Water Contamination News and Research

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Nano-sized laboratory detects pollutants, disease and biological weapons

For centuries, animals have been our first line of defense against toxins.

18 Feb 2009

U.S. patent for NanoLantern diagnostic technology

The University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) has received a U.S. patent for a diagnostic technology that can rapidly and accurately screen for organisms such as bacteria and other infectious agents.

9 Jan 2009

A new Institute for Nanotechnology

The George Washington University has announced the establishment of the GW Institute for Nanotechnology.

19 Nov 2008

423,000 people in Pakistan need urgent health care

Some 423,000 people in Pakistan need urgent health care after being affected by recent conflict and flooding. WHO and partners are requesting US$ 9.76 million to undertake life-saving health responses to this humanitarian crisis.

9 Sep 2008

Georgia Institute of Technology receives EPA safe drinking water research grant

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the award of a $600,000 research grant to Georgia Tech to improve the detection of known and emerging drinking water contaminants; including the harmful substances produced by blue-green algae in algal blooms and noroviruses.

4 Sep 2008

U.S. spinach and lettuce to be irradiated to stop outbreaks of foodborne bacteria

Following an increasing number of outbreaks of foodborne illnesses over the last few years, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States is about to allow food producers to irradiate spinach and iceberg lettuce to kill foodborne bacteria.

25 Aug 2008

Brits told to boil tap water

Britons living in the north of England have been warned that they must boil tap water before using it because the water is contaminated with a potentially serious stomach bug.

25 Jun 2008

A genetic tool for cleaner water

A genetic tool used by medical researchers may also be used in a novel approach to remove harmful microbes and viruses from drinking water.

3 Jun 2008

By-products of water chlorination linked to birth defects

Drinking water disinfected by chlorine while pregnant may increase the risk of having children with heart problems, cleft palate or major brain defects, according to a study published today in BioMed Central's open access journal Environmental Health.

2 Jun 2008

Population affected by cyclone in Burma/Myanmar

As many as 3.2 million Burmese are estimated to be affected by the devastation caused by Cyclone Nargis, according to geographic risk models developed by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Lehman College, CUNY.

14 May 2008

1,884 cases of enterovirus 71 in China

As of April 29 a total of 1,884 cases including 20 deaths of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) due to enterovirus (EV-71) have been reported among infants and young children. The 20 deaths are in Fuyang city in Anhui Province, China.

2 May 2008

Study links chronic illness to coal-mining pollution

Pollution from coal mining may have a negative impact on public health in mining communities, according to data analyzed in a West Virginia University research study.

26 Mar 2008

Pharmaceuticals in water supplies - Drinking Water Association response

Pharmaceutical residues found in our water supplies are a concern that metropolitan drinking water utilities take very seriously. While the scientific community does not yet know of any human health effects from trace amounts of these chemicals, the water sector is committed to finding out.

11 Mar 2008

Water contaminants? bottled water no help

What the recent story about traces of pharmaceuticals in our drinking water makes very clear is that access to safe drinking water is an issue that affects everyone.

10 Mar 2008

Is Lake Bloomington water safe for drinking?

Lake Bloomington is a major source of drinking water for residents of Bloomington, IL, and has a history of nitrate concentrations that exceed safe levels.

28 Feb 2008

Bioniche receives funding to scale-up E. coli O157:H7 vaccine production

Bioniche Life Sciences Inc. has announced that it has secured a $5 million commercial loan from the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) in support of the scale-up of vaccine production at its Belleville, Ontario facility.

8 Feb 2008

Scientists seek to assess the microbial risks in the water we drink

It is a familiar scenario experienced around the world: an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness suddenly emerges in a community, and no one knows where it came from or how to stop it. At the start of the outbreak, only a few people are affected, most often the very old and the very young.

12 Dec 2007

Arsenic contamination of drinking water does not have a universal solution

Though a worldwide problem, arsenic contamination of drinking water does not have a universal solution.

10 Dec 2007

Evidence of a relationship between swimming babies and infections

"In this way, the study shows that allowing babies to swim is possibly not as harmless with regard to infections as has been presumed till now," underlines Dr. Joachim Heinrich.

4 Oct 2007

New project aims to come up with a water quality standard for activities other than swimming

When health officials find the water quality is unsafe for swimming at Lake Michigan beaches, warnings are quickly posted. But those who pleasure boat, canoe, kayak or fish along the Chicago and Calumet river systems don't have the protection of environmental standards.

13 Sep 2007