human life. The place: A rural health clinic near Ibadan, Nigeria, a country in which 66 million
people lack safe drinking water. The occasion: a celebration of the production of the one-billionth quart of clean drinking water with a purification technology developed by chemists at
Procter & Gamble and the CDC.
The technology consists of small, easy-to-use packets that people in rural areas can add to
a container of dirty water. These so-called PUR water purification packets work like a mini-water treatment plant. PUR packets contain powdered water clarification and disinfectant
chemicals similar to those used in municipal water purification plants.
One ingredient: calcium hypochlorite, which kills parasites, bacteria, and viruses.
Another: ferric sulfate, which removes dirt and other impurities. PUR packets kill microbes
that cause cholera, typhoid, and dysentery.
They remove potentially toxic metals like
lead, arsenic, and mercury. PUR packets
also remove pesticides like DDT and other
undesirable materials. It takes less than 30
minutes to purify 10 quarts of water. The
packets are provided in the developing
world for only pennies.
At the clinic, John Pepper, P&G’s former
Chief Executive Officer, President, and
Chairman, donated the PUR packet that
provided the one-billionth liter of safe
drinking water. Local and national government officials and others gathered at the
clinic to observe the milestone. Among
them was Dr. Greg Allgood, director of
Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program at
P&G, which supplies the packets. Here is
Dr. Allgood:
“We’re thrilled about reaching 1 billion
liters of safe drinking water provided so
far by PUR purified water. It’s a little
packet of powder, and it transforms dirty, contaminated water into clear, safe drinking
water. You add it to 2½ gallons, stir for 5 minutes, and the water visibly and physically
transforms in front of your eyes to clear water. Pour it into a cloth, wait 20 minutes, and
then it’s safe to drink.”
How effective is this chemical magic? Dr. Allgood’s report at one ACS national meeting
described the clinical trials. One involved 25,000 people in four countries — Guatemala,
Pakistan, Kenya, and Liberia. PUR packets reduced the incidence of diarrhea by an average
of 50 percent. One of the trials in a refugee camp found a 90 percent reduction in diarrhea.
Tales of Telemedicine
Many of the countries without access to clean water are impoverished lands, with per capita
incomes of barely $1 per day. More than 1 billion people — one-sixth of humanity — struggle under these conditions of extreme poverty. They lack more than clean water. There is no
basic equipment to test water for purity. And there are shortages of medical personnel and
laboratories to test water for purity and diagnose water-borne diseases and select the proper
treatment.
A team of scientists led by Dr. George M. Whitesides described a solution to those challenges in May 2008. They published the results of a study in Analytical Chemistry, another
ACS journal. Their solution combines chemistry and . . . you guessed it. Cell phones. Almost
3 billion people — about half the world’s population — now own cell phones.
After launching a communications revolution, cell phones are talking up a potentially life-saving new role in telemedicine. That’s the use of telecommunications technology to provide
