Water – is the most important natural resource of our planet. Currently, providing the population with high-quality drinking water remains a pressing problem, as groundwater does not always meet current standards and sanitary regulatory requirements for drinking water.
Water is a factor in the transmission of many bacterial and viral infections. The use of poor-quality drinking water significantly worsens human health, causing the occurrence of infectious diseases such as cholera, dysentery, tularemia, leptospirosis, poliomyelitis, etc.
The main criterion for the safety of drinking water in an epidemic sense is the complete absence of harmful microorganisms - pathogens. One of the indicators of bacterial contamination is Escherichia coli, which, compared to other microbes, is the most resistant in the external environment.
Various chemical compounds that may be present in drinking water also pose a health hazard if their content exceeds maximum permissible standards.
During military operations, petroleum products can enter drinking water for a number of reasons.
Petroleum products is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons consisting of both aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons. Components of petroleum products, namely volatile organic compounds (VOCs), such as benzene, toluene and xylenes, as well as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are associated with adverse health effects in humans. Exposure to high concentrations of VOCs causes central nervous system toxicity, causing symptoms such as headaches, fatigue and dizziness. Exposure to VOCs can impair the immune system through oxidative stress and reduce white blood cell counts, causing aplastic anemia. Benzene is also classified as a known human carcinogen. PAHs cause symptoms such as nausea, skin and eye irritation after acute, high levels of exposure. Exposure to PAHs during pregnancy can lead to weight loss and hormonal disruption. Naphthalene, which can be found in drinking water, negatively affects the hematopoietic system, damaging and destroying red blood cells, causing symptoms such as shortness of breath and fatigue.
The presence of the smell of petroleum products and a film on the surface of the water, even without laboratory tests, indicates that their permissible concentration is exceeded, making it unsuitable for consumption.
To prevent diseases and poisoning associated with the consumption of poor-quality drinking water, it is necessary to:
- do not use water from wells, spring catchments, wells located on personal plots without confirmation of its quality and safety;
- use only water of guaranteed quality for drinking purposes;
- all owners should conduct systematic monitoring of the quality of drinking water from centralized and non-centralized water supply sources.
To ensure good quality drinking water from a well, it is necessary to use water from a source that is located above the terrain from soil contaminants such as household waste and animal waste.
We must not forget about the improvement of the well itself: paving, roofs, clean buckets. At least once a year, it is necessary to clean the source with subsequent disinfection and laboratory control of the quality of drinking water.
Remember, that water must always be transparent, have a chemical composition that meets hygienic requirements, and also be safe in terms of microbial contamination, i.e. not be a means of transmitting acute intestinal infections.