In rural areas of the nations of the south, many families tend to prefer a water storage container that is made of pottery. This is because there is a cooling effect when air currents blow against the damp outer surfaces. However there is a major public health concern, that the porous inner surfaces of these containers are a breeding ground for bacteria. Tests like the following will hopefully point to some simple methods of remediation, cutting down on the numbers of illnesses.
It is believed that these tests indicate first positive results for any simple, appropriate form of remediation. The inexpensive treatment procedures with silver can be performed in situ, wherever the containers are produced. About the yellow ochre container a simple amount, for good application, should be 14%, added to 86% of a common, appropriate pottery clay.
When the weather is very hot the water of a pottery container is still cool, thus this tradition is not likely to die. People also tend to dislike the taste of water of a plastic container. Better is a way of disinfecting the porous surfaces. Silver Ceramic Systems has now undertaken these simple tests, which give a first indication that both silver and yellow ochre should be suitable for a pottery container, in making the water safe to drink, with respect to E coli removal.
In the rural South the clean water that is poured into the pottery containers can quickly become contaminated with bacteria. It is hard to imagine how many countless incidences of diarrheal illness can be attributed to the inner surfaces of such containers!
Testing on the bowls shown was done using the product, 3M PetriFilm Plates, which test mimics laboratory membrane filtration. The count of bacteria colonies was determined for 1.0 ml. of the water for each sample, placed on the plates. Results indicated uncountable colony units (CUs) for the raw water, zero CUs for the silver and yellow ochre surfaces, and 8 to 30 CUs on the control surface, after periods of two and eight hours respectively. |
