These are some edited extracts of a report done at the request of UN and backed fully by the US including some heavy funding for a product that is not supposed to kill off germs, viruses, bacteria and pathogens which subsequently kill people. - OF COURSE COLLOIDAL SILVER WORKS REVIEW THES FACTS....

Submitted to Jubilee House

November 18, 2001

USAID Purchase Order Number:

     524-0-00-01-00014-5362 

 

 

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Extracts from

 

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Investigation

Colloidal Silver Impregnated Ceramic Filter

 

Report 2:  Field Investigations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Daniele S. Lantagne

Alethia Environmental

 

 

 

 

1   Project Background

1.1   Hurricane Mitch, USAID, and CACEDRF

 

In October 1998, Hurricane Mitch devastated Central America, causing over 3,000 deaths in Nicaragua alone (USAID 2001, 2001a).  An estimated 18 percent of the population of Nicaragua was affected by Mitch, and water and wastewater systems serving 804,000 people suffered over US$560 million in damage.  The Unites States provided US$22 million in immediate humanitarian and food aid, and an additional US$8 million to start reconstruction activities in health, agriculture, and micro-finance. 

 

In May 1999, the United States Congress authorized US$621 million in aid under the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act (USAID, 2001).  These funds were authorized to support reconstruction in countries affected by Hurricanes George and Mitch, and were later authorized to cover Hurricanes Floyd and Lenny, as well as the earthquake of January 1999.  This appropriation created an account named the Central American and Caribbean Emergency Disaster Recovery Funds (CACEDRF).

 

USAID is responsible for administering US$586.8 million of the US$621 million allocated under CACEDRF (USAID, 2001a).  Of the total funds, US$94.1 million was allocated for economic reactivation, public health, school rehabilitation, disaster mitigation, and municipal restoration in Nicaragua.  As of June 30, 2001, a significant amount of progress on projects relating to water supply and sanitation had already occurred (Table 1-1). 

Table 1‑1:  CACEDRF Successes Relating to Water Supply and Sanitation in Nicaragua

 

Category	Success
Economic Reactivation	57,000 households incorporated environmentally sustainable practices on their farms 8,000 hectares of watershed area protected
Public Health	2,440 wells rehabilitated or built 5,740 latrines constructed 600 seepage pits constructed 175 deep wells drilled in rural areas 10,000 training visits held to improve health behavior related to new water and sanitation infrastructure 6 health clinics constructed
School Rehabilitation	196 schools scheduled for rehabilitation of wells and latrines
Disaster Mitigation	Cleaning and stabilizing stream channels Construction of drainage channels
Municipal Restoration	Projects with local governments on storm drain systems, flood control, river deck construction

 

 

 

 

An additional goal of the rehabilitation program in Nicaragua is to investigate point-of-use household water filtration systems (USAID, 2001b).  To this end, USAID worked to install 40,000 sand filtration units, supervised by Maria Alejandra Bosche.  Ms. Bosche found that follow-up education was critical to the correct and continued use of the filter system (Bosche, personal conversation).

 

Secondly, USAID contracted with Jubilee House Community (JHC) to study the Potters for Peace (PFP) ceramic water filtration system.  JHC, an intentional Christian community, is a 501(c)3 organization in North Carolina (JHC-CDCA, 2001).  From 1979 – 1994, members of the community worked on shelters for homeless and battered women, as well as other social and justice issues, in North Carolina.  In 1994, the community moved to Nicaragua, established the Center for Development in Central America (CDCA), and began working with communities in Nicaragua.  After Hurricane Mitch, JHC-CDCA began to work on reconstruction projects in Nueva Vida, a nearby community swelled with displaced persons.  USAID provided funding and supplies to build housing, a medical clinic, and latrines (USAID, 2001c).  JHC and a group of volunteers worked with the community to build these facilities, in addition to a number of other projects.  One of these other projects is the promotion of the Potters for Peace water filtration system to provide safe drinking water for families in Nueva Vida. 

 

JHC worked with PFP to contract Daniele Lantagne, Principal of Alethia Environmental and Lecturer in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to complete the project.  The project was divided into two deliverables, one addressing the intrinsic effectiveness of the filter, and the other addressing the performance of the filters under field conditions.  Specifically the reports are to address the following:

 

Report 1:  Intrinsic Effectiveness of the Potters for Peace

Ceramic Filter

 

·    Best practices for colloidal silver application.

·    Expected filter flow rates with and without colloidal silver.

·    Expected lifetime per application of colloidal silver.

·    Concentration of silver in filtered water.

·    Effects of ingestion of the silver.

·    Inactivation of microbes as a function of the concentration of silver.

·    Effectiveness of silver in removing other pollutants commonly found in the area of interest. 

 

Completion Deadline:  December 21, 2001

 

The PFP Filter

Initial Filter Design

 

In 1981 the InterAmerican Bank financed a comparative study designed to determine which of 10 appropriate technology filters could be best adapted to the objectives of the project, which were (ICAITI, 1994):

 

1.   to produce a domestic filter of suitable capacity;

2.   in a self-supporting manner;

3.   whose production would foster economic activity at low income levels; and

4.   foster artisan activity.

 

ICAITI, an industrial research institute in Guatemala supported by the Organization for American States, was contracted to complete the research and to choose a model.  Ten models were evaluated based on filtration flow, bacteriological efficiency, ease of manufacture, availability of materials, final cost, contribution to artisan activity, and ease of distribution.  All but two models were discarded after initial review because they did not meet basic criteria.  The two models not discarded were: 

 

1.   Lathed clay filter with feldspar, sawdust, and colloidal silver impregnation; and

2.   Lathed clay filter with sand, sawdust, and colloidal silver impregnation.

 

None of the ten models investigated utilized chlorine as a disinfectant.

 

Further research was then conducted on the two models that met the basic criteria.  This research, led by Fernando Mazareigos, did extensive bacteriological testing over a 3 to 10 month period.  Results of this research include:

 

1.   Of 302 filtered samples analyzed, only 6.3 percent were above 1.0 coliforms per 100 mL of water.  The method used for analysis was most probable number.     

2.   Application of silver was determined to be more uniform when applied by brush as opposed to filtering water containing colloidal silver through the filtering element. 

3.   Frequent contamination was found both in the first few runs of the filter (41 percent contaminated) and after handling the element during sampling.  This was attributed to handling the filter and ICAITI recommended that users refrain from touching the element during its useful life.  Due to the omnipresent bacteria in the environment “usage of the filter must be accompanied by sanitary and hygienic practices in order to maximize the potential benefits to health.” 

4.   Flow in the filters gradually declined from 3.5 liters per hour on Day 1 to 1.97 liters per hour on Day 365.  The report contained no information on turbidity of the raw water supply. 

5.   ICAITI recommended not using the filter with chlorinated water.  No reason was given.

 

Based on these results, ICAITI concluded that a colloidal silver impregnated ceramic filter was the only design that met all established criteria of the study.  The United Nations then included this filter in their Appropriate Technology Resource Material Manual.  ICAITI concluded its study by producing a “Manual Para La Fabricacion De Filtros Artesanales De Agua Potable.” 

 

Table 0‑1:  Worldwide Public Health Impact of Waterborne Disease (WHO, undated)

 

Disease	Morbidity       (per year)	Mortality (deaths / year)	Population at risk
Waterborne & water-washed
Cholera
Diarrheal disease	1,500 million episodes in children under 5	4 million in children under 5	over 2,000 million
Enteric fevers	500,000 cases	25,000
Poliomyelitis	204,000	25,000
Ascariasis (roundworm)	1,000,000	20,000
Leptospirosis
Trichuriasis
Water-washed
Trachoma	6 – 9 million blind		500 million
Leishmaniasis	400,000 new infections / year		350 million
Relapsing fever
Typhus fever
Water-based
Schistosomiasis	200 million	200,000	500 – 600 million
Dracunculiasis	over 10 million		over 100 million

 

 

 

The microorganisms that cause these waterborne diseases are classified as bacteria, protozoa, viruses, and helminths (Levinson, 1996).  These four organisms belong to different kingdoms and are eukaryotic (containing DNA with a nuclear membrane), prokaryotic (without a defined membrane), and noncellular (Table 3-2).

 

Table 0‑2:  Biologic Relationships of Pathogenic Microorganisms (Levinson, 1996)

 

Kingdom	Pathogenic Microorganism	Type of Cell
Animal	Helminths	Eukaryotic
Protist	Protozoa Fungi	Eukaryotic Eukaryotic
Prokaryote	Bacteria	Prokaryotic
	Viruses	Noncellular

 

 

 

Bacteria are single-celled prokaryotic (without nucleus) members of the eubacteria group (MEI, 1991).  Although they are not eukaryotes (with a defined nucleus), they have similar cell chemistry to eukaryotes.  Their size varies from 0.3 to 100 μm in length, depending on their shape (Table 3-3).   E. coli is a rod shaped bacteria that is 0.5 μm in width and 2 μm in length.  Most of the bacteria are larger than the 1μm pore size that Potters for Peace aims to maintain in their filter. 

 

Table 0‑3:  Bacteria Types and Size (adapted from MEI, 1991)

 

Shape	Name	Size
Spherical	cocci, coccus	1 – 3 μm in diameter
Rod	bacilli, bacillus	0.3 – 1.5 μm in width 1.0 – 10 μm in length
Curved rod	vibrios	0.6 – 1.0 μm in width 2 – 6 μm in length
Spiral	spirilla	up to 50 μm
Filamentous		up to 100 μm and longer

 

 

 

Protozoa are single-celled eukaryotic (with a nucleus) organisms.  They feed on bacteria and other microscopic organisms.  Giardia lamblia and cryptosporidium are common disease-causing protozoa.  Protozoa range in size from 8 – 100 μm. 

 

Viruses are parasitic particles consisting of a strand of genetic material.  They do not have the ability to synthesize new compounds, and instead invade the host cell and redirect the host genetic material to produce viral particles.  Because they do not have the structure to reproduce themselves, viruses are the smallest of the disease-causing organisms, at 0.02 – 0.2 μm. 

 

Helminths are worms that are part of the animal kingdom.  Platyhelminthes (flatworms) and Aschelminthes (flukes, tapeworms) are present in water bodies throughout the world, and enter the human body to cause diseases such as trichinosis, hookworm, and roundworm infestation. 

 

Infectious agents commonly found in drinking water include members of the bacteria, virus, protozoa, and helminth groups and cause diseases ranging from diarrhea to jaundice to acute respiratory illnesses (Table 3-4).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table 0‑4:  Waterborne Disease-Causing Organisms (MEI, 1991)

 

Organism	Disease	Remarks
Bacteria
Escherichia coli	Gastroenteritis	Diarrhea
Legionella pneumophila	Legionellosis	Acute respiratory illness
Leptospira	Leptospriosis	Jaundice, fever
Salmonella typhi	Typhoid fever	Fever, diarrhea
Salmonella	Salmonellosis	Food poisoning
Shigella	Shigelloisis	Bacillary dysentery
Vibrio cholerae	Cholera	Heavy diarrhea, dehydration
Yersinia enterolitica	Yersinosis	Diarrhea
Viruses
Adenovirus	Respiratory disease
Enteroviruses (67 types, including polio, echo, etc.)	Gastroenteritis, heart anomalies, meningitis
Hepatitis A	Infectious hepatitis	Jaundice, fever
Norwalk agent	Gastroenteritis	Vomiting
Reovirus	Gastroenteritis
Rotavirus	Gastroenteritis
Protozoa
Balantidium coli	Balantidiasis	Diarrhea, dysentery
Cryptosporidium	Cryptosporidiosis	Diarrhea
Entamoeba histolytica	Amebiasis	Diarrhea, bleeding
Giardia lamblia	Giardiasis	Diarrhea, nausea, indigestion
Helminths
Ascaris lumbricoides	Ascariasis	Roundworm infestation
Enterobius vericularis	Enterobiasis	Pinworm
Fasciola hepatica	Fascioliasis	Sheep liver fluke
Hymenolepis nana	Hymenolepiasis	Dwarf tapeworm
Taenia saginata	Taeniasis	Beef tapeworm
T. solium