CLEANING WATER WITH SUCTION POWER

LIFESTRAW: Every year two million people die as a result of drinking contaminated water, particularly children and old people with weakened immune systems. Contaminated water transmits diseases such as typhoid, cholera, dysentery and diarrhoea. And more than a sixth of the world’s population – over a billion people – do not have access to clean water.

But now there is hope in sight. The Danish company Vester-gaard Frandsen has invented a simple device – a drinking straw called LifeStraw – which sucks in contaminated water at one end and delivers drinkable water at the other. LifeStraw delivers 99.999999% clean water, which is cleaner than most of the water supplies in developing countries.

LifeStraw consists of a three-compartment tube. The largest contaminant particles are immediately filtered out as water is sucked into the tube. The water passes into the first compartment, filled with an iodine based resin which kills bacteria and viruses. After that, it passes into an empty compartment where the iodine continues to be active. Finally the water is sucked into the last compartment containing granular activated carbon to help remove the taste of iodine and precipitate any heavy metals and water-borne parasites.

1 litre in 8 minutes
“It takes about eight minutes to suck a litre of water through the tube,” says development director Torben Vestergaard Frandsen, the man behind the revolutionary invention. “The tube weighs less than 100 grams, and can be carried on a string around the neck so the wearer always has access to clean water. It costs only around USD 3, and the tube is active without needing to be cleaned for about one year.” LifeStraw has been received with enthusiasm throughout the world, and many have called it the invention of the year. In autumn 2005, LifeStraw received the prestigious INDEX: 2005 design award, on account of the fact that the product is highly accessible, with no moving parts that can break, and with no need for any energy source other than the user’s ability to suck.

In the US, the product is awaiting approval from the health authorities before it can be sold on the free market, but this is expected to be given in the not too distant future. Hurricane Katrina, which caused massive destructions in Louisiana and Texas last year, highlighted the pressing need for clean drinking water when public systems break down.

Emergency aid
“We have delivered the first large batches to emergency aid organisations which are working in Pakistan after the devastating earthquake, and the reactions have been very positive,” says Torben Vestergaard Frandsen. “There have also been responses on minor adjustments that are needed, and we have done that.”

When Vestergaard Frandsen first started grappling with the drinking straw concept, he began by using filters made from fabric, but quickly discovered that it was unworkable. Even the most fine-meshed filter could not capture particle under one micron in diameter; cholera bacteria for instance are less than half a micron in size. But the idea progressed, and a team comprising Rob Fleuren from the Netherlands, and Moshe Frommer from Israel developed the drinking straw to its current shape.

http://www.lifestraw.com

Fighting malaria Vestergaard Frandsen A/S, the Danish company which invented the revolutionary LifeStraw, is the world’s largest supplier of disease control fabrics. The company has achieved this position through the development of impregnated mosquito nets which kill malaria-carrying mosquitoes. PermaNet accounts for more than half of all mosquito nets used worldwide. In addition, Vestergaard Frandsen has developed special insecticidal impregnated plastic tents and plastic covers called ZeroFly for relief aid in catastrophe situations. ZeroFly provides protection against malaria-carrying mosquitoes at the same time as providing protection against wind and weather. Cost ef fective “Major efforts against malaria still lie ahead, primarily in Africa,” says development director Torben Vestergaard Frandsen. “It is possible to protect against the disease, but a change of attitude towards protection rather than treatment is required, among both the people at risk and the health authorities. It’s worth contemplating that while our PermaNet costs around USD 4.5 – and provides protection up to 5 years – each person in Kenya uses on average USD 44 annually on malaria drugs.” A newly developed trap for catching Tsetse flies, which cause the lethal sleeping sickness, is among Vestergaard Frandsen’s most recent products. More than 250,000 people die each year in Africa from sleeping sickness, which according to Torben Vestergaard Frandsen should have just as much attention as threats like AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Deadly “Although it is virtually impossible to completely eradicate Tsetse fly, much more should be done than is currently being done, because it is so deadly. Our trap offers a way of catching up to 95% of these dangerous flies.” Vestergaard Frandsen A/S is head-quartered in Switzerland, and has local offices and warehouses in Denmark, Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, The United Arab Emirates, India, Thai-land and the US, as well as laboratories in Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand. The company collaborates closely with most emergency aid organisations and the UN. http://www.vestergaard-frandsen.com