Just got done reading this article from the Guardian and it is distressing Guardian analysis reveals millions of customers were asked to used testing method condemned by the EPA which may flush out detectable lead content Source: Water utilities serving American cities use tests that downplay contamination | Environment | The Guardian by Jessica Glenza and Oliver Milman. The …
Over the past few months, the Flint water crisis has been covered at length by various media outlets, including here on microBEnet. Here is an update on the situation from NY Times. The Legionnaire’s cases started popping up around June 2014. This article discusses the poor water management in Flint, as well as the inadequate response …
A recent paper Dzieciol et al uses 16S pyrosequencing to characterize the bacterial biofilms on floor drains. Listeria monocytogenes was also tested for using both cuture-independent and -dependent techniques. Here is the abstract: Sanitation protocols are applied on a daily basis in food processing facilities to prevent the risk of cross-contamination with spoilage organisms. Floor drain water …
Your weekly update of the literature on microbes of the built environment sensu lato. Microbes in the house Rhinitis, Ocular, Throat and Dermal Symptoms, Headache and Tiredness among Students in Schools from Johor Bahru, Malaysia: Associations with Fungal DNA and Mycotoxins in Classroom Dust – Dan Norbäck – PLOS ONE (OA) There are few studies …
The essayist, philosopher and literary naturalist Loren Eiseley has been famously quoted for saying “If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water…” There is no better place to explore the magic than an aquarium. Today’s molecular microbiology capabilities go way beyond the ability to satisfy our scientific curiosity. They enable …
This seems like an incredibly worthy cause: Source: FlintWaterStudy Research Fundraiser by Siddhartha Roy – GoFundMe In addition it is directly connected to the mission of microBEnet in that this is a fundraiser for the work of Marc Edwards, He is a professor at Virginia Tech and one of the heroes of the Flint Water …
There is a new open access paper of possible interest to those working on water systems, green buildings, and/or microbial ecology: Survey of green building water systems reveals elevated water age and water quality concerns – Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology (RSC Publishing) DOI:10.1039/C5EW00221D By William J. Rhoads, Amy Pruden and Marc A. Edwards in Environmental …
The Guardian is reporting that lead contamination may be a problem “in every major city east of the Mississippi,” and that, as in Flint, contamination may be deliberately covered up by local water utilities through a loosely organized program of test gaming. Lead isn’t very soluble in water. If you want your tests to come …
(Update: after posting this I found that actual experts have proposed a different hypothesis) So the recent Legionnaires’ Disease Outbreak in Flint, Michigan has been getting quite a bit of press recently. For example in the last few days here are pieces from The Atlantic, The Washington Post, and CNN. The very short version of …
Often on this blog, we talk about biofilms in water systems or water-borne pathogens. Even when we discuss the drinking water microbiome, it is seldom with a focus on any particularly beneficial bacteria. Although there has been some discussion about what essentially amounts to probiotics for water, there seems to be little literature in the area …