New diseases introduced by new water?
What an ex-Singapori scientist is telling recycled water supporters in Australia which an average Singapori will not find out... just like Singapori are not aware of unnecessary deaths in new changi hospital.
I would like to point out that although the testing regime in Singapore appears to have been stringent and well thought out, the political climate here did not allow for public consultation and debate.
In fact, I see that the Australian system is much better. If you can convince Collignon and not only Collignon, you have a case. Otherwise you will split your society, which is far worse.
There can be doubts about Singapore, because many issues were never brought out and openly discussed, due to fear of financial bankruptcy by the leaders or public ridicule. The government here is ultimately the paymaster of many and we do not have the financial freedom nor muscle nor society nor government social security to speak as we choose.
Looking at your scientific arguments, if I had known prior to what they were about to politically announce via a Prime Minister drinking at the tennis court session then, I would have also objected as I do now. But I would have voiced my opinion before the all powerful government had made their decision and hopefully allowed them to let me think through and bring up exhaustively all issues. The decision has a commercial smack to it most probably from the manufacturers of the RO system membranes rushing this membrane goldmine of theirs at our health expense. I would expect constant membrane replacement and when oil prices go up, they cannot contain the price which is passed on to us, take it or leave it.
There are questions like radiactivity thrown down the sewers, a simple route which we cannot talk about really for security reasons. And I am being irresponsible by bringing it up and you will be also if you continue to allow this post mentioning it to be on your blog. How do you sieve out radioactive elements which take decades to remove? It is so easy to pour down the sewer, and many alpha and beta elements have been poured down science labs anyway after the physics experiments.
You should side Collignon, bring the matter into many more decades of study. The time is not now for it, if ever. It is just too soon.
It is only ready for debate, and that is all you should really achieve. The risks are just too great.
Yet another risk is from drugs which are in urine. If it could go through the osmotic membrane of the intestines and the blood vessels into the kidneys, you want to tell me it is removed? They aren't and Collignon is proven right in his assumption that they aren't, don't you think so?
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I am quite intrigued by this Reverse Osmosis membrane. In our generation, the science that was taught was molecular and atomic in nature.
Elements comprise of atoms and when they are bound together, they would be molecules.
The reverse osmosis membrane has some kind of atomic structure, I presume, and is patterned to allow water AND other elements the same size to go through correct me if I'm wrong.
Therefore the pore size of the RO membrane is the question and what is in between the pores as well which may be one or two atoms, maybe, and how thick?
This must be shown, but how to show? It is just so small and the equipment may not be able to show.
How do we know the pattern of it? How do we know if it will not break?
The size of water is H20, maybe clumps of H20, possibly. Then there is HCl, H2SO4, all from basic chemistry. When we touch organic chemistry, CH4, benzene. The polymer that probably is the RO membrane, trade secrets and all, I suspect it to be from oil, so some form of CHCHCHCHC etc. Arrangement? Uniformity? Quality control?
From the physical viewpoint, the RO membrane must be a very very fine sieve, and may not be totally selective when the size of the atoms are same as water, or perhaps even some other simple organic solution, such as ethanol. Both may go through.
We want to have information at the nanometre scale. Not just something from an advertising agency, or a PR house paid to support the scheme, and hiding some other information on the atomic structure of the pore size and just all the other things that will go through. Can we be informed about it or will we just wait to find out in the next generation?
Whilst drinking by politicians may be used, to me it is bad PR and very gung ho. I could firewalk too, but I just won't.
However, if Cambridge, Harvard and Yale biochemistry and medical dons would drink it, it would help PR. But would they? It doesn't help either, if the RO membrane manufacturers are going to have wild profits from it. Basic science tends to be ignored in such situations.
So, what is the size of the pore, is it uniform, and what is the size of the ions, etc, the myriad other substances that do wittingly or unwittingly, enter the sewerage system and the list of the items going through if we can get security clearance on that.
As a footnote, after 2003, some new diseases that we hear of in Singapore in the news are Chikukungya disease, Sudden cardiac deaths, Hand foot and mouth disease, and there were some cases of cholera (which had never happened before in my life in Singapore).