Changes

Solution of the week 3

41 bytes added, 07:24, 19 May 2017
Added a link to Antenna Foundation's website
===Empowering communities to produce their own water disinfectant===
The good news: chlorine is really, really easy to produce. One device (there are more) that accomplishes this is the WATA® developed by the Swiss organization Antenna Foundation. A container with a [https://www.antenna.ch/en/water-hygiene/ WATA® device ] is filled with brine, an electrical current is run through the brine for a certain amount of time, and voilà. (For the technically inclined, the current turns sodium chloride into sodium hypochlorite). One litre of the resulting solution is enough to disinfect 4,000 litres of drinking water. The solution is bottled and sold by local entrepreneurs, and distributed in retailer shops, or sold usually by women.
Chlorine also comes with its own safety system: if your nose tells you there is too much chlorine in the water, there probably is. The strong smell from water with too much chlorine will probably put you off drinking it long before the concentration actually becomes dangerous. For more information about the advantages and disadvantages of disinfecting water with sodium hypochlorite, and chlorine in general, see the Akvopedia articles referenced below.
Although other methods of disinfection such as using ozone and UV-light treatment might win out in the long run for water disinfection, chlorine remain an important technique for treating water in countries around the world. Chlorine is also useful for disinfecting institutions large and small, such as health facilities, prisons and schools. Many facilities in some low-income regions in the world lack access to the quality disinfectants needed to ensure high hygiene standards. A reliable supply of cheap chlorine, such as that enabled by the WATA® devices, can help staff at these institutions prevent the spread of illness, in addition to treating drinking water. All of this underscores the important role chlorine will play in promoting public health in many regions for the foreseeable future.  
===Additional links:===