alzheimer's disease against water treatment process

Aluminium sulfate is an industrial chemical used as a flocculating agent in the purification of drinking water and waste water treatment plants, and also in paper manufacturing. However, recent studies have discovered a number of snags concerning the use of alum salts, for example Alzheimer’s disease and other related problems associated with residual alum in treated water.
In the UK the death of Carole Cross in 2004 has sparked calls for wider health checks over the possible effects of aluminium as a cause of Alzheimer's disease. Carole Cross lived in an area of Cornwall that had accidentally had its water supply contaminated with aluminium sulphate.
Carole died from a rare form of Alzheimer's. The condition was a form of early-onset beta amyloid angiopathy, characterised by the deposition of a protein called beta amyloid in the brain’s blood vessels. During autopsy very high levels of aluminium were found in the brain. Analysis showed aluminium levels in her brain of 23 micrograms per gram of brain. Normal brain levels range from 0 to 2 micrograms per gram.
During 1998, then aged 44, Carole Cross was exposed over a number of weeks to high concentrations of aluminium in her drinking water. Fifteen years later in May 2003 her mental state had deteriorated and she died in April 2004. The accident exposed around 20,000 people to levels of aluminium up to 3,000 times the acceptable limit as defined by the European Union. A Parliamentary investigating committee is due to meet again in a couple of months, but no date has been given for the publication of the final report.
The relationship between aluminium and the onset of Alzheimer's has never been fully understood as to whether it is a cause or a possible effect of Alzheimer's. As people get older the levels of aluminium in the brain increase naturally. Although this appears to be a one-off case health officals remain vigilant. A further case could be very important in understanding the relationship between aluminium and Alzheimer's and will be certain to highten concerns amongst the affected population.
To ease the problems associated with chemical coagulants, several studies have pointed out the introduction of natural coagulants produced or extracted from microorganisms animal or plant.

ALZHEIMER'S disease, which has affected 60,000 Malaysians, is on the rise. Despite intensive research in recent years, the disease is still not yet fully understood and there is still no known cure.

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Each day, thermal power generation, factories and other sources discharge thousands of tones of oxides including sulphur into the atmosphere. Rain is the purest source of water. Acid rain means any precipitation-rain, snow or dew, which is more acidic than normal. Acidity of water is measured on a pH-scale, ranging from 0-14 pH. Neutral solutions and freshly prepared distilled water have a pH of 7.0. Normal rain is slightly acidic (Ph<7) because of the presence of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. In the absence of pollution the typical pH of rain would be approximately 5.6 (Baukal, 2004). Acid solutions have a pH<7 and alkaline solutions have a pH >7. If pH of rain is less than 5.6, it is termed as acid rain. Now a day, acid rains with pH < 4.5 are common in a lot of developed countries (Bhatia, 2002). Acid rain was initially linked with burning coal in power plants but has since been expanded to include all types of fossil-fuel burning processes, which encompasses all of those considered here.


Sulphur entering the atmosphere are converted to sulphuric and acids, respectively. These acids cause acidic precipitation (acid rain) that is now a major pollution problem in some areas. Headwater streams and high-altitude lakes are especially susceptible to the effects of acid rain and may sustain loss of fish and other aquatic life. Other effects include reductions in forest and crop productivity; leaching of nutrient cations and heavy metals from soils, rocks, and the sediments of lakes and streams; dissolution of metals such as lead and copper from water distribution pipes; corrosion of exposed metal and dissolution of the surfaces of limestone buildings and monuments. As a result of its widespread distribution and effects, acid rain is an air pollutant that may pose a threat to the global atmosphere.

Air pollution has both acute and chronic effects on human health, affecting a number of different systems and organs. Sulfur dioxide primary effect is upon the respiratory tract, producing irritation and increasing airway resistance, mainly to people with respiratory weakness and sensitized asthmatics. Therefore, exposure to the gas may increase the effort required to breathe. Mucus secretion is also stimulated by exposure to air contaminated by sulfur dioxide. Although SO2 causes death in human at 500ppm, it has not been found to harm laboratory animals at 5ppm.

Silibin Residential..watch out...!!!!!!

This news is about a factory that had been fined by court RM 10000 because of their attitude that has no responsibility to the silibin residential. They discharge their effluent illegally to the monsoon drain.

I am agreed with the court action to fine them. This action must be the warned by the other factories to comply with the regulations. It also a proven that our authority had enforced our regulations since we frequently hear that our authority did not want to be action in this problem.


One of the mechanisms of putting water pollution protection policies into action was the criminal sanction provided by the EQA itself in 1974. A maximum fine of M$ 10,000 or two years' imprisonment or both was imposed for offences related to emitting or discharging any wastes into the atmosphere, polluting the soil or surface of any land or discharging any wastes into inland waters in contravention of acceptable conditions. A further maximum penalty of M$ 1,000 per day will be imposed for each day an offence is continued after a notice from the director-general was served onto the offender, requiring him/her to cease the bad action. An offender is liable to pay a maximum fine of M$ 5,000 or face one year imprisonment and a maximum fine of M$ 500 a day for each day of continuation of such offence in contravention of acceptable conditions. Finally, an offender is liable to pay a maximum fine of M$ 25,000 or two years imprisonment for offences related to the spill of any oil into any parts of the sea outside the territorial waters of Malaysia if such spill washed into the Malaysian river waters.


The Malaysian government has introduced economic instruments to achieve sustainable development in conjunction with water pollution abatement by way of promoting self-regulation on the part of the sectoral industries in the country. The strategies help ensure more participation of industrial sectors in environmental protection of water by themselves. The principal objective of recycling instrument is to encourage the industries to minimize discharged wastes and conserve resources via the recycling method. The strategy taken is to prescribe a minimum percentage of recycled substances that a product must contain. In addition, the products must carry appropriate constituents, method of manufacture and disposal. It is generally believed that this requirement can help conserve resources, particularly water resource, by reducing the amount of waste generated into the environment. It is also thought that through this new mechanism, animal and industrial pollutant wastes can be transformed into useful secondary raw materials.