard for perchlorate in drinking water. An initial health recommendation issued by the state suggests that regulators may be moving toward a standard of six parts per billion (6 ppb), a level six times weaker than both a safety threshold adopted in Massachusetts and a health recommendation released by researchers at the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Specific health impacts of perchlorate on children can range from learning disabilities to attention deficit disorder. Perchlorate interferes with the thyroid gland's ability to produce enough hormone. Without enough thyroid hormone, children can be born with neurological and behavioral problems. Learning-disabled students increased 65 percent faster than the general school population from 1985 to 1999. Perchlorate exposure could be contributing to this trend in combination with exposure to a variety of other chemicals polluting the environment, such as toxic flame-retardants, lead, mercury, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).
Medicine once used perchlorate to reduce hyper-enlarged thyroids,' cited Richard Saxon, M.D. and former president of Physicians for Social Reponsibility, Los Angeles. "That practice was stopped once perchlorate treatments were linked to incidents of aplastic anemia. Once can therefore image what this powerful endocrine-disrupting chemical can do to women and children suffering from poor thyroid health."
The health impacts of perchlorate on children are particularly significant given the breadth of exposure to the chemical in California. In addition to highlighting pollution levels of four to six parts per billion in the Colorado River, authors also identified perchlorate levels in local wells and other drinking water sources. Levels of contamination in source water range up to twelve parts per billion (12 ppb) in Pasadena and thirteen parts per billion (13 ppb) in Corona.
"We hope that state and federal policy-makers, including the National Academy of Sciences, take the task of protecting our children seriously," concluded Penny Newman of the Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice. "Any cleanup standard should protect kids from learning disabilities and other lifelong problems. Anything less is unacceptable."
Penny Newman, Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice
Jonathan Parfrey, Physicians for Social Responsibility
Environment California
In my opinion, this is not only the California Issue, this is also the issue of the nation as a whole. I urge the leader's & politicians to unite together & set the stringent standard in for our drinking water.
For the wellness & great health of our children & our people. The highest standard of Drinking Water must be set & enforced.
Threat to Children from Rocket Fuel Contamination
Threat to Children from Rocket Fuel Contamination:Report Urges State to Issue Strong Cleanup Standard for Perchlorate in Drinking Water
LOS ANGELES—Perchlorate poses a significant risk to unborn babies and newborn infants at levels higher than one part per billion (1 ppb) according to a report released today. This release comes on the eve of the publication of a National Academy of Sciences report to assess the impact of perchlorate on health.
A new report by Environment California Research & Policy Center, entitled Perchlorate and Children's Health: The Case for a Strong Cleanup Standard for Rocket Fuel in Drinking Water documents the specific impacts of perchlorate exposure on children and calls upon the California Department of Health Services to set a strong standard of one part per billion (1 ppb) that will ensure substantial cleanup of contamination. Perchlorate is the major component of solid rocket propellant and currently contaminates more than 350 California drinking water sources, including the Colorado River.
"Kids and rocket fuel don't mix," exclaimed Sujatha Jahagirdar, Environment California Research & Policy Center Clean Water Advocate and co-author of the report. "State officials should act aggressively to protect California's most vulnerable citizens from this contamination."
The State of California is currently working to release a drinking water standard for perchlorate in drinking water. An initial health recommendation issued by the state suggests that regulators may be moving toward a standard of six parts per billion (6 ppb), a level six times weaker than both a safety threshold adopted in Massachusetts and a health recommendation released by researchers at the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Specific health impacts of perchlorate on children can range from learning disabilities to attention deficit disorder. Perchlorate interferes with the thyroid gland's ability to produce enough hormone. Without enough thyroid hormone, children can be born with neurological and behavioral problems. Learning-disabled students increased 65 percent faster than the general school population from 1985 to 1999. Perchlorate exposure could be contributing to this trend in combination with exposure to a variety of other chemicals polluting the environment, such as toxic flame-retardants, lead, mercury, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).
Medicine once used perchlorate to reduce hyper-enlarged thyroids,' cited Richard Saxon, M.D. and former president of Physicians for Social Reponsibility, Los Angeles. "That practice was stopped once perchlorate treatments were linked to incidents of aplastic anemia. Once can therefore image what this powerful endocrine-disrupting chemical can do to women and children suffering from poor thyroid health."
The health impacts of perchlorate on children are particularly significant given the breadth of exposure to the chemical in California. In addition to highlighting pollution levels of four to six parts per billion in the Colorado River, authors also identified perchlorate levels in local wells and other drinking water sources. Levels of contamination in source water range up to twelve parts per billion (12 ppb) in Pasadena and thirteen parts per billion (13 ppb) in Corona.
"We hope that state and federal policy-makers, including the National Academy of Sciences, take the task of protecting our children seriously," concluded Penny Newman of the Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice. "Any cleanup standard should protect kids from learning disabilities and other lifelong problems. Anything less is unacceptable."
Penny Newman, Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice
Jonathan Parfrey, Physicians for Social Responsibility
Environment California
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
The Myth of Water Weight Loss
This is a controversy report which I encourage those concern about their weight by using pills to loose water in their body.
Do you know, our body is consist of 70-75% of Water?? Our Brain is consist of 90% of Water??
Do you know that the Water molecules have to be small enough for the cell to carry??
In fact our body have act as a filter system by itself, so in order for the waste to discharge out from the body, there must be enough water as a carrier.
Just as the "I-Medicine Sutra" say, the 5 abstrate elements must be balance in the body, otherwise, illness would form.
So for your great health drink minimum 8 Glass of Filtered Water a day.
The Myth of Water Weight Loss
by Anthony J. Burlay M.D.
There’s a common belief that any initial weight loss on a diet plan comes from lost water weight. It is not clear how this inaccuracy originated. In mammals, including humans, there is no water reservoir sac or gland that empties upon beginning a diet. (Even camels, contrary to popular belief, store fat, not water in their humps.) Where does water in the body come from?
There are two sources: intake and byproducts of metabolism.
The first line of nutrient storage in the human body is glycogen. This is basically a water free glucose polymer stored in the liver and to some degree in muscles. The average liver weighs about 2.5-3.0 pounds. Glycogen usually accounts for about 10% of this weight. This equals less than half a pound. Muscles have about twice the amount of glycogen as the liver, so this is less than a pound or two of total glycogen. Even if all the reserve were converted to water, it would account for less than a pound. (Actually, a chemical reaction called phosporylation breaks down glycogen, not hydrolysis as is commonly believed.) The water molecules that are formed account for only a fraction of the weight of broken down glycogen and are later used for new glucose production.
When fat is broken down, it produces fatty acids and glycerol as its first byproducts. Glycerol enters metabolic pathways to produce energy and glucose molecules, which the rest of the body can use for its energy needs. Fatty acids are chemically converted by oxidation and hydration to Acetyl CoA, which is broken down in other energy and amino acid pathways. These other energy pathways actually use water rather than release it. Even if fat break down were to release an equivalent amount of water per pound, what is the difficulty? Fat gets broken down and weight loss occurred.
What about total body water? The human body has about 42 liters of water. There is a lot of body machinery to keep water at a constant equilibrium. This ranges from thirst centers in the brain, to changing absorption in kidney tubules, to a number of regulatory hormones.
The body is made of 60% water (women have water content closer to 50%). Sixty percent of total water is within cells. Forty percent is in between cells and within blood vessels. Interestingly, more lean people have higher water content than those with a higher total body fat. This is because lean tissue has more water content than fat tissue. Thus, as one loses weight, percentage of water content actually goes up.
Where does the notion about water loss come from? It appears to be from misinformation, not biochemistry and physiology.
THE FOUNDATION DIET: Your Body Was Designed To Eat
Do you know, our body is consist of 70-75% of Water?? Our Brain is consist of 90% of Water??
Do you know that the Water molecules have to be small enough for the cell to carry??
In fact our body have act as a filter system by itself, so in order for the waste to discharge out from the body, there must be enough water as a carrier.
Just as the "I-Medicine Sutra" say, the 5 abstrate elements must be balance in the body, otherwise, illness would form.
So for your great health drink minimum 8 Glass of Filtered Water a day.
The Myth of Water Weight Loss
by Anthony J. Burlay M.D.
There’s a common belief that any initial weight loss on a diet plan comes from lost water weight. It is not clear how this inaccuracy originated. In mammals, including humans, there is no water reservoir sac or gland that empties upon beginning a diet. (Even camels, contrary to popular belief, store fat, not water in their humps.) Where does water in the body come from?
There are two sources: intake and byproducts of metabolism.
The first line of nutrient storage in the human body is glycogen. This is basically a water free glucose polymer stored in the liver and to some degree in muscles. The average liver weighs about 2.5-3.0 pounds. Glycogen usually accounts for about 10% of this weight. This equals less than half a pound. Muscles have about twice the amount of glycogen as the liver, so this is less than a pound or two of total glycogen. Even if all the reserve were converted to water, it would account for less than a pound. (Actually, a chemical reaction called phosporylation breaks down glycogen, not hydrolysis as is commonly believed.) The water molecules that are formed account for only a fraction of the weight of broken down glycogen and are later used for new glucose production.
When fat is broken down, it produces fatty acids and glycerol as its first byproducts. Glycerol enters metabolic pathways to produce energy and glucose molecules, which the rest of the body can use for its energy needs. Fatty acids are chemically converted by oxidation and hydration to Acetyl CoA, which is broken down in other energy and amino acid pathways. These other energy pathways actually use water rather than release it. Even if fat break down were to release an equivalent amount of water per pound, what is the difficulty? Fat gets broken down and weight loss occurred.
What about total body water? The human body has about 42 liters of water. There is a lot of body machinery to keep water at a constant equilibrium. This ranges from thirst centers in the brain, to changing absorption in kidney tubules, to a number of regulatory hormones.
The body is made of 60% water (women have water content closer to 50%). Sixty percent of total water is within cells. Forty percent is in between cells and within blood vessels. Interestingly, more lean people have higher water content than those with a higher total body fat. This is because lean tissue has more water content than fat tissue. Thus, as one loses weight, percentage of water content actually goes up.
Where does the notion about water loss come from? It appears to be from misinformation, not biochemistry and physiology.
THE FOUNDATION DIET: Your Body Was Designed To Eat
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Folic Acid May Prevent High Blood Pressure
Yes, Folic Acid such as Orage juice, green vege would certainly help to reduce the high blood pressure.
From my research, most people today experience high blood pressure due to dehydrations. Most people don't drink 8 glass of water a day. As we forgotten that our body is consist of 70% of water.
So for your great health drink 8 Glass of Filtered Water a day.
Folic Acid May Prevent High Blood Pressure
1 hour, 54 minutes ago
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Folic acid supplements, widely used by women to prevent birth defects, also may fight hypertension in women, perhaps because they relax blood vessels, researchers said on Tuesday.
Folic acid occurs naturally in substances such as orange juice and leafy green vegetables and is added to some products, but only high-dose supplements seem to affect blood pressure, the report said.
"This is the first major study to show an association between folate intake and prevention of high blood pressure," said John Forman, a physician and researcher at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston who led the study.
"While the findings are encouraging, we are not yet ready to recommend that women start increasing their folate intake until more research is conducted," he added.
The study, published in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association (news - web sites), was based on data from thousands of nurses whose health histories were tracked for years.
Among 93,803 women aged 27 to 44, those who consumed at least 1,000 micrograms a day of total folate -- in foods and supplements -- had a 46 percent decreased risk of hypertension compared with those who consumed less than 200 micrograms a day, the study found.
In a second group of 62,260 women aged 43 to 70, those with a high total folate intake had an 18 percent reduced risk of hypertension, it added.
None of those studied had a history of high blood pressure when the study started. It also was not known if the supplement would help men.
For women in the study who did not use any folic acid supplements, getting the substance from foods alone failed to lower the risk of high blood pressure, the study found.
Folic acid supplements of at least 400 micrograms per day are recommended for women before and during pregnancy to prevent neural tube defects, severe fetal growth problems afflicting the brain and spinal cord that often result in stillbirths.
Forman said the substance may help women reduce their risk of developing high blood pressure because of it relaxes blood vessels and eases blood flow. Read More...
Yahoo! News - Folic Acid May Prevent High Blood Pressure
From my research, most people today experience high blood pressure due to dehydrations. Most people don't drink 8 glass of water a day. As we forgotten that our body is consist of 70% of water.
So for your great health drink 8 Glass of Filtered Water a day.
Folic Acid May Prevent High Blood Pressure
1 hour, 54 minutes ago
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Folic acid supplements, widely used by women to prevent birth defects, also may fight hypertension in women, perhaps because they relax blood vessels, researchers said on Tuesday.
Folic acid occurs naturally in substances such as orange juice and leafy green vegetables and is added to some products, but only high-dose supplements seem to affect blood pressure, the report said.
"This is the first major study to show an association between folate intake and prevention of high blood pressure," said John Forman, a physician and researcher at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston who led the study.
"While the findings are encouraging, we are not yet ready to recommend that women start increasing their folate intake until more research is conducted," he added.
The study, published in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association (news - web sites), was based on data from thousands of nurses whose health histories were tracked for years.
Among 93,803 women aged 27 to 44, those who consumed at least 1,000 micrograms a day of total folate -- in foods and supplements -- had a 46 percent decreased risk of hypertension compared with those who consumed less than 200 micrograms a day, the study found.
In a second group of 62,260 women aged 43 to 70, those with a high total folate intake had an 18 percent reduced risk of hypertension, it added.
None of those studied had a history of high blood pressure when the study started. It also was not known if the supplement would help men.
For women in the study who did not use any folic acid supplements, getting the substance from foods alone failed to lower the risk of high blood pressure, the study found.
Folic acid supplements of at least 400 micrograms per day are recommended for women before and during pregnancy to prevent neural tube defects, severe fetal growth problems afflicting the brain and spinal cord that often result in stillbirths.
Forman said the substance may help women reduce their risk of developing high blood pressure because of it relaxes blood vessels and eases blood flow. Read More...
Yahoo! News - Folic Acid May Prevent High Blood Pressure
Monday, January 17, 2005
Water Related Rules & Regulations: Water Labeling and Water Classifications
This article that I found, I am sure it is beneficial for all to have a better understanding on types of water.
In my future article, I would also cover more details in each of these water type.
But the issue which I am writing now is focus on the Drinking Water In these Issue.
The Drinking water as we all know at home is the Water Piped into our home through the Water Filter then to our drinking glass before we drink.
Very frequently, we forgot to replace the filter after 6 month or 1 year of the Filter life span. Then do you know that the Drinking water out of the
water filter tap is more contaminated then the in pipe water??
I just purchased a Total Diissolved Solids Meter to read the Filtered Water & Pipe in water, I founded that they are almost the same. That remind me that I have to check the date of my filter installation. So that I can proceed to change it.
Perhaps, you should check it too.
Water Labeling and Water Classifications
Fine waters come in many different varieties - from spring water, distilled water, municipal water to glacial water. The source of the water and any processes that the water goes through determine the differences.
The Food and Drug Administration defines "bottled water" according to a discreet set of Standards of Identity. These standards apply to any bottled water that is sold in the U.S..
Artesian Water is water collected from a drilled well into an aquifer. This water is confined by a layer of clay or rock, which then pressurizes the water enough to allow it to rise up through the ground without mechanical pumps.
Drinking Water is according to the FDA water that does not have any added sweeteners or additives (other than flavors, extracts or essences). It must not contain calories and must be sugar-free. Any flavors or extracts that are added to th ewater must be less than 1% of the final product. If it is more than 1% then the beverage is no longer considered drinking water, but is considered a "soft drink".
Fluoridated Water is water that contains flouride. The level of fluoride in water is set by Federal Regulations.
Mineral Water is water that contains no less than 250 parts per million of dissolved solids. This water is different from other bottled water by its constant level and proportions of mineral and other trace elements at the point of its emergence from source. For water to be considered mineral water, no minerals can be added to the product. If the total dissolved solids is below 500 parts per million, or it is greater than 1,500 parts per million, then the statement "low mineral content" or "high mineral content" must appear on the label.
It should be noted that this is different than the European definition. In Europe all Natural Spring Waters with a dissolved solids of 0 to 500 mg/liter are considered Mineral Water with Low Mineral Content.
Municipal Source Water is water bottled from a municipal source and must be clearly labeled. The only time this requirement is dropped is if the municipal water was used, but then treated and processes so that it can be labeled as distilled or purified.
Purified / Distilled / Deionized / Reverse Osmosis Water is water that has been produced by a process such as distillation, deionization, reverse osmosis or other suitable processes.
Soda / Seltzer / Tonic Water are not considered bottled waters. Rather, they are regulated separately, may contain sugar and calories, and are considered soft drinks.
Sparkling Water is water that contains natural or added C20 in the same amount the water had when it emerged from its source.
Spring Water is water that is collected from a source underground. It is collected from a bored hold that taps the source of the spring. Although it usually requires minimal treatment before it is bottled, it must retain the same physical properties and composition as the natural spring water from which it originates.
Sterile Water is water that must meet "sterility tests" set by the U.S. Government.
Well Water is water that is pumped or collected using mechanical mean from a groundwater aquifer (a water-bearing rock or soil formation located underground)
Water Related Rules & Regulations: Water Labeling and Water Classifications
In my future article, I would also cover more details in each of these water type.
But the issue which I am writing now is focus on the Drinking Water In these Issue.
The Drinking water as we all know at home is the Water Piped into our home through the Water Filter then to our drinking glass before we drink.
Very frequently, we forgot to replace the filter after 6 month or 1 year of the Filter life span. Then do you know that the Drinking water out of the
water filter tap is more contaminated then the in pipe water??
I just purchased a Total Diissolved Solids Meter to read the Filtered Water & Pipe in water, I founded that they are almost the same. That remind me that I have to check the date of my filter installation. So that I can proceed to change it.
Perhaps, you should check it too.
Water Labeling and Water Classifications
Fine waters come in many different varieties - from spring water, distilled water, municipal water to glacial water. The source of the water and any processes that the water goes through determine the differences.
The Food and Drug Administration defines "bottled water" according to a discreet set of Standards of Identity. These standards apply to any bottled water that is sold in the U.S..
Artesian Water is water collected from a drilled well into an aquifer. This water is confined by a layer of clay or rock, which then pressurizes the water enough to allow it to rise up through the ground without mechanical pumps.
Drinking Water is according to the FDA water that does not have any added sweeteners or additives (other than flavors, extracts or essences). It must not contain calories and must be sugar-free. Any flavors or extracts that are added to th ewater must be less than 1% of the final product. If it is more than 1% then the beverage is no longer considered drinking water, but is considered a "soft drink".
Fluoridated Water is water that contains flouride. The level of fluoride in water is set by Federal Regulations.
Mineral Water is water that contains no less than 250 parts per million of dissolved solids. This water is different from other bottled water by its constant level and proportions of mineral and other trace elements at the point of its emergence from source. For water to be considered mineral water, no minerals can be added to the product. If the total dissolved solids is below 500 parts per million, or it is greater than 1,500 parts per million, then the statement "low mineral content" or "high mineral content" must appear on the label.
It should be noted that this is different than the European definition. In Europe all Natural Spring Waters with a dissolved solids of 0 to 500 mg/liter are considered Mineral Water with Low Mineral Content.
Municipal Source Water is water bottled from a municipal source and must be clearly labeled. The only time this requirement is dropped is if the municipal water was used, but then treated and processes so that it can be labeled as distilled or purified.
Purified / Distilled / Deionized / Reverse Osmosis Water is water that has been produced by a process such as distillation, deionization, reverse osmosis or other suitable processes.
Soda / Seltzer / Tonic Water are not considered bottled waters. Rather, they are regulated separately, may contain sugar and calories, and are considered soft drinks.
Sparkling Water is water that contains natural or added C20 in the same amount the water had when it emerged from its source.
Spring Water is water that is collected from a source underground. It is collected from a bored hold that taps the source of the spring. Although it usually requires minimal treatment before it is bottled, it must retain the same physical properties and composition as the natural spring water from which it originates.
Sterile Water is water that must meet "sterility tests" set by the U.S. Government.
Well Water is water that is pumped or collected using mechanical mean from a groundwater aquifer (a water-bearing rock or soil formation located underground)
Water Related Rules & Regulations: Water Labeling and Water Classifications
Sunday, January 16, 2005
Scientist Brings Water To World - UV Disinfectant??
Yesterday, I was at a training on Turning Air Into Water. I found this article in my email today. which I like to share with all out there.
What I show is 2 UV filters each with 2 UV Bulbs to disinfect the bacteria's in the incomming water. But their present capacity is 8 Gallon a days
producing drinking water from the Air.
Here, below news from Dr Gadgil work in University of California is about the UV disinfectant at a cost of 5 cents for one tons of Water &
it use 6,000 times less power then the market available UV system.
These certainly is a good news. However, the water must be pipe in & no family would be using the tons of water per day. In additions, the bacterias built in the pipe before it reaching building or home are age old.
In my opinion, there must be more sensible for a domestic version of these UV filter at say 1/10 of a cent for office & home. & also the energy saving feature would greatly benefits all.
From my research on water, if water is filtered & then drink after some time, the water born bacterias would give birth again. So the quality of water is not maintained. THerefore, I don't endorse those storage tank type of Water Filtration system.
Scientist Brings Water to World
Environmental physicist’s work to purify water with ultraviolet light featured in new documentary movie
BY BERNICE NG Wednesday, November 22, 2000
Through the use of beams of ultraviolet light, a Berkeley scientist has developed a cost and energy efficient method to clean polluted water in developing countries, and the success of his work has landed him a role in a soon-to-be-released film.
Since completing his doctorate work at UC Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory environmental physicist Ashok Gadgil has devoted his research to energy efficiency. His success in developing a system to provide clean water to billions of people around the world has made him one of seven scientists featured in the upcoming movie "Me and Isaac Newton."
Gadgil is a scientist in the Environmental Energy Technologies Division and invented UV Waterworks — a battery-powered water purification device that has been used widely in developing countries where a lack of clean water has posed dire health problems to people. His machine has also been credited to saving lives in the aftermath of natural disasters such as devastating hurricanes.
The simple, inexpensive system disinfects polluted water by shining down rays of ultraviolet light. The purification device uses 6,000 times less energy than the energy required to boil water.
In the film, directed by Michael Apted, who has directed a number of documentaries as well as last year's James Bond epic, "The World is not Enough," Gadgil tells of his upbringing in Bombay, where he grew up in the midst of poverty and disease.
The movie, which captures the lives of seven different scientists, is scheduled for release in Berkeley on Dec. 8.
"(The movie) focuses on what motivates scientists to do science and gets under the skin to see what makes them tick," said Gadgil, who received his doctorate degree in physics from UC Berkeley. "I was interested in physics and science for as long as I remember."
It was during his work on campus when Gadgil became interested in studying the kind of impact humans have on the environment.
Gadgil, who noticed that the rate of resource use per capita is much higher in the United States than in developing countries, said he was disturbed to find out the environmental damage that would be needed in order to raise the standard of living in other countries to the level of that in America.
"You can't raise the standard of living of most of the world to one half of the United States without totally destroying the environment," he said. "The world cannot bear that burden. In some sense, it was a bitter conclusion."
According to Gadgil, improving the standard of living entails the burning of carbon dioxide, the release of toxic chemicals and many other processes that lead to environmental destruction.
This realization motivated Gadgil to study energy efficiency and his research focuses on developing methods to use the least amount of energy to create the greatest amount of positive change. Gadgil said he strives to figure out how to achieve satisfactory energy services such as heating and lighting, but through the use of substantially less energy.
"Energy is the major single environmental burden," he said. "Other than warfare, it's the worst thing we can do."
In the movie, Apted highlights the portion of Gadgil's research that focuses on trying to tackle the lack of availability of drinking water in countries such as India, South Africa and Honduras.
"Anybody who travels is very aware (of the difficulty of finding clean water)," he said. "But it's a reality of everyday life for more than a billion people."
According to Gadgil, approximately 400 children die per hour as a result of contaminated water.
While the solution to this problem is not complicated in terms of the method to kill bacteria, the most difficult obstacle in cleaning the water lies in the practicability and ability to provide the machinery to developing countries, he said.
"This is entirely preventable," Gadgil said. "It doesn't take rocket scientists."
The small-scale, energy-efficient and low-maintenance design of Gadgil's water purification system has made it a uniquely affordable and effective device. The machine provides many communities in developing nations with readily accessible, disinfected drinking water.
What drives Gadgil to work each day is the continual broadening and deepening of the field he is interested in and his concern for the future of the planet, he said.
"Where are we headed and what are we going to leave for our future generations?" he said. "Are we going to stick them with problems?"
Gadgil said he is concerned that future inhabitants of Earth will find the planet so "disastrously unsustainable" that they would look back and say "my parents and grandparents essentially wasted the Earth."
For years, Gadgil sent literature to his colleagues in India about the importance of providing clean water. It was not until an outbreak of cholera that killed 10,000 people in a single state of India in May of 1993, however, that Gadgil decided to get personally involved in the project.
The 1993 outbreak was caused by a mutant strain of bacteria that exhibited a different protein on its surface. The vaccines at that time were not capable of destroying the bacteria. Because the process of developing a new vaccine would take at least two years, Gadgil decided that he needed to begin to take action.
"That summer, I decided that we can't just keep talking about water," he said.
Gadgil and one of his students found that they could develop a device to disinfect drinking water by using ultraviolet light. Their method could produce clean water for what looked like less than a penny per ton of water.
Exposure to ultraviolet light successfully mutates the DNA of bacteria and renders the water-borne pathogens incapable of reproducing. Precise doses of UV doses can deactivate bacteria by disturbing the replication process necessary for proliferation, or even kill the microorganisms altogether.
In addition to low cost, the scientists also had to tackle ecological and mechanical problems.
"We needed to provide affordable water with low failure rates, no moving parts," he said.
The device was designed, built and tested at the lab in Berkeley. SInce then, it has gone through a number of redesigns for improvement and has also been used in field tests in countries around the world.
Revisions have included the introduction of additional safeguards such as increasing the dose of ultraviolet light to increase the amount of bacteria killed as well as regulatory precautions such as making sure that water cannot enter the disinfecting machine unless the proper voltage supply is available.
The danger of an insufficient voltage is that contaminated water could run through the machine, but not be disinfected.
"The machine will cut off if the voltage goes outside of an accepted band," Gadgil said.
Currently, the machine is capable of disinfecting one ton of water per hour at a cost of approximately four to five cents per ton.
The benefits of the low cost and time efficiency of using ultraviolet light make it a good candidate for disinfecting water in developing countries.
Although boiling water is the most effective disinfecting approach, the time and labor involved is not sufficient enough for the demands for water for cooking, drinking and proper sanitation, scientists said.
The reason ultraviolet light is effective in developing countries is that the water, unlike that in the United States, is overwhelmed by large amounts of contamination, versus the miniscule levels in developed countries.
Gadgil's machine is designed to disinfect water directly at its point of use.
Field tests conducted on the machine to measure its performance in Honduras, the Philippines, South Africa and Guererro, Mexico resulted in positive feedback, he said.
"There was some evidence from health clinics that the incidence of diarrhea has dramatically dropped," Gadgil said. Read More....
The Daily Californian
What I show is 2 UV filters each with 2 UV Bulbs to disinfect the bacteria's in the incomming water. But their present capacity is 8 Gallon a days
producing drinking water from the Air.
Here, below news from Dr Gadgil work in University of California is about the UV disinfectant at a cost of 5 cents for one tons of Water &
it use 6,000 times less power then the market available UV system.
These certainly is a good news. However, the water must be pipe in & no family would be using the tons of water per day. In additions, the bacterias built in the pipe before it reaching building or home are age old.
In my opinion, there must be more sensible for a domestic version of these UV filter at say 1/10 of a cent for office & home. & also the energy saving feature would greatly benefits all.
From my research on water, if water is filtered & then drink after some time, the water born bacterias would give birth again. So the quality of water is not maintained. THerefore, I don't endorse those storage tank type of Water Filtration system.
Scientist Brings Water to World
Environmental physicist’s work to purify water with ultraviolet light featured in new documentary movie
BY BERNICE NG Wednesday, November 22, 2000
Through the use of beams of ultraviolet light, a Berkeley scientist has developed a cost and energy efficient method to clean polluted water in developing countries, and the success of his work has landed him a role in a soon-to-be-released film.
Since completing his doctorate work at UC Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory environmental physicist Ashok Gadgil has devoted his research to energy efficiency. His success in developing a system to provide clean water to billions of people around the world has made him one of seven scientists featured in the upcoming movie "Me and Isaac Newton."
Gadgil is a scientist in the Environmental Energy Technologies Division and invented UV Waterworks — a battery-powered water purification device that has been used widely in developing countries where a lack of clean water has posed dire health problems to people. His machine has also been credited to saving lives in the aftermath of natural disasters such as devastating hurricanes.
The simple, inexpensive system disinfects polluted water by shining down rays of ultraviolet light. The purification device uses 6,000 times less energy than the energy required to boil water.
In the film, directed by Michael Apted, who has directed a number of documentaries as well as last year's James Bond epic, "The World is not Enough," Gadgil tells of his upbringing in Bombay, where he grew up in the midst of poverty and disease.
The movie, which captures the lives of seven different scientists, is scheduled for release in Berkeley on Dec. 8.
"(The movie) focuses on what motivates scientists to do science and gets under the skin to see what makes them tick," said Gadgil, who received his doctorate degree in physics from UC Berkeley. "I was interested in physics and science for as long as I remember."
It was during his work on campus when Gadgil became interested in studying the kind of impact humans have on the environment.
Gadgil, who noticed that the rate of resource use per capita is much higher in the United States than in developing countries, said he was disturbed to find out the environmental damage that would be needed in order to raise the standard of living in other countries to the level of that in America.
"You can't raise the standard of living of most of the world to one half of the United States without totally destroying the environment," he said. "The world cannot bear that burden. In some sense, it was a bitter conclusion."
According to Gadgil, improving the standard of living entails the burning of carbon dioxide, the release of toxic chemicals and many other processes that lead to environmental destruction.
This realization motivated Gadgil to study energy efficiency and his research focuses on developing methods to use the least amount of energy to create the greatest amount of positive change. Gadgil said he strives to figure out how to achieve satisfactory energy services such as heating and lighting, but through the use of substantially less energy.
"Energy is the major single environmental burden," he said. "Other than warfare, it's the worst thing we can do."
In the movie, Apted highlights the portion of Gadgil's research that focuses on trying to tackle the lack of availability of drinking water in countries such as India, South Africa and Honduras.
"Anybody who travels is very aware (of the difficulty of finding clean water)," he said. "But it's a reality of everyday life for more than a billion people."
According to Gadgil, approximately 400 children die per hour as a result of contaminated water.
While the solution to this problem is not complicated in terms of the method to kill bacteria, the most difficult obstacle in cleaning the water lies in the practicability and ability to provide the machinery to developing countries, he said.
"This is entirely preventable," Gadgil said. "It doesn't take rocket scientists."
The small-scale, energy-efficient and low-maintenance design of Gadgil's water purification system has made it a uniquely affordable and effective device. The machine provides many communities in developing nations with readily accessible, disinfected drinking water.
What drives Gadgil to work each day is the continual broadening and deepening of the field he is interested in and his concern for the future of the planet, he said.
"Where are we headed and what are we going to leave for our future generations?" he said. "Are we going to stick them with problems?"
Gadgil said he is concerned that future inhabitants of Earth will find the planet so "disastrously unsustainable" that they would look back and say "my parents and grandparents essentially wasted the Earth."
For years, Gadgil sent literature to his colleagues in India about the importance of providing clean water. It was not until an outbreak of cholera that killed 10,000 people in a single state of India in May of 1993, however, that Gadgil decided to get personally involved in the project.
The 1993 outbreak was caused by a mutant strain of bacteria that exhibited a different protein on its surface. The vaccines at that time were not capable of destroying the bacteria. Because the process of developing a new vaccine would take at least two years, Gadgil decided that he needed to begin to take action.
"That summer, I decided that we can't just keep talking about water," he said.
Gadgil and one of his students found that they could develop a device to disinfect drinking water by using ultraviolet light. Their method could produce clean water for what looked like less than a penny per ton of water.
Exposure to ultraviolet light successfully mutates the DNA of bacteria and renders the water-borne pathogens incapable of reproducing. Precise doses of UV doses can deactivate bacteria by disturbing the replication process necessary for proliferation, or even kill the microorganisms altogether.
In addition to low cost, the scientists also had to tackle ecological and mechanical problems.
"We needed to provide affordable water with low failure rates, no moving parts," he said.
The device was designed, built and tested at the lab in Berkeley. SInce then, it has gone through a number of redesigns for improvement and has also been used in field tests in countries around the world.
Revisions have included the introduction of additional safeguards such as increasing the dose of ultraviolet light to increase the amount of bacteria killed as well as regulatory precautions such as making sure that water cannot enter the disinfecting machine unless the proper voltage supply is available.
The danger of an insufficient voltage is that contaminated water could run through the machine, but not be disinfected.
"The machine will cut off if the voltage goes outside of an accepted band," Gadgil said.
Currently, the machine is capable of disinfecting one ton of water per hour at a cost of approximately four to five cents per ton.
The benefits of the low cost and time efficiency of using ultraviolet light make it a good candidate for disinfecting water in developing countries.
Although boiling water is the most effective disinfecting approach, the time and labor involved is not sufficient enough for the demands for water for cooking, drinking and proper sanitation, scientists said.
The reason ultraviolet light is effective in developing countries is that the water, unlike that in the United States, is overwhelmed by large amounts of contamination, versus the miniscule levels in developed countries.
Gadgil's machine is designed to disinfect water directly at its point of use.
Field tests conducted on the machine to measure its performance in Honduras, the Philippines, South Africa and Guererro, Mexico resulted in positive feedback, he said.
"There was some evidence from health clinics that the incidence of diarrhea has dramatically dropped," Gadgil said. Read More....
The Daily Californian
ISP - Modem Failure
Due to ISP Modem failure, yesterday & today, I am unable to post.
As soon as the fault is rectified, I would post again.
As soon as the fault is rectified, I would post again.
Friday, January 14, 2005
Water main break leads to boil water advisory
I have been told by my late mom that water must be boiled before drinking it. I just follows without fail. as she said it would kill the bacteria in drinking Water.
Then in 1984. I begin to research into the "I-Medicine Sutra", it explained that the Water in natural form is considered as "Yin", then after boied the "CHI" is become "Yang". Consumming of cold water would upset the "CHI" balance in the body, therefore, if a person after drinking cold water then may have a lots of Gas discharge then, that is exactly the result of the "Cold & Hot Chi" conflict.
So it is a good practise to boil water before one drink, even at the present time.
Water main break leads to boil water advisory
Updated: 1/14/2005 8:12 AM By: Capital News 9 web staff
A water main break this week in Troy has led to a boil water advisory for several public water supplies.
The break occurred early Wednesday morning in the area of First and Polk streets. As a result, the Troy Public Water supply lost pressure, which increases the chance that untreated water and harmful bacteria could enter the system.
The water main has been repaired, and water samples are being collected to monitor the quality of the water.
Capital News 9 Story : Water main break leads to boil water advisory - 1/13/2005 9:11:22 PM
Then in 1984. I begin to research into the "I-Medicine Sutra", it explained that the Water in natural form is considered as "Yin", then after boied the "CHI" is become "Yang". Consumming of cold water would upset the "CHI" balance in the body, therefore, if a person after drinking cold water then may have a lots of Gas discharge then, that is exactly the result of the "Cold & Hot Chi" conflict.
So it is a good practise to boil water before one drink, even at the present time.
Water main break leads to boil water advisory
Updated: 1/14/2005 8:12 AM By: Capital News 9 web staff
A water main break this week in Troy has led to a boil water advisory for several public water supplies.
The break occurred early Wednesday morning in the area of First and Polk streets. As a result, the Troy Public Water supply lost pressure, which increases the chance that untreated water and harmful bacteria could enter the system.
The water main has been repaired, and water samples are being collected to monitor the quality of the water.
Capital News 9 Story : Water main break leads to boil water advisory - 1/13/2005 9:11:22 PM
Thursday, January 13, 2005
U.S. Diet Guide Puts Emphasis on Weight Loss - On Drinking Milk
During My Childhood, I used to drink nilk powder presented by the foreign services. Then later in UK I begin to pick up the habit of drinking milk. When I return to Asia. Then I stop drinking Milk again.
You see the issue of drinking milk, it is necessary to look at the contents of milk fat.
There are mixe report about should one drink Low Fat or should one just drinking the Low Fat. My experience & research found that drinking of whole milk would cause people to put on weight. Therefore, I strongly recommend that one should pick the drink of Low Fat Milk.
I still miss those fresh farm milk in Wales!!
U.S. Diet Guide Puts Emphasis on Weight Loss
By MARIAN BURROS
WASHINGTON Jan. 12 - The federal government issued new dietary guidelines for Americans on Wednesday, and for the first time since the recommendations were introduced in 1980, they emphasize weight loss as well as healthy eating and cardiovascular health.
The guidelines, which follow several years of reports that Americans are fatter than ever, recommend eating many more fruits and vegetables, more low-fat milk, more whole grains and increasing exercise to as much as an hour and a half a day. But some critics question whether they will make any difference in an increasingly fat America.
In announcing the guidelines Wednesday, Ann M. Veneman, the agriculture secretary, and Tommy Thompson, the secretary of health and human services, sounded more like diet gurus than cabinet members. Ms. Veneman said that Americans spent $42 billion a year on diet and health books, indicating the nation's desire to slim down. Mr. Thompson characterized the guidelines as the government's version of a diet book.
"Tonight eat only half the dessert," Mr. Thompson said. "And then go out and walk around the block. And if you are going to watch television get down and do 10 push-ups and 5 sit-ups."
The food industry has already begun to offer more products with whole grains, fewer calories and smaller sizes.
Even critics of government nutrition policies applauded many of the changes, including recommendations that Americans eat less added sugars and less trans fats. But some said they were disappointed that no limits were set for the amount of those substances people should eat.
For example, the guidelines recommend that consumers limit trans fat, partly hydrogenated vegetable oils that have been found to be worse for the body than even saturated fat. But while the advisory committee report that was the basis for guidelines capped intake of trans fat at 1 percent of total calories, that limit was not included in the recommendations.
That was a clear victory for food manufacturers who rely on hydrogenated oils for a variety of processed foods, and who lobbied against the numeric limit. While many companies are eliminating trans fats from their products, the Agriculture Department has estimated that they are in 40 percent of processed foods.
The guidelines were a matter of intense lobbying by industry and advocacy groups over the past year.
The advisory committee, which recommended more dairy products, cited a report, partly financed by the dairy industry, that found that low-fat dairy products helped people lose weight.
After lobbying by the sugar industry, the Department of Health and Human Services helped persuade the World Health Organization in 2003 to eliminate a recommendation that sugar account for no more than 10 percent of calories.
But the final recommendation on sugar in the guidelines is actually a bit stronger than the one in the advisory committee report, which said only to choose carbohydrates wisely. The new guidelines say people should consume foods and beverages with little added sugars.
Dr. Richard Adamson, the vice president of scientific and technical affairs for the American Beverage Association, a trade group, said in an interview Wednesday that there was no proof that people gained weight because they consumed added sugar or lost weight when they cut back. Dr. Adamson said he objected to the guidelines' assertion that studies indicated that beverages with sugar and other caloric sweeteners made people gain weight.
But Dr. Kelly Brownell, director of the Yale Center for Eating and Weight Disorders and a prominent food industry critic, said that over all, he was pleased. "These guidelines are a clear step ahead of where previous ones were," Dr. Brownell said. "The issues on weight control are more specific than in the past, specifically with exercise and the suggestions on limiting added sugars and caloric sweeteners and things like soft drinks."
Still, he said, specific guidelines for sugars and trans fats would have been better.
Among the changes in the guidelines is a call for whole grains to make up half the grains in people's diets, at least three ounces every day. The daily servings of fruits and vegetables rose to nine, from five. The guidelines recommend three cups of low-fat or fat-free dairy products a day, up from two cups.
Saturated fat and cholesterol recommendations remain the same: 10 percent of calories from saturated fat and less than 300 milligrams a day of cholesterol. But while the government previously recommended that fat account for no more than 30 percent of total calories, the current recommendation is a range of from 20 percent to 35 percent.
Maximum levels of sodium have been reduced from 2,400 milligrams a day to 2,300, which is about one teaspoon a day.
Previously, the government recommended a half hour of exercise a day. The new guidelines say that is a minimum and that 60 minutes a day of moderate to vigorous exercise is needed to keep from gaining weight. Sixty to 90 minutes are needed to lose weight. Activities could include walking, bicycling and hiking.
The biggest question is what impact these guidelines will have. They will be used to recreate or replace the food pyramid, the government's graphic depiction of a proper diet. The new version is expected in a month or two.
But whether consumers will use, or even be aware of, the guidelines remains to be seen.
"I don't think many people read them or understand them," Dr. Brownell said, "because the government puts very little muscle into marketing them. If you ask 10 people on the street do they know about this or previous guidelines no one will know anything, but if you ask them what candy melts in your mouth not in your hand, 9 out of 10 will know."
Federal school lunch programs, and other federal food programs, must abide by the guidelines. But Ellen Haas, a former Agriculture Department official, said about 30 percent of the government subsidized lunches at school did not follow government guidelines and were high in fat, salt and sugar.
At the moment the two agencies responsible for the guidelines, the Agriculture Department and the Department of Health and Human Services, have earmarked no money for promotion. Nor have they begun developing partnerships with private industry to disseminate the information in the guidelines. Read More...
The New York Times > Health > U.S. Diet Guide Puts Emphasis on Weight Loss
You see the issue of drinking milk, it is necessary to look at the contents of milk fat.
There are mixe report about should one drink Low Fat or should one just drinking the Low Fat. My experience & research found that drinking of whole milk would cause people to put on weight. Therefore, I strongly recommend that one should pick the drink of Low Fat Milk.
I still miss those fresh farm milk in Wales!!
U.S. Diet Guide Puts Emphasis on Weight Loss
By MARIAN BURROS
WASHINGTON Jan. 12 - The federal government issued new dietary guidelines for Americans on Wednesday, and for the first time since the recommendations were introduced in 1980, they emphasize weight loss as well as healthy eating and cardiovascular health.
The guidelines, which follow several years of reports that Americans are fatter than ever, recommend eating many more fruits and vegetables, more low-fat milk, more whole grains and increasing exercise to as much as an hour and a half a day. But some critics question whether they will make any difference in an increasingly fat America.
In announcing the guidelines Wednesday, Ann M. Veneman, the agriculture secretary, and Tommy Thompson, the secretary of health and human services, sounded more like diet gurus than cabinet members. Ms. Veneman said that Americans spent $42 billion a year on diet and health books, indicating the nation's desire to slim down. Mr. Thompson characterized the guidelines as the government's version of a diet book.
"Tonight eat only half the dessert," Mr. Thompson said. "And then go out and walk around the block. And if you are going to watch television get down and do 10 push-ups and 5 sit-ups."
The food industry has already begun to offer more products with whole grains, fewer calories and smaller sizes.
Even critics of government nutrition policies applauded many of the changes, including recommendations that Americans eat less added sugars and less trans fats. But some said they were disappointed that no limits were set for the amount of those substances people should eat.
For example, the guidelines recommend that consumers limit trans fat, partly hydrogenated vegetable oils that have been found to be worse for the body than even saturated fat. But while the advisory committee report that was the basis for guidelines capped intake of trans fat at 1 percent of total calories, that limit was not included in the recommendations.
That was a clear victory for food manufacturers who rely on hydrogenated oils for a variety of processed foods, and who lobbied against the numeric limit. While many companies are eliminating trans fats from their products, the Agriculture Department has estimated that they are in 40 percent of processed foods.
The guidelines were a matter of intense lobbying by industry and advocacy groups over the past year.
The advisory committee, which recommended more dairy products, cited a report, partly financed by the dairy industry, that found that low-fat dairy products helped people lose weight.
After lobbying by the sugar industry, the Department of Health and Human Services helped persuade the World Health Organization in 2003 to eliminate a recommendation that sugar account for no more than 10 percent of calories.
But the final recommendation on sugar in the guidelines is actually a bit stronger than the one in the advisory committee report, which said only to choose carbohydrates wisely. The new guidelines say people should consume foods and beverages with little added sugars.
Dr. Richard Adamson, the vice president of scientific and technical affairs for the American Beverage Association, a trade group, said in an interview Wednesday that there was no proof that people gained weight because they consumed added sugar or lost weight when they cut back. Dr. Adamson said he objected to the guidelines' assertion that studies indicated that beverages with sugar and other caloric sweeteners made people gain weight.
But Dr. Kelly Brownell, director of the Yale Center for Eating and Weight Disorders and a prominent food industry critic, said that over all, he was pleased. "These guidelines are a clear step ahead of where previous ones were," Dr. Brownell said. "The issues on weight control are more specific than in the past, specifically with exercise and the suggestions on limiting added sugars and caloric sweeteners and things like soft drinks."
Still, he said, specific guidelines for sugars and trans fats would have been better.
Among the changes in the guidelines is a call for whole grains to make up half the grains in people's diets, at least three ounces every day. The daily servings of fruits and vegetables rose to nine, from five. The guidelines recommend three cups of low-fat or fat-free dairy products a day, up from two cups.
Saturated fat and cholesterol recommendations remain the same: 10 percent of calories from saturated fat and less than 300 milligrams a day of cholesterol. But while the government previously recommended that fat account for no more than 30 percent of total calories, the current recommendation is a range of from 20 percent to 35 percent.
Maximum levels of sodium have been reduced from 2,400 milligrams a day to 2,300, which is about one teaspoon a day.
Previously, the government recommended a half hour of exercise a day. The new guidelines say that is a minimum and that 60 minutes a day of moderate to vigorous exercise is needed to keep from gaining weight. Sixty to 90 minutes are needed to lose weight. Activities could include walking, bicycling and hiking.
The biggest question is what impact these guidelines will have. They will be used to recreate or replace the food pyramid, the government's graphic depiction of a proper diet. The new version is expected in a month or two.
But whether consumers will use, or even be aware of, the guidelines remains to be seen.
"I don't think many people read them or understand them," Dr. Brownell said, "because the government puts very little muscle into marketing them. If you ask 10 people on the street do they know about this or previous guidelines no one will know anything, but if you ask them what candy melts in your mouth not in your hand, 9 out of 10 will know."
Federal school lunch programs, and other federal food programs, must abide by the guidelines. But Ellen Haas, a former Agriculture Department official, said about 30 percent of the government subsidized lunches at school did not follow government guidelines and were high in fat, salt and sugar.
At the moment the two agencies responsible for the guidelines, the Agriculture Department and the Department of Health and Human Services, have earmarked no money for promotion. Nor have they begun developing partnerships with private industry to disseminate the information in the guidelines. Read More...
The New York Times > Health > U.S. Diet Guide Puts Emphasis on Weight Loss
Do the new Dietary Guidelines need supplements?
This is a good report from USDA, with their calls for balance of Food Diet & plus exercise.
But in the busy life today, how many people really have the time & discipline to getting things in balance??
As the age old recommendations;
Eat More High Fiber Food
More Green Vege
Beans
Whole Grans Rice & wheat
Less Meat Especially Red Meat
Less Salt
Less Sugar
Less Fats
Don't eat deep fried food
Balance of 5 color Fruits & Vege
Eat Simple taste for the great health of yours.
Do the new Dietary Guidelines need supplements?
13/01/2005 - The new Dietary Guidelines for Americans were unveiled yesterday. Jess Halliday reports on the role supplements have to play and the guidelines’ wider implications.
Among 41 individual recommendations, the key messages of the new guidelines focused on calorie control and exercise. Consumers are encouraged to choose foods carefully in order to get the most nutrition out of calories consumed.
Foods from every food group should have a part to play in a healthy, balanced diet – in particular fiber-rich foods, vegetables and whole grains.
While recognizing the sound basis of the guidelines, the National Nutritional Foods Association (NNFA) expressed concern that nutritional supplements do not feature prominently enough.
They draw attention to the needs of certain sectors of the community, such as older adults who may need more vitamins B12 or D in their diets. The guidelines do allow for the use of supplements to fill a “nutrient gap” in some cases, but warn that “nutrient needs should be primarily met through consuming foods.”
“When it comes to supplements, these guidelines are more ideal than real. Studies confirm that most Americans don't get adequate nutrition through the foods they eat,” said David Seckman, NNFA's executive director and CEO.
In September 2004 the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) submitted comments on the draft guidelines urging recognition of the importance of dietary supplements in the final version.
“Not all of our comments are addressed,” CRN president Annette Dickinson told NutraIngredients-USA.com, “but we are pleased to note that the final guidelines do highlight some nutrients that are lacking in people’s diets”.
“They don’t recognize the need for everyone to take a multivitamin, but the bottom line is that if you need an assortment of nutrients one way to get them is through a multivitamin,” she added.
The US is currently in the grip of an obesity epidemic, with almost two thirds of Americans overweight or obese. While the guidelines do seek to aggressively tackle the epidemic, this is not their sole or primary function.
The science-based advice on how a good diet can promote health and reduce the risk of disease is applicable to all people over the age of two years, no matter what their weight.
“Promoting good dietary habits is key to reducing the growing problems of obesity and physical activity, and to gaining the health benefits that come from a nutritionally balanced diet,” said Tommy Thompson, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Adults should engage in 30 minutes minimum intensity exercise almost every day of the week in order to stave off the risk of chronic disease, increasing to 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise to prevent gradual unhealthy body-weight gain and 60-90 minutes to sustain weight loss.
Dietary guidelines, now in their sixth edition, are drawn up every five years by the HSS and Department of Agriculture (USDA).
“The process we used to develop these recommendations was more rigorous and more transparent than ever before,” said agriculture secretary Ann Veneman.
The three-stage process included a science-based report, comments solicited from agencies and the public and the translation of the guidelines into easy to understand messages for the public and educators.
More than an external public education exercise, the guidelines form the basis of federal food and nutrition education programs. They will underlie the revised Food Guidance System, currently called the Food Guide Pyramid, which is due to be released in the spring.
They also arm health education experts with the latest science-based recommendations.
Cathy Nonas, spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association and registered dietician, told NutraIngredients-USA.com that she was particularly pleased with the advice on fruit and vegetable consumption, that is two cups of fruit and two-and-a-half cups of vegetables each day for a reference 2000-calorie intake increased or reduced depending on the required calorie level.
“Balanced diets and small portions are the most important,” she said. “If you keep to the concept of half your plate in vegetables everything else falls into place.”
As for the impact the guidelines will have on America’s health, she said: “It’s a good message to tell people. It will make people think.”
“It will be interesting to see what well-known food companies and fast food outlets do to follow these guidelines,” she added.
The Grocery Manufacturers Association issued a statement pledging work with the HHS and USDA to promote the dietary guidelines.
“As the companies that make the foods that consumers know, trust and buy everyday, GMA members are developing and introducing new products that will make it easier to meet the recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines,” it said.
“We share the government’s concern about the quantity of saturated and trans fats in the average American diet. Over the past two years, GMA member companies have reduced or eliminated trans fat in countless products.”
In fact, the guidelines do not specify maximum recommended daily trans fat consumption, simply advising “keep trans fat consumption as low as possible”.
Thompson explained that the advice has been left general because the FDA is currently reviewing the recommendation on trans fats. Read More....
Do the new Dietary Guidelines need supplements?
But in the busy life today, how many people really have the time & discipline to getting things in balance??
As the age old recommendations;
Eat More High Fiber Food
More Green Vege
Beans
Whole Grans Rice & wheat
Less Meat Especially Red Meat
Less Salt
Less Sugar
Less Fats
Don't eat deep fried food
Balance of 5 color Fruits & Vege
Eat Simple taste for the great health of yours.
Do the new Dietary Guidelines need supplements?
13/01/2005 - The new Dietary Guidelines for Americans were unveiled yesterday. Jess Halliday reports on the role supplements have to play and the guidelines’ wider implications.
Among 41 individual recommendations, the key messages of the new guidelines focused on calorie control and exercise. Consumers are encouraged to choose foods carefully in order to get the most nutrition out of calories consumed.
Foods from every food group should have a part to play in a healthy, balanced diet – in particular fiber-rich foods, vegetables and whole grains.
While recognizing the sound basis of the guidelines, the National Nutritional Foods Association (NNFA) expressed concern that nutritional supplements do not feature prominently enough.
They draw attention to the needs of certain sectors of the community, such as older adults who may need more vitamins B12 or D in their diets. The guidelines do allow for the use of supplements to fill a “nutrient gap” in some cases, but warn that “nutrient needs should be primarily met through consuming foods.”
“When it comes to supplements, these guidelines are more ideal than real. Studies confirm that most Americans don't get adequate nutrition through the foods they eat,” said David Seckman, NNFA's executive director and CEO.
In September 2004 the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) submitted comments on the draft guidelines urging recognition of the importance of dietary supplements in the final version.
“Not all of our comments are addressed,” CRN president Annette Dickinson told NutraIngredients-USA.com, “but we are pleased to note that the final guidelines do highlight some nutrients that are lacking in people’s diets”.
“They don’t recognize the need for everyone to take a multivitamin, but the bottom line is that if you need an assortment of nutrients one way to get them is through a multivitamin,” she added.
The US is currently in the grip of an obesity epidemic, with almost two thirds of Americans overweight or obese. While the guidelines do seek to aggressively tackle the epidemic, this is not their sole or primary function.
The science-based advice on how a good diet can promote health and reduce the risk of disease is applicable to all people over the age of two years, no matter what their weight.
“Promoting good dietary habits is key to reducing the growing problems of obesity and physical activity, and to gaining the health benefits that come from a nutritionally balanced diet,” said Tommy Thompson, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Adults should engage in 30 minutes minimum intensity exercise almost every day of the week in order to stave off the risk of chronic disease, increasing to 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise to prevent gradual unhealthy body-weight gain and 60-90 minutes to sustain weight loss.
Dietary guidelines, now in their sixth edition, are drawn up every five years by the HSS and Department of Agriculture (USDA).
“The process we used to develop these recommendations was more rigorous and more transparent than ever before,” said agriculture secretary Ann Veneman.
The three-stage process included a science-based report, comments solicited from agencies and the public and the translation of the guidelines into easy to understand messages for the public and educators.
More than an external public education exercise, the guidelines form the basis of federal food and nutrition education programs. They will underlie the revised Food Guidance System, currently called the Food Guide Pyramid, which is due to be released in the spring.
They also arm health education experts with the latest science-based recommendations.
Cathy Nonas, spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association and registered dietician, told NutraIngredients-USA.com that she was particularly pleased with the advice on fruit and vegetable consumption, that is two cups of fruit and two-and-a-half cups of vegetables each day for a reference 2000-calorie intake increased or reduced depending on the required calorie level.
“Balanced diets and small portions are the most important,” she said. “If you keep to the concept of half your plate in vegetables everything else falls into place.”
As for the impact the guidelines will have on America’s health, she said: “It’s a good message to tell people. It will make people think.”
“It will be interesting to see what well-known food companies and fast food outlets do to follow these guidelines,” she added.
The Grocery Manufacturers Association issued a statement pledging work with the HHS and USDA to promote the dietary guidelines.
“As the companies that make the foods that consumers know, trust and buy everyday, GMA members are developing and introducing new products that will make it easier to meet the recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines,” it said.
“We share the government’s concern about the quantity of saturated and trans fats in the average American diet. Over the past two years, GMA member companies have reduced or eliminated trans fat in countless products.”
In fact, the guidelines do not specify maximum recommended daily trans fat consumption, simply advising “keep trans fat consumption as low as possible”.
Thompson explained that the advice has been left general because the FDA is currently reviewing the recommendation on trans fats. Read More....
Do the new Dietary Guidelines need supplements?
Technology Can Protect Water Supply
That is for sure with the present Computing power & Communications Technology. It is certain that technology could used to analyze the contaminations as well as the huma inplanted poison & toxins with realtime & interactive report.
Technology Can Protect Water Supply
1/11/2005 Oak Ridge, TN --
A technology to instantly determine a poisoned water supply system has been developed at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Researcher Eli Greenbaum said the AquaSentinel system can detect toxins in a municipal water supply by analyzing the condition of the algae it contains.
"Depending upon whether the water is healthy or it has been exposed to poison, the fluorescence signature changes," said Greenbaum of ORNL's Chemical Sciences Division. "It is that change in signature that we use as the detection method for detecting the presence of chemical warfare agents."
Greenbaum noted AquaSentinel can monitor a water supply 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
"The way AquaSentinel works is that based on the fluorescence from the algae that are already in the water, and the fact that the algae already live in the neighborhood of the environment that we are trying to protect, we never run out of biosensors," Greenbaum said.
Source: OakRidge National Laboratory (ORNL)
ORNL is managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy
Water Online News for wastewater professionals
Technology Can Protect Water Supply
1/11/2005 Oak Ridge, TN --
A technology to instantly determine a poisoned water supply system has been developed at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Researcher Eli Greenbaum said the AquaSentinel system can detect toxins in a municipal water supply by analyzing the condition of the algae it contains.
"Depending upon whether the water is healthy or it has been exposed to poison, the fluorescence signature changes," said Greenbaum of ORNL's Chemical Sciences Division. "It is that change in signature that we use as the detection method for detecting the presence of chemical warfare agents."
Greenbaum noted AquaSentinel can monitor a water supply 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
"The way AquaSentinel works is that based on the fluorescence from the algae that are already in the water, and the fact that the algae already live in the neighborhood of the environment that we are trying to protect, we never run out of biosensors," Greenbaum said.
Source: OakRidge National Laboratory (ORNL)
ORNL is managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy
Water Online News for wastewater professionals
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
Water systems' security lapses
Just few days ago, I did share my views about protection of installations like water system & reserviors'... My experience in the past is a good mirror.
You see during the early 70's, the technology is not there to assist the protection on these strategic installations. But today with the Digital & Internet technology, we can use these to be more effective & efficient in enforcing the security to our water system. It is the duty & responsility of the authority concern to enforce it & constance monitor in a close loop that cannot take chance of it.
Water systems' security lapses
Monday, January 10, 2005 Posted: 9:24 PM EST (0224 GMT)
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Water utilities have installed computer-based remote controls "with little attention paid to security," leaving valves, pumps and chemical mixers for water supplies vulnerable to cyber-attack, according to an Environmental Protection Agency report.
In a report Monday, the EPA's inspector general cited costs, lack of ability to check employees' backgrounds and poor communication between technical engineers and management for the shortcomings.
Benjamin Grumbles, EPA's water chief, said Monday he agrees with the report's assessment that there are "a broad range of challenges" facing water utilities, particularly with wireless communications systems, but that his office now has a plan for making improvements.
"We are actively working to provide additional tools to communities to enhance cyber security, providing funding for information that would be placed on a secure web site by the fall, to help utilities be more aware of potential threats to their computer systems," Grumbles said.
His office also is getting help, he said, from the Homeland Security Department on ways of dealing with cyber threats and from an advisory council on how to help utilities measure their improvement.
The computer-based controls were "developed with little attention paid to security, making the security of these systems often weak," the report says. As a result, many of the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition networks used by water agencies to collect data from sensors and control equipment such as pumps and valves "may be susceptible to attacks and misuse."
The danger is illustrated by an attack on an Australian waste management system in 2000, the report says. An engineer who had worked for the contractor that supplied the remote control equipment for the system used radio telemetry to gain unauthorized access and dump raw sewage into public waterways and the grounds of a hotel.
EPA Inspector General Nikki L. Tinsley urged EPA to find out what is keeping specific water utility operators from making the systems secure, and to develop federal security measures that could be used to correct the problems.
The review by Tinsley's office was suspended after a meeting with Grumbles' office, which agreed to incorporate her concerns into its work.
Tinsley notes that EPA spent $250,000 (euro190,800) in 2002 to pay for research into how to improve security for computerized and automated systems and that Homeland Security began focusing on protections for the networks only last May.
In September, Grumbles told a House Energy subcommittee that the Bush administration had "worked diligently" to improve security of water facilities including 54,000 community drinking water systems and 16,000 public wastewater treatment plants. Read More....
Water systems' security lapses - Jan 10, 2005
You see during the early 70's, the technology is not there to assist the protection on these strategic installations. But today with the Digital & Internet technology, we can use these to be more effective & efficient in enforcing the security to our water system. It is the duty & responsility of the authority concern to enforce it & constance monitor in a close loop that cannot take chance of it.
Water systems' security lapses
Monday, January 10, 2005 Posted: 9:24 PM EST (0224 GMT)
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Water utilities have installed computer-based remote controls "with little attention paid to security," leaving valves, pumps and chemical mixers for water supplies vulnerable to cyber-attack, according to an Environmental Protection Agency report.
In a report Monday, the EPA's inspector general cited costs, lack of ability to check employees' backgrounds and poor communication between technical engineers and management for the shortcomings.
Benjamin Grumbles, EPA's water chief, said Monday he agrees with the report's assessment that there are "a broad range of challenges" facing water utilities, particularly with wireless communications systems, but that his office now has a plan for making improvements.
"We are actively working to provide additional tools to communities to enhance cyber security, providing funding for information that would be placed on a secure web site by the fall, to help utilities be more aware of potential threats to their computer systems," Grumbles said.
His office also is getting help, he said, from the Homeland Security Department on ways of dealing with cyber threats and from an advisory council on how to help utilities measure their improvement.
The computer-based controls were "developed with little attention paid to security, making the security of these systems often weak," the report says. As a result, many of the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition networks used by water agencies to collect data from sensors and control equipment such as pumps and valves "may be susceptible to attacks and misuse."
The danger is illustrated by an attack on an Australian waste management system in 2000, the report says. An engineer who had worked for the contractor that supplied the remote control equipment for the system used radio telemetry to gain unauthorized access and dump raw sewage into public waterways and the grounds of a hotel.
EPA Inspector General Nikki L. Tinsley urged EPA to find out what is keeping specific water utility operators from making the systems secure, and to develop federal security measures that could be used to correct the problems.
The review by Tinsley's office was suspended after a meeting with Grumbles' office, which agreed to incorporate her concerns into its work.
Tinsley notes that EPA spent $250,000 (euro190,800) in 2002 to pay for research into how to improve security for computerized and automated systems and that Homeland Security began focusing on protections for the networks only last May.
In September, Grumbles told a House Energy subcommittee that the Bush administration had "worked diligently" to improve security of water facilities including 54,000 community drinking water systems and 16,000 public wastewater treatment plants. Read More....
Water systems' security lapses - Jan 10, 2005
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
U.S. Tried to Suppress Pollutant Study, Group Says
This is totally un-called for. Individual who are on the job shall understand that there is a cause & effects in everything that one do.
As a human, one should be aware that beside the individual health is main concern, but one also must have the virtue & love to the others. In the case of Perchlorate, which is harmful to our people, one also need to have the sense of responsibilities to ensure that drinking water must be safe to the people who contribute to the existence. & the Geat Health of their friends & foes on this earth.
U.S. Tried to Suppress Pollutant Study, Group Says
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A new report from the National Academy of Sciences raises by 20 times the amount of rocket fuel pollution in drinking water considered "safe," but environmentalists on Monday accused the government of influencing the report's findings.
The environmental group Natural Resources Defense Council challenged the report even before it was issued, saying the authors had been influenced by the Pentagon and defense contractors and it had evidence to prove it.
The pollutant from rocket fuel, a chemical called perchlorate, can affect thyroid function. There are no federal limits on how much is safe but independent groups have said the chemical could affect developing babies.
The Academy's National Research Council, which advises the government on scientific and environmental matters, was asked by the Department of Defense, NASA and other agencies to review evidence that perchlorate in drinking water or food crops was harmful and if so, how much was safe.
Its report says people could drink up to up to 0.0007 milligrams per kilogram of body weight without harming even the most sensitive populations -- about 20 times more than the 'reference dose' proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection.
"The most recent EPA risk assessment, published in 2002, proposes a daily reference dose of 0.00003 milligrams per kilogram of body weight, which the agency said would correspond to a drinking-water concentration of 1 part per billion based on certain assumptions about body weight and daily water consumption," the Academy noted.
It also said that although there is clear evidence the chemical can dampen thyroid function, leading to a serious condition called hypothyroidism, there was not enough evidence to show it could lead to thyroid cancer, as the EPA has suggested.
"Scientists at the EPA, in state agencies, and in academia have all concluded that very low levels of perchlorate threaten the health of babies," said NRDC scientist Jennifer Sass. "Scientists should not be strong-armed by unqualified, partisan bureaucrats and corporate polluters to skew the evidence."
The NRDC said federal agencies had tried to influence the report's conclusions and published documents that it said showed just how extensive the government's attempts were.
"The Defense Department's job is to protect Americans, not threaten our health, but these documents show that it is conspiring with its contractors and the White House to twist the science and avoid cleaning up a chemical that threatens our children's health," said NRDC lawyer Erik Olson.
"We've never seen such a brazen campaign to pressure the National Academy of Sciences to downplay the hazards of a chemical, but it fits the pattern of this administration manipulating science at the expense of public health," the NRDC said.
White House and EPA officials were not available for comment. Read More....
Science News Article | Reuters.com
As a human, one should be aware that beside the individual health is main concern, but one also must have the virtue & love to the others. In the case of Perchlorate, which is harmful to our people, one also need to have the sense of responsibilities to ensure that drinking water must be safe to the people who contribute to the existence. & the Geat Health of their friends & foes on this earth.
U.S. Tried to Suppress Pollutant Study, Group Says
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A new report from the National Academy of Sciences raises by 20 times the amount of rocket fuel pollution in drinking water considered "safe," but environmentalists on Monday accused the government of influencing the report's findings.
The environmental group Natural Resources Defense Council challenged the report even before it was issued, saying the authors had been influenced by the Pentagon and defense contractors and it had evidence to prove it.
The pollutant from rocket fuel, a chemical called perchlorate, can affect thyroid function. There are no federal limits on how much is safe but independent groups have said the chemical could affect developing babies.
The Academy's National Research Council, which advises the government on scientific and environmental matters, was asked by the Department of Defense, NASA and other agencies to review evidence that perchlorate in drinking water or food crops was harmful and if so, how much was safe.
Its report says people could drink up to up to 0.0007 milligrams per kilogram of body weight without harming even the most sensitive populations -- about 20 times more than the 'reference dose' proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection.
"The most recent EPA risk assessment, published in 2002, proposes a daily reference dose of 0.00003 milligrams per kilogram of body weight, which the agency said would correspond to a drinking-water concentration of 1 part per billion based on certain assumptions about body weight and daily water consumption," the Academy noted.
It also said that although there is clear evidence the chemical can dampen thyroid function, leading to a serious condition called hypothyroidism, there was not enough evidence to show it could lead to thyroid cancer, as the EPA has suggested.
"Scientists at the EPA, in state agencies, and in academia have all concluded that very low levels of perchlorate threaten the health of babies," said NRDC scientist Jennifer Sass. "Scientists should not be strong-armed by unqualified, partisan bureaucrats and corporate polluters to skew the evidence."
The NRDC said federal agencies had tried to influence the report's conclusions and published documents that it said showed just how extensive the government's attempts were.
"The Defense Department's job is to protect Americans, not threaten our health, but these documents show that it is conspiring with its contractors and the White House to twist the science and avoid cleaning up a chemical that threatens our children's health," said NRDC lawyer Erik Olson.
"We've never seen such a brazen campaign to pressure the National Academy of Sciences to downplay the hazards of a chemical, but it fits the pattern of this administration manipulating science at the expense of public health," the NRDC said.
White House and EPA officials were not available for comment. Read More....
Science News Article | Reuters.com
Monday, January 10, 2005
Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Report faults DOE's efforts to decommission Hanford wells
When I was little, the family have been using water well as the main source of water supply. Not till 1959, then the family start to have the water piped into our new home then.
I first visit my Late parent's home town in China in 1988. Then my grandma still drinking the Water from the Family well. I was told that our family well have been suppling water to the people within the village on the island for nearly thousand year.
Then in 1992, I returned to the island again, I was told that the well have been sealed by the county government because of contamination. Really it is sad to knew these. I would like to see that the well contaminations need to be checked constantly & once it have to enforce the decommission, it need to be carried out without fail!! for the Great Health of our human kind.
Report faults DOE's efforts to decommission Hanford wells
By SHANNON DININNY ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
YAKIMA, Wash. -- The U.S. Department of Energy has been too slow to decommission abandoned and unused wells at south-central Washington's Hanford nuclear site, a new federal audit concludes.
Thousands of wells have been drilled at Hanford to monitor the release of contaminants to groundwater during decades of plutonium production for the nation's nuclear weapons arsenal. Many of the wells have been abandoned and could pose a threat to the environment as a potential travel source for contaminants to groundwater and the nearby Columbia River.
State law requires unused and abandoned wells to be decommissioned. But the Energy Department has not decommissioned those wells at Hanford in a timely manner, leaving the agency open to potential enforcement actions by the state, the Energy Department's Office of Inspector General concluded in an audit released Thursday.
The audit recommends that the Energy Department conduct a complete inventory, verify the status of all wells at Hanford, and perform a comprehensive risk assessment of them. The agency should then develop a plan to decommission wells and allocate money to implement that plan.
The Energy Department agreed to take those steps in a Dec. 9 letter by Paul Golan, acting assistant secretary for environmental management, in response to a draft of the audit.
Of the approximately 7,000 wells at Hanford, the report estimates that as many as 3,500 are unused and must be decommissioned as soon as possible.
The Energy Department estimated the total number of wells to be decommissioned at the site as 2,150, based on a 2002 plan for accelerated cleanup at Hanford. Auditors, however, increased that number based on more recent data from 2003 and 2004, the report said.
The agency had planned to decommission 520 wells by the end of 2006, but about 33 percent of the 133 wells identified for decommissioning in 2004 were not completed, according to the report.
Energy Department officials also said a lack of money had limited their ability to speed the process. The audit did not dispute that assertion, but concluded that the lack of a risk-based schedule for the work likely contributed to reduced funding.
The Energy Department has estimated that 80 square miles of Hanford's groundwater have been contaminated at levels exceeding state and federal drinking water standards. An estimated 442 billion gallons of radioactive and hazardous waste have been released into the ground at the site.
Last year, the Inspector General reported that the Energy Department had failed to make significant progress to remediate Hanford's contaminated groundwater and that pump-and-treat systems installed for that purpose had been largely ineffective.
Those systems call for workers to pump contaminated water out of the ground, run it through filters to remove radioactive contaminants and re-inject the water into the ground. Read More.....
Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Report faults DOE's efforts to decommission Hanford wells
I first visit my Late parent's home town in China in 1988. Then my grandma still drinking the Water from the Family well. I was told that our family well have been suppling water to the people within the village on the island for nearly thousand year.
Then in 1992, I returned to the island again, I was told that the well have been sealed by the county government because of contamination. Really it is sad to knew these. I would like to see that the well contaminations need to be checked constantly & once it have to enforce the decommission, it need to be carried out without fail!! for the Great Health of our human kind.
Report faults DOE's efforts to decommission Hanford wells
By SHANNON DININNY ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
YAKIMA, Wash. -- The U.S. Department of Energy has been too slow to decommission abandoned and unused wells at south-central Washington's Hanford nuclear site, a new federal audit concludes.
Thousands of wells have been drilled at Hanford to monitor the release of contaminants to groundwater during decades of plutonium production for the nation's nuclear weapons arsenal. Many of the wells have been abandoned and could pose a threat to the environment as a potential travel source for contaminants to groundwater and the nearby Columbia River.
State law requires unused and abandoned wells to be decommissioned. But the Energy Department has not decommissioned those wells at Hanford in a timely manner, leaving the agency open to potential enforcement actions by the state, the Energy Department's Office of Inspector General concluded in an audit released Thursday.
The audit recommends that the Energy Department conduct a complete inventory, verify the status of all wells at Hanford, and perform a comprehensive risk assessment of them. The agency should then develop a plan to decommission wells and allocate money to implement that plan.
The Energy Department agreed to take those steps in a Dec. 9 letter by Paul Golan, acting assistant secretary for environmental management, in response to a draft of the audit.
Of the approximately 7,000 wells at Hanford, the report estimates that as many as 3,500 are unused and must be decommissioned as soon as possible.
The Energy Department estimated the total number of wells to be decommissioned at the site as 2,150, based on a 2002 plan for accelerated cleanup at Hanford. Auditors, however, increased that number based on more recent data from 2003 and 2004, the report said.
The agency had planned to decommission 520 wells by the end of 2006, but about 33 percent of the 133 wells identified for decommissioning in 2004 were not completed, according to the report.
Energy Department officials also said a lack of money had limited their ability to speed the process. The audit did not dispute that assertion, but concluded that the lack of a risk-based schedule for the work likely contributed to reduced funding.
The Energy Department has estimated that 80 square miles of Hanford's groundwater have been contaminated at levels exceeding state and federal drinking water standards. An estimated 442 billion gallons of radioactive and hazardous waste have been released into the ground at the site.
Last year, the Inspector General reported that the Energy Department had failed to make significant progress to remediate Hanford's contaminated groundwater and that pump-and-treat systems installed for that purpose had been largely ineffective.
Those systems call for workers to pump contaminated water out of the ground, run it through filters to remove radioactive contaminants and re-inject the water into the ground. Read More.....
Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Report faults DOE's efforts to decommission Hanford wells
Saturday, January 08, 2005
Chesapeake Bay cleanup gets boost as six states and D.C. agree to set limits on nutrients from treatment plants 01/03/2005
The Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Calcium are 3 ingredients of the Fertilizer's. With the increase of popullations & thus the needs to increase the farm produce, more farmer's have increase the use of the man make chemical base fertilizers.
Certainly these residual would goes to the ground which contaminated our ground water. If the contaminations is not in check, all our drinking water quality would be in trouble. So do our health.
Hence , for our great health for our childrens' future, we must act now than later for our great heakth.
Chesapeake Bay cleanup gets boost
PHILADELPHIA - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has reached agreement with six states and the District of Columbia on a permitting approach that will set permit limits on nutrients being discharged from more than 350 municipal and industrial wastewater treatment facilities throughout the 64,000-square-mile Chesapeake Bay watershed.
These permit limits would result in the reduction of about 17.5 million pounds of nitrogen and about one million pounds of phosphorus entering the Chesapeake Bay each year, which will directly help improve water quality.
“This is a pivotal step in the cleanup and protection of the Chesapeake Bay. EPA and the states have committed to making the Bay a healthy environment where plants, fish and other aquatic life can thrive and coexist with development,” said Donald S. Welsh, regional administrator for EPA’s mid-Atlantic region.
The discharge of nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorous) from wastewater treatment is one of the most serious problems affecting the Chesapeake Bay. Excessive nutrients in the Bay cause algae blooms in the water, which leads to oxygen depletion and other adverse impacts on water quality. Excessive algae growth can also block sunlight that is critical to support plant and aquatic life.
States and EPA issue permits to all wastewater treatment facilities which regulate the amount of pollutants that can been discharged into waterways after treatment. The permitting approach announced today describes a consistent basin-wide approach to issue permits that include measurable and enforceable limits for nitrogen and phosphorus.
For years, permits have required nutrient removal to achieve localized water quality standards. However, the lack of science-based and achievable water quality standards for the Chesapeake Bay has made it difficult for the states and EPA to regulate nutrient reductions needed to protect the Bay.
EPA has been working with states for several years to develop a basin-wide strategy for these nutrient permit limits. This new strategy covers the entire 64,000-square-mile watershed, and describes how states and EPA plan to develop permit limits based on the living resource needs of the Bay. States participating in the strategy include Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York and West Virginia and the District of Columbia. Read More....
Newswire Article: Chesapeake Bay cleanup gets boost as six states and D.C. agree to set limits on nutrients from treatment plants 01/03/2005
Certainly these residual would goes to the ground which contaminated our ground water. If the contaminations is not in check, all our drinking water quality would be in trouble. So do our health.
Hence , for our great health for our childrens' future, we must act now than later for our great heakth.
Chesapeake Bay cleanup gets boost
PHILADELPHIA - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has reached agreement with six states and the District of Columbia on a permitting approach that will set permit limits on nutrients being discharged from more than 350 municipal and industrial wastewater treatment facilities throughout the 64,000-square-mile Chesapeake Bay watershed.
These permit limits would result in the reduction of about 17.5 million pounds of nitrogen and about one million pounds of phosphorus entering the Chesapeake Bay each year, which will directly help improve water quality.
“This is a pivotal step in the cleanup and protection of the Chesapeake Bay. EPA and the states have committed to making the Bay a healthy environment where plants, fish and other aquatic life can thrive and coexist with development,” said Donald S. Welsh, regional administrator for EPA’s mid-Atlantic region.
The discharge of nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorous) from wastewater treatment is one of the most serious problems affecting the Chesapeake Bay. Excessive nutrients in the Bay cause algae blooms in the water, which leads to oxygen depletion and other adverse impacts on water quality. Excessive algae growth can also block sunlight that is critical to support plant and aquatic life.
States and EPA issue permits to all wastewater treatment facilities which regulate the amount of pollutants that can been discharged into waterways after treatment. The permitting approach announced today describes a consistent basin-wide approach to issue permits that include measurable and enforceable limits for nitrogen and phosphorus.
For years, permits have required nutrient removal to achieve localized water quality standards. However, the lack of science-based and achievable water quality standards for the Chesapeake Bay has made it difficult for the states and EPA to regulate nutrient reductions needed to protect the Bay.
EPA has been working with states for several years to develop a basin-wide strategy for these nutrient permit limits. This new strategy covers the entire 64,000-square-mile watershed, and describes how states and EPA plan to develop permit limits based on the living resource needs of the Bay. States participating in the strategy include Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York and West Virginia and the District of Columbia. Read More....
Newswire Article: Chesapeake Bay cleanup gets boost as six states and D.C. agree to set limits on nutrients from treatment plants 01/03/2005
Friday, January 07, 2005
Indy Water issues boil alert; schools delay start
When I read about the Chinese history of the Water & boiling of Water back to 6,000years ago. Then there is hardly the size of populations & Industries pollutions today.
But then the Emperor & Guru have been teaching people to boil water before one drink. My late mom have been boiling water for us to drink since baby, till today, I am still doing it.
And I found that the Water before boiling is consider as "Yin" & the Water After Boiled is having the "Yang-Chi".
My advise is that for your great health do drink 8 glass of filtered water & drink warm water only.
Indy Water issues boil alert; schools delay start
Equipment failure leads utility to take precautionary step; tests to show if water quality is affected.
By Kevin O'Neal kevin.oneal@indystar.com
January 7, 2005
Equipment failure at an Indianapolis Water treatment station led the utility on Thursday afternoon to advise all customers to boil their drinking water.
That move created complications for residents, restaurants, hospitals and schools and had some people stocking up on bottled water.
The precautionary advisory, which the utility said was not a binding order and not related to flooding, was scheduled to last until about 4 p.m. today.
All Marion County school districts that are on the Indianapolis Water system planned to delay the start of classes by two hours today, and local superintendents scheduled a telephone conference for this morning to decide whether to cancel school, officials said.
The utility late Thursday was trying to find out when it would receive test results that would show whether the water quality had been affected, said spokeswoman Carolyn Mosby-Williams. That information could help schools decide whether to cancel classes.
Indianapolis Public Schools spokeswoman Mary Louise Bewley said the two-hour delay is intended to give schools time to obtain those water test results, expected about 8 a.m. Classes likely will be canceled if the water fails the tests.
In that case, Mosby-Williams said, the boil advisory also would likely be extended.
Mosby-Williams said she knew of no complaints of anyone becoming ill from the water. The water is safe for other uses, such as washing and bathing, she said.
Customers should boil drinking water for three minutes.
Indianapolis Water serves about 1.1 million people and processes an average of 138 million gallons a day. Its service area covers nearly all of Marion County, as well as parts of Morgan, Hendricks, Boone, Hamilton and Hancock counties.
Some school systems in that area, such as Speedway, are not on the Indianapolis Water system.
Mosby-Williams said tests should show whether customers were at risk from increased levels of coliform bacteria, which can cause nausea, cramps and diarrhea. The utility tests about 400 samples daily; additional samples were taken after the equipment failure.
The problem developed around 11 a.m. Thursday at the utility's White River treatment plant on the Near Northside, one of eight treatment facilities in the utility's service area in and around Marion County. A system that supplies the chemicals used to treat the water shut down, forcing the entire plant to shut down, Mosby-Williams said.
The White River plant is the largest of four plants in the utility's system, supplying about 55 percent of the water. When it shut down, there was a loss of water pressure, prompting some complaints from customers.
"We've closed up all the drinking fountains, and we've informed all of our staff and visitors," said Wishard Memorial Hospital spokeswoman Michelle O'Keefe.
"We're using only bottled water in the cafeteria. We will do all of these things until we're notified by the water company." Read More...
Indy Water issues boil alert; schools delay start
But then the Emperor & Guru have been teaching people to boil water before one drink. My late mom have been boiling water for us to drink since baby, till today, I am still doing it.
And I found that the Water before boiling is consider as "Yin" & the Water After Boiled is having the "Yang-Chi".
My advise is that for your great health do drink 8 glass of filtered water & drink warm water only.
Indy Water issues boil alert; schools delay start
Equipment failure leads utility to take precautionary step; tests to show if water quality is affected.
By Kevin O'Neal kevin.oneal@indystar.com
January 7, 2005
Equipment failure at an Indianapolis Water treatment station led the utility on Thursday afternoon to advise all customers to boil their drinking water.
That move created complications for residents, restaurants, hospitals and schools and had some people stocking up on bottled water.
The precautionary advisory, which the utility said was not a binding order and not related to flooding, was scheduled to last until about 4 p.m. today.
All Marion County school districts that are on the Indianapolis Water system planned to delay the start of classes by two hours today, and local superintendents scheduled a telephone conference for this morning to decide whether to cancel school, officials said.
The utility late Thursday was trying to find out when it would receive test results that would show whether the water quality had been affected, said spokeswoman Carolyn Mosby-Williams. That information could help schools decide whether to cancel classes.
Indianapolis Public Schools spokeswoman Mary Louise Bewley said the two-hour delay is intended to give schools time to obtain those water test results, expected about 8 a.m. Classes likely will be canceled if the water fails the tests.
In that case, Mosby-Williams said, the boil advisory also would likely be extended.
Mosby-Williams said she knew of no complaints of anyone becoming ill from the water. The water is safe for other uses, such as washing and bathing, she said.
Customers should boil drinking water for three minutes.
Indianapolis Water serves about 1.1 million people and processes an average of 138 million gallons a day. Its service area covers nearly all of Marion County, as well as parts of Morgan, Hendricks, Boone, Hamilton and Hancock counties.
Some school systems in that area, such as Speedway, are not on the Indianapolis Water system.
Mosby-Williams said tests should show whether customers were at risk from increased levels of coliform bacteria, which can cause nausea, cramps and diarrhea. The utility tests about 400 samples daily; additional samples were taken after the equipment failure.
The problem developed around 11 a.m. Thursday at the utility's White River treatment plant on the Near Northside, one of eight treatment facilities in the utility's service area in and around Marion County. A system that supplies the chemicals used to treat the water shut down, forcing the entire plant to shut down, Mosby-Williams said.
The White River plant is the largest of four plants in the utility's system, supplying about 55 percent of the water. When it shut down, there was a loss of water pressure, prompting some complaints from customers.
"We've closed up all the drinking fountains, and we've informed all of our staff and visitors," said Wishard Memorial Hospital spokeswoman Michelle O'Keefe.
"We're using only bottled water in the cafeteria. We will do all of these things until we're notified by the water company." Read More...
Indy Water issues boil alert; schools delay start
Thursday, January 06, 2005
Threat puts Florida water utilities on alert - News
During early 70's I was having my military services in Asia. There were terrorists attack on installations like Gas plants, oil refineries, Water reservoirs...Then we have to perform the duty to safe guard
these strategic installations.
While we shall increase our vigilants on these strategic installations, especially water supplies. We shall also educated all the people in this country to be responsible, not to create false alarm. In a united front to safe guard these public assets.
Threat puts Florida water utilities on alert
KISSIMMEE, FL � An anonymous phone call led workers to rush to make sure Osceola County's water supply was safe to drink, WFTV new channel reported yesterday.
Now, 13 water plants are on a heightened security alert after someone called a resident and said Kissimmee's water supply was contaminated and threatened there would be fatalities, the report said.
Police and water officials have been monitoring Osceola County's water plants since Tuesday night. The water supply is safe, but authorities aren't taking the call lightly, WFTV said.
Kissimmee police told the news station that they will be stepping up patrols at all of the water plants. If in fact this call was a hoax, police say that person will be facing criminal charges. Read More....
News
these strategic installations.
While we shall increase our vigilants on these strategic installations, especially water supplies. We shall also educated all the people in this country to be responsible, not to create false alarm. In a united front to safe guard these public assets.
Threat puts Florida water utilities on alert
KISSIMMEE, FL � An anonymous phone call led workers to rush to make sure Osceola County's water supply was safe to drink, WFTV new channel reported yesterday.
Now, 13 water plants are on a heightened security alert after someone called a resident and said Kissimmee's water supply was contaminated and threatened there would be fatalities, the report said.
Police and water officials have been monitoring Osceola County's water plants since Tuesday night. The water supply is safe, but authorities aren't taking the call lightly, WFTV said.
Kissimmee police told the news station that they will be stepping up patrols at all of the water plants. If in fact this call was a hoax, police say that person will be facing criminal charges. Read More....
News
World Health Organization States Safe Drinking Water Immediate Priority
Back In my childhood days, both my late parent alway tell me that
education is the most top priority in Live. As the Guru Confusus said, learning or educating till old age.
Therefore the Safe Drinking Water Educations not only something that happen then educate them, it should be on going education for all age on the awareness as well as the positive actions need to be carried out.
World Health Organization States Safe Drinking Water Immediate Priority
1/6/2005 The immediate priority for the health of the displaced populations in the aftermath of the Southeast Asia earthquake and tsunami remains access to adequate supplies of safe drinking water. Additionally, pressing needs are sanitation and hygiene, shelter and access to basic medical supplies. With between three and five million people estimated to be possibly without access to such basic needs, disease outbreaks could lead to a significant increase in casualties. Already, a number of countries are reporting an increase in isolated cases of diarrhoeal diseases.
WHO continues to focus both on the health needs of the survivors and the reconstruction and rehabilitation of health systems. Guiding the public health relief effort in coordination with national and local authorities, communities, other UN organizations, NGOs and donors, WHO is concentrating on five key areas:
1. Disease surveillance: teams of experts have been deployed through the WHO Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN), reviewing the epidemiological situation on a daily basis. Identifying potential disease outbreaks as rapidly as possibly is key, in order to effectively respond.
2. Increasing access to essential health care: assessing the damage to the infrastructure and the needs of the populations, WHO is working closely with ministries of health of the affected countries to rebuild infrastructure as quickly as possible.
3. Technical public health guidance: to ensure essential public health needs are met, WHO is offering technical expertise on issues ranging from disposal of dead bodies, responses to disease outbreaks, maintaining water quality, dealing with excreta, sewage and chemical threats, managing chronic diseases, implementing vaccination programmes and addressing the mental health issues populations may face following this catastrophe.
4. Strengthening supply systems: ensuring supply of medicines, equipment, transport, vaccines and other vital assets.
5. Coordination of international health response: to ensure the right aid reaches the right people at the right time, WHO is guiding the international public health relief effort, to ensure the most efficient outcomes.
WHO Director-General Dr LEE, Jong-wook, is continuing his mission to the affected region today, visiting Aceh, Indonesia, to assess the extent of the devastation and more effectively plan WHO's response to the local populations.
Source: WHO
Water Online News for wastewater professionals
education is the most top priority in Live. As the Guru Confusus said, learning or educating till old age.
Therefore the Safe Drinking Water Educations not only something that happen then educate them, it should be on going education for all age on the awareness as well as the positive actions need to be carried out.
World Health Organization States Safe Drinking Water Immediate Priority
1/6/2005 The immediate priority for the health of the displaced populations in the aftermath of the Southeast Asia earthquake and tsunami remains access to adequate supplies of safe drinking water. Additionally, pressing needs are sanitation and hygiene, shelter and access to basic medical supplies. With between three and five million people estimated to be possibly without access to such basic needs, disease outbreaks could lead to a significant increase in casualties. Already, a number of countries are reporting an increase in isolated cases of diarrhoeal diseases.
WHO continues to focus both on the health needs of the survivors and the reconstruction and rehabilitation of health systems. Guiding the public health relief effort in coordination with national and local authorities, communities, other UN organizations, NGOs and donors, WHO is concentrating on five key areas:
1. Disease surveillance: teams of experts have been deployed through the WHO Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN), reviewing the epidemiological situation on a daily basis. Identifying potential disease outbreaks as rapidly as possibly is key, in order to effectively respond.
2. Increasing access to essential health care: assessing the damage to the infrastructure and the needs of the populations, WHO is working closely with ministries of health of the affected countries to rebuild infrastructure as quickly as possible.
3. Technical public health guidance: to ensure essential public health needs are met, WHO is offering technical expertise on issues ranging from disposal of dead bodies, responses to disease outbreaks, maintaining water quality, dealing with excreta, sewage and chemical threats, managing chronic diseases, implementing vaccination programmes and addressing the mental health issues populations may face following this catastrophe.
4. Strengthening supply systems: ensuring supply of medicines, equipment, transport, vaccines and other vital assets.
5. Coordination of international health response: to ensure the right aid reaches the right people at the right time, WHO is guiding the international public health relief effort, to ensure the most efficient outcomes.
WHO Director-General Dr LEE, Jong-wook, is continuing his mission to the affected region today, visiting Aceh, Indonesia, to assess the extent of the devastation and more effectively plan WHO's response to the local populations.
Source: WHO
Water Online News for wastewater professionals
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