Ratheesh KrishnaVadhyar (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} ratheesh) wrote,@ 2007-09-17 22:40:00 |
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Pollution, Contamination, ..
Last Thursday, Malayala Manorama newspaper published the results of a study they conducted on the various water sources of Kerala. Hundreds of water samples were collected from wells, water taps, dams and rivers located at various places in Kerala and these samples were examined at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. The tests revealed that more than 95% of the samples had an alarming density of E. coli bacteria. Vitamins like lead, mercury and nickel provide additional flavor to the water.
If this is the situation in Kerala, the story at Bangalore, where the sewage and water pipes run in parallel, is anybody's guess.
Kerala government recently banned thin plastic bags in the state. However, the ban is only for bags with less than 30 microns (?) in thickness, as these are the bags that are not bio-degradable or recyclable. So, shopkeepers are selling their items in special plastic bags which have some sort of a sign (a seal from the bag manufacturers, for example) on the bags certifying that they are more than 30 microns thick. These bags are freely used by people and are dumped at any place of choice.
Without establishing a system and process for collection and recycling/disposal of all the plastic items (or any wastage for that matter), just enforcing a ban on certain plastic items may not be of much use, I am afraid.
Fruits and vegetables are not really that healthy in India, as all of us know. The application of poisons like calcium carbide to quicken the ripening process of mangoes is well-known all over India, and I had several stomach problems in the recent mango-season. I had heard that some sort of wax-like and harmful substance is applied on apples to make them look shiny and also to protect them from insects, but it was only last week that I got an opportunity to perform a simple exercise to collect this wax.
Take an apple. Using a knife or blade, slowly scratch on the skin of the fruit. If you see a white wax-like substance coming out of the apple, it is contaminated. On an average, a spoonful of wax powder can be collected from one apple. This can be placed on a small flame, and we can see it melt and evaporate quickly. I buy apples frequently from "reputed" shops like Big Bazaar, and this particular phenomenon was observed on one such apple.
It seems that many other fruits, and some vegetables like brinjal are also blessed with this wax, though I have not verified this myself.
Last Thursday, Malayala Manorama newspaper published the results of a study they conducted on the various water sources of Kerala. Hundreds of water samples were collected from wells, water taps, dams and rivers located at various places in Kerala and these samples were examined at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. The tests revealed that more than 95% of the samples had an alarming density of E. coli bacteria. Vitamins like lead, mercury and nickel provide additional flavor to the water.
If this is the situation in Kerala, the story at Bangalore, where the sewage and water pipes run in parallel, is anybody's guess.
* * *
Kerala government recently banned thin plastic bags in the state. However, the ban is only for bags with less than 30 microns (?) in thickness, as these are the bags that are not bio-degradable or recyclable. So, shopkeepers are selling their items in special plastic bags which have some sort of a sign (a seal from the bag manufacturers, for example) on the bags certifying that they are more than 30 microns thick. These bags are freely used by people and are dumped at any place of choice.
Without establishing a system and process for collection and recycling/disposal of all the plastic items (or any wastage for that matter), just enforcing a ban on certain plastic items may not be of much use, I am afraid.
* * *
Fruits and vegetables are not really that healthy in India, as all of us know. The application of poisons like calcium carbide to quicken the ripening process of mangoes is well-known all over India, and I had several stomach problems in the recent mango-season. I had heard that some sort of wax-like and harmful substance is applied on apples to make them look shiny and also to protect them from insects, but it was only last week that I got an opportunity to perform a simple exercise to collect this wax.
Take an apple. Using a knife or blade, slowly scratch on the skin of the fruit. If you see a white wax-like substance coming out of the apple, it is contaminated. On an average, a spoonful of wax powder can be collected from one apple. This can be placed on a small flame, and we can see it melt and evaporate quickly. I buy apples frequently from "reputed" shops like Big Bazaar, and this particular phenomenon was observed on one such apple.
It seems that many other fruits, and some vegetables like brinjal are also blessed with this wax, though I have not verified this myself.
