| Vanson HaloSource Technology Executive Offers
Global Safe Drinking Water Solution
“More Than a Billion People Can’t Wait for Infrastructure to Be Built”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts:
Abbi Kaplan
206.361.1890
akaplan@abbikaplan.com
(REDMOND, WA) A Redmond microbiology executive will tell global health leaders that there’s a quick and effective way to provide safe drinking water to billions of people in the developing world, when he speaks on a panel at TIME Magazine’s Global Health Summit, November 1-3 in New York City. The TIME Summit will convene leaders in medicine, government, business, public policy and the arts to develop actions and solutions to health crises.
Jeffrey, Williams, Ph.D., BVSc, MRCVS, Vanson HaloSource Senior Vice President, was selected to speak at the summit on a clean water panel, which also features three other national and international water experts.
“The major infectious disease problems in the developing world are waterborne, making safe water the biggest health concern,” says Dr. Williams. “We don’t need to create huge infrastructure, laying miles of pipes, damming rivers, and creating reservoirs and water purifications systems to get clean water to villages.”
Williams argues that by leapfrogging the infrastructure and treating water at the point where it’s used, we could much more quickly solve this critical global health care crisis. Williams says that Vanson HaloSource has a “revolutionary” technology that would deliver water within developing countries that would meet EPA standards and could be available for pennies a week.
“HaloPure® N-halamine technology offers a potential solution to simple, safe and complete purification of drinking water in point-of-use systems,” said Williams. “HaloPure harnesses the power of chlorine and can enable water treatment appliances to create drinking water free from bacteria and viruses.”
HaloPure patented technology uses chlorine with the potential to simply, safely enhance drinking water treatment systems. In internal laboratory testing, Vanson HaloSource has demonstrated the chlorine bound to HaloPure beads can treat bacteria and viruses commonly found in drinking water, promising to improve water treatment systems by providing an effective solution to microbial contamination problems plaguing industrialized and developing countries. Chlorine has been standard in public health programs throughout the industrialized world for more than 100 years. Unlike antibiotics, which can generate resistance, chlorine attacks the full spectrum of germs.
Williams’ interest in on the ground water solutions grew out of his first-hand experience working on infectious diseases in the tropics. “As soon as you get into infectious diseases, you inevitably learn about water’s role in their transmission,” he explained.
In the 90s, Williams learned of an interesting chemistry at Auburn University. He collaborated with the S. Davis Worley, Ph.D., professor of organic chemistry in Auburn University's College of Sciences and Mathematics, who developed the fundamental inventions now employed by Vanson HaloSource.
Why should people in this country care about safe drinking water in the developing world? Williams says for one thing, we would be better off if all countries were stable, with improved public health systems to foster the process of development and enable people to reach their potential. And even in the United States, there are boil water orders from floods, hurricanes and other disasters, not to mention simply our own aging infrastructure. “This system lends itself to emergency safe water,” Williams added. “People in Florida were just told to boil their water before drinking it, after Hurricane Wilma shattered their infrastructure. The same thing happened in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. This would be an ideal solution in such emergency situations.”
About Vanson HaloSource
Vanson HaloSource is a health science company that develops and commercializes technologies that provide innovative solutions for water purification and treatment, durable coatings that harness the power of chlorine to kill the most deadly and antibiotic-resistant germs, and applications that stop bleeding and promote wound healing.
About Jeffrey Williams, Ph.D., BVSc, MRCVS
Senior Vice President, Chief Technology Officer, Director
Dr. Williams came to Vanson HaloSource having co-founded the predecessor HaloSource Corporation in 1997. Prior to HaloSource Corporation, Dr. Williams was Professor of Microbiology at Michigan State University (MSU) for 26 years. While at MSU, he served as principal investigator in a series of internationally renowned research programs in infectious diseases, including interdisciplinary biomedical research projects funded primarily by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Dr. Williams is an experienced consultant to the research units of major pharmaceutical companies, including Merck (1980 1983), and Pharmacia & Upjohn, where he was a retained consultant from 1983 1999.
Dr. Williams received BVSc and MRCVS degrees in veterinary medicine from the University of Bristol (UK) in 1964, and his Ph.D. in Pathobiology from the University of Pennsylvania in 1968, where he was a Fulbright Scholar. He has published almost 200 scientific papers and book chapters in the fields of tropical and infectious diseases.
Useful Terms
N-halamine technology:
Vanson HaloSource’s patented N-halamine technology harnesses chlorine to prolong and localize its germ-killing properties.
HaloPure:
A water treatment and purification technology that uses N-halamine technology to more efficiently and effectively deliver germ-killing chlorine.
Antimicrobial:
Ability to inhibit or control microbes, the germs or bacteria that cause disease.
Chlorine:
A bleaching agent that has been proven to kill even resistant bacteria.
Point-of-use water treatment:
Treating or improving water quality at the final point of delivery just prior to consumption, such as in the kitchen. For example, a Brita® water pitcher filter is a type of point-of-use system used for improvement of taste and the reduction of lead.
HaloPure™ Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is HaloPure™?
HaloPure technology, which can be installed in cartridges, uses chlorine attached to beads to simply, safely enhance drinking water treatment systems. Vanson HaloSource has demonstrated that concentrated chlorine bound to HaloPure can treat bacteria and viruses commonly found in drinking water, promising to improve water treatment systems by providing an effective solution to contamination problems afflicting industrialized and developing countries.
2. Why is drinking water contamination a problem?
Each year, 2.2 million people die from hygiene-related diseases, according to the World Health Organization. As many as half of these deaths may be attributed to waterborne bacteria, a result of drinking contaminated water. In many areas, people are forced to use rivers that contain sewage or other pollutants as their main water source. The majority of point-of-use water treatment systems available to this population do not completely purify the water of hazardous bacteria and viruses.
3. What makes HaloPure different from other water treatment technologies?
While many gravity-drip water treatment products partially filter water down to a point, most systems leave behind bacteria and viruses that can cause health problems.
4. How does HaloPure technology work?
HaloPure beads are composed of patented N-halamine technology. HaloPure beads have a solid-state chlorine (Cl+) placed on highly porous polystyrene beads that have been treated with the N-halamine chemistry, providing a low-leaching product that is long lasting and safe.
5. How will HaloPure be incorporated into point-of-use water treatment devices?
HaloPure beads may be loaded into cartridges that will be easily incorporated into gravity-feed, point-of-use water treatment devices by attaching them beneath ceramic pre-filters on a range of gravity-drip appliances.
6. Is chlorine an effective way to kill bacteria and viruses?
Yes. Chlorine's powerful disinfectant qualities come from its ability to bond with and destroy the outer surfaces of bacteria and viruses. It was first used as a germicide in 1846 and in 1850 in the treatment of drinking water. It has been one of society's most potent weapons against a wide array of life-threatening infections, viruses, and bacteria for more than 150 years.
Chlorine delivers broad-spectrum germicidal potency and also controls taste and odor problems by oxidizing many naturally occurring substances.
7. Does water treated with HaloPure smell, taste or look different than other filtered water?
No. Water treated by HaloPure is clear and refreshing.
8. Are HaloPure cartridges expected to be affordable to consumers?
Yes, we expect they will be very affordable. Instead of continuously purchasing new cartridges, consumers are expected to be able to easily recharge the full antimicrobial power of HaloPure beads. Vanson HaloSource has demonstrated successful laboratory recharging of the HaloPure beads more than 100 times through simple exposure to a chlorine source.
9. What organisms have been tested with cartridges containing HaloPure beads?
The HaloPure medium has been tested in labs at both Auburn University where the N-halamine technology was invented, and within labs at Vanson HaloSource with a variety of microorganisms. The results of those challenges show that the chlorine bound to HaloPure beads can effectively treat many bacteria and viruses, including polio virus and E coli.
10. Why not just dose the water with chlorine alone?
Chlorine alone does nothing to improve clarity, taste, or even some odors. In fact, in common dosage levels, it can add an unpleasant taste and odor to water. More importantly, using chlorine alone raises significant concerns about reliably proper dosing and related health issues.
11. Can the HaloPure cartridge claim US EPA purifier performance requirements?
We anticipate near-term achievement of US EPA registration requirements.
12. Will HaloPure create health risks for consumers ingesting added chemicals?
No. HaloPure is expected to eliminate the need for adding high amounts of biocides that would be consumed by users. HaloPure beads use chlorine's antimicrobial power and eliminate the need to introduce high concentrations of free chemicals into the water treatment process, while maintaining quality and taste.
13. Is there a chance of causing resistant strains of bacteria?
No. Chlorine is very safe and dosage requirements for effectiveness in drinking water treatment have not increased during the last 100 years because bacteria are unable to mutate and become chlorine-resistant. Chlorine's strength and speed of killing power prevent the emergence of chlorine-resistant or antibiotic-resistant "superbugs".
14. What about environmental friendliness?
Chlorine is non-carcinogenic and breaks down into harmless chloride salt.
15. What about disposal of HaloPure beads?
The rechargeable HaloPure beads can last for five years. Only a small amount of the medium is required to treat non-potable water (typically10-40 grams for gravity feed applications). This results in a very small amount of infrequent inert polystyrene plastic disposal. For comparison, this is actually less plastic than found in a few diapers.
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