Latest News in the Business and Financial World

Sunday, March 7, 2021
Log in
  • Home
  • Company News & Financials
  • OTC Markets
  • Tech & Science
  • Health & LifeStyle
  • About WS OTC
    • Analysts & Contributors
    • Contact Us
    • Advertising
    • Feedback
    • Privacy Policy GDPR
  • Mobile
  • Latest News
    • New Theories Explain the Disappearance of the Mayan Civilization
    • What Happens If Coral Reefs Die?
    • Monsanto Loses Lawsuit for its Herbicide Products
    • Mankind (MNKD) shares Plunge after FDA Approves Afrezza, inhaled Insulin for Diabetes patients
    • Psychologists Confirm that Violent Video Games Boost Aggressiveness
    • World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor Release Date on Nov 13
    • iPass Global Hotspot Map Unveils Worldwide Wi-fi Coverage

Pages

  • About Wall Street OTC
  • Advertising
  • Analysts & Contributors
  • Contact
  • Feedback
  • Mobile
  • Privacy Policy GDPR
  • Terms of Service

Recent Posts

  • SF Hospital Slaps New Parents with $19K Bill for Baby Treatment
  • Furious Trump Blasts Harley-Davidson for Moving Production Overseas
  • Warning! MRI Machines Could Poison You
  • Flight Attendants More Likely to Get Certain Cancers
  • More Red Meat Allergy Cases Related to Lone Star Tick Bites

Glow-in-the-Dark Tampons: Surprising Solution for Detecting Water Pollution

Mar 31, 2015 By Christina Langfold Leave a Comment

Email, RSS Follow

RAW SEWAGE

Environmental researchers have come up with the most surprising weapon to fight the ever-growing sewage pollution that plagues our rivers: glow-in-the-dark tampons.

It might sound icky and all kinds of disgusting, but apparently, that’s not the case. It’s fairly simple: experts dip new, out-of-the-box tampons into rivers and then look at them under ultraviolet light.

If they come up glowing, it is a clear sign that river water has been infested with organic brightening agents. Those are usually found in shampoos, toilet paper, and laundry detergents, so the researchers know that untreated sewage was dumped into said river.

David Nicholas Lerner and Dave Mark Chandler, both environmental engineers at the University of Sheffield, have published a study in Water and Environment Journal, claiming that the technique is actually really efficient.

The problem is that Lerner and Chandler have discovered that approximately one million homes in Britain are not properly connected to treatment plants, and their sewage is going directly into streams instead. And on top of that issue is the difficulty with which the source of sewage spillage is spotted, because existing tests are complex and expensive, and rarely used.

That’s why the tampons solution is so efficient. Instead of using a conductivity and temperature meter to test the waters, tampons and UV lighting is not only a cheaper method, but also more effective.

Lerner emailed NBC News telling them this test identifies the presence of sewage, which is all the researchers need. They obviously don’t get all the details about which pollutants have infested the waters, but they also don’t need all that information.

Organic brighteners are also visible with the use of fluorimeters, but they are rather pricey. The new method only needs a lightproof enclosure and a $10 black light.

Why are tampons so efficient at detecting pollution? Natural cotton is the key, because it does not contain the very organic brighteners the tampons are supposed to test for, unlike other absorbent cotton materials.

It’s not just that sewage pollution is unhealthy overall, but it also alters river ecosystems and eventually creates a gray lining of fungus on the riverbed. In especially bad cases, water pollution kills fish and other living creatures.

Luckily, homeowners who were found to have faulty connections to treatment plants were happy to fix their problems, as Lerner said. Nine out of sixteen suspected sources of pollution were confirmed, and the next stage is fixing them.

Lerner and his colleagues want to do reconnaissance surveys, dipping tampons on various points of the watercourses, in an attempt to narrow down where the problems are occurring.

Image Source: Global Journalist

Email, RSS Follow
The following two tabs change content below.
  • Bio
  • Latest Posts

Christina Langfold

Remember that weird girl in school who never quite managed to fit in? Who was always silent and strange? That was me during my entire teenage life. A few years after finishing college (with a degree in arts) I decided that the best way to become more sociable, while also feeling safe, is to test my people skills online.

Latest posts by Christina Langfold (see all)

  • Scientists Discover the Second Fastest Spinning Pulsar In The Universe - Sep 9, 2017
  • Coral Reef Damage Scares Florida Keys Researchers and Businesses - Jun 26, 2017
  • Nike to Slash Global Workforce by 1,400 - Jun 16, 2017

Filed Under: Tech & Science

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 72 other subscribers

Mom holding newborn's hands

SF Hospital Slaps New Parents with $19K Bill for Baby Treatment

Jun 29, 2018 By Anne-Marie Jackson Leave a Comment

Harley-Davidson biker

Furious Trump Blasts Harley-Davidson for Moving Production Overseas

Jun 28, 2018 By Anne-Marie Jackson Leave a Comment

MRI machine

Warning! MRI Machines Could Poison You

Jun 27, 2018 By Anne-Marie Jackson Leave a Comment

Flight Attendants More Likely to Get Certain Cancers

Jun 27, 2018 By Anne-Marie Jackson Leave a Comment

Lone star tick sitting on a succulent leaf

More Red Meat Allergy Cases Related to Lone Star Tick Bites

Jun 26, 2018 By Anne-Marie Jackson Leave a Comment

Time magazine cover

Time Admits Sobbing Cover Girl Was Not Separated from Parents

Jun 26, 2018 By Anne-Marie Jackson Leave a Comment

Sunshine and green leaves

Vitamin D Deficiency Could Boost Risk of Lung Disease

Jun 25, 2018 By Anne-Marie Jackson Leave a Comment

Green-light laser pointer

Greek Boy’s Retina Severely Damaged by Laser Pointer

Jun 22, 2018 By Anne-Marie Jackson Leave a Comment

Red Tesla car

Tesla Suing ‘Whistleblower’ over Data Theft

Jun 21, 2018 By Anne-Marie Jackson Leave a Comment

Boiled eggs and mayonnaise

Eating too Clean Can Lead to Orthorexia

Jun 20, 2018 By Anne-Marie Jackson Leave a Comment

NYC mayor Bill de Blasio

NYC Will Allow People to Smoke Pot in Public

Jun 20, 2018 By Anne-Marie Jackson Leave a Comment

A kitten and a puppy sleeping in a bed while hugging each other

Who Is Smarter Between Cats and Dogs? Researchers Have an Answer (Study)

Jun 19, 2018 By Anne-Marie Jackson Leave a Comment

Orthodox church in Greece

Being Religious Is Tied to Longer Lifespan, Study

Jun 19, 2018 By Anne-Marie Jackson Leave a Comment

Bacon and eggs for breakfast

How Does the Keto Diet Work?

Jun 18, 2018 By Anne-Marie Jackson Leave a Comment

Related Articles

  • A kitten and a puppy sleeping in a bed while hugging each other

    Who Is Smarter Between Cats and Dogs? Researchers Have an Answer (Study)

    Jun 19, 2018
  • Pluto and other transneptunian objects on a scale

    The Icy Transneptunian Objects Are Not Proof that Planet Nine Exists

    Jun 5, 2018
  • Sunny day

    Days Are Getting Longer as Moon Drifts Farther Away

    Jun 5, 2018
  • Coronal mass ejection

    NASA Scientist Building Solar Probe: ‘I See God’s Hand in the Wonders of Space’

    May 30, 2018
  • Steam Link device next to its box

    Apple Rejects Steam Link from the App Store Due to Unspecified Business Conflicts

    May 25, 2018
  • Two-headed deer

    Two-Headed Deer found in Minnesota Forest Baffles Scientists

    May 16, 2018
  • Woman watching the sea

    Hawaii Inching Closer to Banning Sunscreen

    May 9, 2018
  • Cows grazing

    In the Next 200 Years, Cows Will Be the Largest Mammals Left (Study)

    Apr 20, 2018
  • Nintendo Switch Ad

    Nintendo Switch Beats Wii U in Sales during Holiday Quarter

    Feb 1, 2018
  • Geminid Meteor Shower in Rural America

    December Meteor Shower Could Be the Most Spectacular This Year

    Dec 16, 2017

Categories

  • Business
  • Company News & Financials
  • Diversified Financial
  • Entertainment
  • Featured
  • Health & LifeStyle
  • Micro Cap
  • Mid Cap
  • National News
  • Nature
  • OTC Exchange
  • OTC Markets
  • OTC Research
  • Science
  • Small Cap
  • Sports
  • Tech & Science
  • U.S.
  • Uncategorized
  • Wall Street
  • World
  • World Indexes

Copyright © 2021 wallstreetotc.com

About · Privacy Policy · Sitemap · Terms of Service · Contact

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Learn more.