Abstract
D.Tech. (Biomedical Technology)
Recent outbreaks of cholera and other waterborne diseases in Southern Africa have resulted in a public perception that tap water is not safe for drinking purposes. As a result, the use of gravity fed (jug and counter top) home water treatment devices (HWTDs), in the domestic and occupational setting, is increasing rapidly. Most of these devices are sold over the counter and consumers buy these products in good faith, on the basis of claims of their efficiency made during marketing and advertising campaigns, and with the expectation that the device will remove 90-100% of all harmful microorganisms. However, often the claims made in the manufacturer’s brochures are not substantiated by independent research. Products are usually tested in-house by the manufacturer and mostly only for their capacity to remove traditional indicator bacteria. Also, within Southern Africa consumers’ rights seem to be lacking when considering HWTDs, as most of these products need only be approved by the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS), which seem to have limited policies in place when endorsing these particular products approval for public sale. This posed the following question: have the claims made by manufacturers regarding the water treatment efficiency of the HWTDs supplied in South Africa been tested and reported accurately? Since the regulations for manufacture and commercialization of HWTDs seem to be lacking in terms of product certification and approval in South Africa a need existed for an independent exploratory study to evaluate a representative number of gravity fed HWTDs sold in South Africa against the claims that are made by their manufacturers and in sales brochures. The claims made were investigated by sourcing a representative number of gravity fed HWTDs currently available on the market, and testing them independently with common water contaminants listed in the “South African National Standards” (SANS) 241:2015 (Drinking Water). This was then compared to the certification standards recommended by the United States of America National Sanitation Foundation (NSF). Allowing this study to assess if gravity fed (jug and counter top) HWTDs sold in South Africa can adequately treat water to a quality deemed safe for human consumption. The effectiveness of gravity fed HWTDs as a mechanism to reduce microbiological, physicochemical and chemical contaminants from water depends primarily on the...