8/14/2019 Water tanks: a potential health hazard

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Water tanks: a potential health hazard

By Gonzalo De Almeida & Maximiliano Vedoya

Water tanks are an important piece

on the water supply network, to compensate

the variations on the demand of potable

water. Water treatment plants have been built

to produce the total amount of water that the

city needs daily, and the tanks works

according to the demand, filling up when the

demand is low and emptying when the

demand is high. Also, the domestic use of the

tanks constitutes a water reservoir when

there is no supply.

There are different kinds of water

tanks, they are classified according to their

place and their material. According to their

place they are classified in: public, when they

are located in some part of the city to supply

a wide sector, or private, when they are

located inside the houses. According to their

material they are classified in: plastic,

asbestos-cement, among others. It is

important to look into the issue of the different

types of material because these present

different characteristics.

The most common materials are

asbestos-cement and plastic. Asbestos is a

general term for fibrous silicate minerals

containing iron, magnesium, calcium, or

sodium. In fact, what is actually used in the

production of water tanks and pipes is the

asbestos-cement, which is a combination of

cement and asbestos fibers. The

polyethylene is a thermoplastic polymer and

the most widely used plastic in water tanks

production.

Different materials have different

characteristics; for example, studies have

shown that asbestos-cement in contact with

water increase the chances of getting cancer

of the gastrointestinal tract and larynx. This

represents a real health hazard and that is

the reason because this material is forbidden

in many countries. On the other hand,

polyethylene water tanks are healthier

because, in contact with water, they not

release chemical contaminants or other

substances. Besides, these are cheaper and

easier to manufacture because plastic is

more malleable and it allows the production

of tanks of many sizes and forms.

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As regards Misiones, our province

presents a huge demand on the water supply

due to summer temperatures that are not

extremely hot, but are hard to bear because

the high humidity. Nowadays, plastic tanks

are the most sold due to their price and

convenience to transport and install. Because

of that, asbestos-cement tanks are not sold

anymore; plastic tanks have replaced them

completely. In spite of this, there are a lot of

these tanks still in use in the water supply

system, due principally because most of the

buildings are old and their owners did not

replace it. Actually, there are a group ofpeople who are really concerned about this

issue and they have made campaigns to

inform the population about it.

In conclusion, Plastic tanks are wide

better than asbestos-cement ones because

they offer a lot of benefits. It is important that

people who have not changed their old tanks

should do it to improve their life quality and

even more, the life quality of their neighbors.

The water supply system is a network and

what each person or family does affects

everybody.