Em Balls And Water Safety

[Lite Beer]

EM balls and water safety

Krib Sitathani

Special to The Nation

Let me first ask you a few questions: What's your definition of polluted water? Does polluted water smell foul and look dirty? Is clear water without the stink safe to use and walk through?

You may then ask what these questions have to do with the so-called EM balls. Actually, they are very pertinent, because EM balls are believed to treat polluted floodwater.

As per the creator, Professor Dr Teruo Higa, EM balls are a mixture of micro-organisms including lactic acid bacteria, yeast and phototrophic bacteria. Lactic acid bacteria produce lactic acid from sugar when oxygen is not limited in its environment. A species of yeast is used to convert carbohydrates into carbon dioxide and alcohol, which is normally used for baking bread and brewing beer, while phototrophic bacteria utilises sunlight for photosynthesis. It is unclear what species of phototrophic bacteria is used in EM balls, though it could be Rhodopseudomonas palustris - identified by Szymanski and Patterson in 2003. The Rhodopseudomonas palustris are purple non-sulphur bacteria that do not produce oxygen. The percentage of these micro-organisms in EM balls remains undisclosed.

Further complicating the debate is that many companies produce their own version of the EM balls, though the varieties are unclear at present and their effectiveness has yet to be proven.

According to Higa, these bacteria become "positive micro-organisms" once introduced into the system, replacing the negative ones. There has been a lot of research on how EM balls have been effective in improving agricultural yield - the purpose they were designed for originally.

Let's explore some studies on the effectiveness of EM balls when it comes to treating wastewater. Szymanski and Patterson tested how effective EM balls were in reducing sludge in five septic tanks against a septic tank that was treated in the normal manner. The result was inconclusive. Another example is the study conducted by the Biological Husbandry Unit (BHU), Lincoln University, New Zealand, on how effective EM balls can be to control odour. The primary result was an improvement in foul odour, and though there are other studies referred to on the Net, nobody is making any claims about EM balls disinfecting water or reducing hazardous chemicals.

So we arrive at our dilemma. Will EM balls help solve our problem with polluted floodwater? As stated above, there has been limited scientific research on the effectiveness of EM balls. Though one study demonstrates that EM balls could improve the odour of polluted water, would that be enough?

According to World Health Organisation regulations, potable water should not contain any harmful pathogens or hazardous chemicals.

However, using EM balls without proper understanding could put people's lives and safety at stake.

Simply put, EM balls can temporarily reduce the stench in floodwater, they do not prevent the spread of disease or chemical contamination.

Now that the floods are approaching the ocean, our next big obstacle is addressing the problem of disease prevention and control, as well as rebuilding our homes, neighbourhoods and country.

The writer can be contacted on Twitter @KribBKK and his blog can be found at www.thaienergysolution.com.

-- The Nation 2011-11-09

[jybkk]

Thank you for this.

I find the craze over these EM balls very intriguing and I'm afraid people put way too much hope in them.

This is a trademarked product, meaning that the main ingredient has to be purchased to one of the few companies who produce these... I wouldn't be surprised to discover they are behind the "volunteer" operation organized at Amarin Plaza a week ago.

Their efficiency is unproven and when you look at the extent of the flooding, it looks cleak that there will never be enough.

If it was me, I'd use the money and the energy on something else.

[givenall]

How about all the chemicals that are being discharged intothe food. These EM balls does not do treat chemical in the water

[sparebox2]

Sound a bit like the GT-200.

Oops, you all have forgotten already.