AI Cat 2009 13/3/09 16:08 Page 36
36
How safe is
your water?
Dora Cheatham, Director International Business Development, Celeste Industries Corporation, discusses the problems
associated with potable water and how to avoid them
becomes progressively worse if left bacteria reproduction and, as a result, additional
unchecked. scale and mineral buildup.”
(2) Bacteria that occur in water – and indeed In the airline industry today, there is no
bacteria in general – prefer to grow in colonies generally accepted method for removing biofoul.
on a surface and not as individual microbes While Chlorine / Chlorine Dioxide is a good
suspended in water. The microbes in water sanitiser for what it touches, it is an ineffective
will seek out surfaces where they will attach cleaner per se. Gene De Jackome believes that
and rapidly multiply to form colonies. the premise behind a scientific cleaning solution
(3) Closed potable water systems – such as is simple:
those on an aircraft – are inherently difficult to • Penetration – not dissolution – of multiple layers
clean and disinfect. As such, they are is key.
particularly susceptible to hard water scale • Speed is effected by lifting of layers, not
and organic buildup. dissolving layers.
In recent years, aircraft water quality has garnered • Dissolution and solvation is needed to allow
much attention. In its Guidelines for Drinking The mineral scale in particular is a haven for solubility in water.
Water Quality (WHO 2006, Volume 1, 6.7.1), the bacteria, which attach themselves to the scale.
World Health Organisation states: “The As bacteria colonies form on a surface, they will Once the tank is clean, the system must be
importance of water as a potential vehicle for produce a sticky excretion which causes more disinfected in order to kill residual bacteria. The
infectious disease transmission on aircraft has minerals to be deposited, as well as more main products on the market today are based on
been well documented.” In addition, the US bacteria. As more scale builds up, the bacteria “Stabilised” Chlorine Dioxide, which needs to be
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has continue to multiply between the layers. This activated with acid in order to produce “active”
embarked on an accelerated rule-making process layering phenomenon is known as bio-fouling. Chlorine Dioxide. The acid of choice is usually
to develop regulations specifically for water on Bio-fouling can then result in poor taste and Citric Acid and the preparation method is very
board aircraft, which are expected to be odour of on-board water, frequent coffee maker sensitive, as the Stabilised Chlorine
published later this year. failures from clogged water and waste lines and Dioxide / Citric Acid ratio must be very precise.
high bacteria counts from water trucks, galley Any small error will result in minimal Chlorine
So how safe is your water exactly? and lavatory faucets. Dioxide formation. Optimum disinfection is
There are three main problems associated with Disinfection then becomes critical to address provided by achieving the kill of Chlorine Dioxide,
potable water systems, and in particular potable high bacteria counts. However disinfection of without the inconvenience and inaccuracy
water systems on aircraft. the tank does not address the issue of scale or associated with the addition of an activator.
(1) Potable water from typical public mineral buildup in the tank, nor is it a method Finally, once clean and disinfected,
sources contains some level of bacteria and for the treatment of water itself. According to preservation of water quality minimises bacteria
minerals. There are a number of microbes Gene De Jackome, President of Celeste reproduction and additional scale and mineral
that are found naturally in water, and are Industries Corp, “The three elements of a good buildup. Use of EPA registered Bacteriostatic
usually maintained well within drinking water potable water system programme are clean, media in point-of-entry or point-of-use filters,
standards. In most countries, bacterial disinfect and preserve. Cleaning of the potable with added silver and copper active agents,
levels in a public water system are water tank and system removes mineral and offer the best protection and controlled delivery
controlled, whereas mineral levels are highly scale buildup, and trapped bacteria and organic of chemistry.
dependent on the water source itself. These matter. Disinfection kills the bacteria, and
minerals can cause scale buildup which preservation of the water quality minimises See us on Stand 6H70
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157