Nigeria, a country in which 66 million people lack safe drinking water. The occasion: a celebration of the production of the one-billionth quart of clean drinking water with a purification technology developed by chemists at Procter & Gamble and the CDC.
The technology consists of small, easy-to-use packets that people in rural areas can add to a container of dirty water. These so-called PUR water purification packets work like a mini water treatment plant. PUR packets contain powdered water clarification and disinfectant chemicals similar to those used in municipal water purification plants.
One ingredient: calcium hypochlorite, which kills parasites, bacteria, and viruses. Another: ferric sulfate, which removes dirt and other impurities. PUR packets kill microbes that cause cholera, typhoid, and dysentery. They remove potentially toxic metals like lead, arsenic, and mercury. PUR packets also remove pesticides like DDT and other undesirable materials. It takes less than 30 minutes to purify 10 quarts of water. The packets are provided in the developing world for only pennies.
At the clinic, P&G’s former Chief Executive Officer, President, and Chairman, donated the PUR packet that provided the one-billionth liter of safe drinking water. Local and national government officials and others gathered at the clinic to observe the milestone.
Reaching 1 billion liters of safe drinking water provided so far by PUR purified water. It’s a little packet of powder, and it transforms dirty, contaminated water into clear, safe drinking water. You add it to 2½ gallons, stir for 5 minutes, and the water visibly and physically transforms in front of your eyes to clear water. Pour it into a cloth, wait 20 minutes, and then it’s safe to drink.”
How effective is this chemical magic? ACS national meeting described the clinical trials. One involved 25,000 people in four countries — Guatemala, Pakistan, Kenya, and Liberia. PUR packets reduced the incidence of by an adiarrheaverage of 50 percent. One of the trials in a refugee camp found a 90 percent reduction in diarrhea.
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