Environmental issues and solutions

Although astonishing, chances are that your drinking water filter nozzles  might not be particularly safe, especially when they are laden with harmful contaminants or modify the chemical properties of the water running through it. However, the French Health Authorities took a decisive step in 1999 in a bid to circumvent this tripwire. In ensuring that water remains potable even after passing through filter nozzles, authorities introduced a comprehensive checklist of safety standards for plastic filter nozzles. Hence, plastic products had to meet these requirements to be considered safe for use in drinking water for human consumption. Certificates were only given after a careful evaluation and screening process of products to ensure that accessories and components met safety requirements. For example, products must not be shown to possess the ability to modify the physicochemical, organoleptic and microbiological properties of water intended for human consumption. Itali...

Building mishaps can take varying dimensions and lead to disasters of unexpected thresholds.  Arguably leading the pack in mistakes often made by building owners is to rule out the presence of asbestos in their properties, especially if they were constructed after 1980. This well-intentioned but obviously erroneous conclusion can be hugely catastrophic. As asbestos was extensively used in the 1950 ’ s but later waned in popularity in the 60 ’ s and 70 ’ s, homes built in 1980 ’ s and afterwards are expectedly not asbestos-laden due to court and government injunctions against its use. However, it ’ s largely a misconstruction to posit that all homes built after 1980 are asbestos free since many construction materials in use today are known to contain trace amounts of asbestos compounds. The second misconception is that since asbestos use was discarded decades ago, the material would not be present in present-day building materials. However, the fact remains that asbestos is...

Asbestos inspection may likely not come across as a herculean task, but inspectors surely have more to do than you might think. The term “ Asbestos ” is not exclusive to a particular material but used to refer to a group of minerals. Its microscopic fibers are obviously not visible to the naked eye, making them particularly difficult to detect and further enhancing their danger when present in a working environment. Being a mineral, asbestos is fireproof and forms an excellent layer of insulating protection that also confers superb fireproof benefits. However, the tiny fibers of asbestos splinter like the finest glass threads one can imagine. But more worrisome is the fact that the fibers don’t decay when inhaled, in contrast to other things we take in. Hence, the tiny fibers splinter off and become impinged on tissues when inhaled. As risky as this material is, no symptoms typically present after initial contact with asbestos. Individuals who are likely to elicit proble...