Health and sanitation
47 death. Cross-connections are preventable with regulations, standards and education, said DiGregorio. Preventing cross-connection contamination is a basic underpinning of sustainable plumbing systems, and directly correlates with building healthy communities.
The American Society of Sanitary Engineers( ASSE) defines cross-connection as a“ physical connection or arrangement between two otherwise separate [ piping ] systems, one of which contains potable water and the other water of questionable or unknown safety, such as steam, gas, or chemicals. There may be a flow from one system to the other, the direction of flow depending on the pressure differential between the two systems. It also describes it as unintentional connection between two different systems, for example, connections between hot and cold water piping.” and sanitation, which were the thematic pillars of WPC 2016.“ Historical evidence documents that sacrificing one for the benefit of the other can lead to devastating results to human life and / or the environment,” Schilling concluded.
PWB embraces innovation, scalability, simplicity of operation and maintenance, thereby reducing system or component failure. As such, the group seeks to collaborate with other organisations and industry leaders to catalyse the abundant resources and solutions within the plumbing community towards the ultimate goal of improving global health.
“ The society that scorns excellence in plumbing as a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted activity will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy. Neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water,” said Schilling, quoting John William Gardner( 8 October 1912 to 16 February 2002), the US secretary of health, education, and welfare under President Lyndon Johnson, as well as recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964. PWB is sustained by the resounding interest from plumbers and pipefitters around the world who want to participate in this global effort.
Plumbing, pipefitting, and mechanical tradespersons are indeed stewards of human health. By engaging the collective consciousness in our industry and collaborating with like-minded efforts, both locally and globally, PWB invites you to join the cause and to lend your skills in helping to improve millions of lives. PA
DiGregorio pointed out that more than a million children died as a result of waterborne diseases in 2015, and that this tragedy is preventable.
Work opportunities Another important notion raised by Schilling was that market-based solutions could effect change by providing economic pathways for communities to increase health and to grow their potential employment opportunities.
One such opportunity that emerged through collaborative efforts is a working alliance between HaïtiTec and the Andrea Bocelli Foundation, where people in a rural area benefit from the skills learned in the urban environment. This also provides economic opportunities to the students in the plumbing programme, said Schilling. The students learn how solutions can be vastly different, while at the same time employing basic plumbing concepts to provide safe water and sanitation.
Schilling emphasised that it was important as a water and plumbing community to promote the shared aims of plumbing professionals worldwide. The plumbing industry needs to commit itself to protecting potable water resources and supporting proposals for international regulations and standards, in an attempt to eliminate obstacles to sustainable plumbing.
Water is the link between the independent yet interdependent sectors of energy, the environment,
From left: Plumbers Without Borders president Domenico DiGregorio, vice-president Fred Volkers, and vicepresident Fred Schilling at the PWB stand in September.
Fred Schilling installs a Safe Toilet( SaTo™) in a banana harvester’ s home in Haiti.
“ The society that scorns excellence in plumbing as a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted activity will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy. Neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water.”
www. plumbingafrica. co. za November 2016 Volume 22 I Number 9