Water treatment

A new technology that takes just a plastic bottle and six hours in the sun is helping provide clean water and reduce sickness in a slum community in Kenya.

As the sprawling capital Atlanta gobbles up green space, it’s also siphoning off a critical portion of the region’s water supply. As David Pollock reports, officials in Alabama and Florida are duking it out with Georgia in a conflict that pits the interests of area farmers against local fisher folk.

Before reaching our homes, most tap water has gone through treatment plants where it is filtered and disinfected. The process is designed to make the water safe. But, research shows that the most common way to treat water adds chemicals that can get turned into cancer-causing agents. The Environmental Protection Agency is taking steps to […]

For health reasons, chlorine has been widely used in swimming pools for most of this century. Yet there are some alternatives to chlorine use, and some health professionals think consumers should weigh the benefits and advantages to decide which methods are best for them. Stephanie O’Neill reports from Los Angeles.

David Baron of member station WBUR reports on the growing call for a near-complete ban on the use of chlorinated chemicals. Scientists say that many chlorine compounds are a central cause of environmental pollution in the Great Lakes region and elsewhere, affecting, fish, waterfowl and possibly people. A US-Canada commission which oversees the Lakes has […]