Each fourth kindergarten in the country, mainly in rural areas, use water from phreatic wells that are more vulnerable to possible toxic pollution or microbiological contamination, posing an increased risk to the consumers’ health. In the country, 13.3% of the institutionalized children do not have access to water supplied through the aqueduct. The situation is worse in the northern region, where over 40% of the kindergartens use water from decentralized sources, such as wells, springs and transported water. The data are contained in a study conducted by the National Public Health Center with the support of UNICEF Moldova, IPN reports.
The Center’s vice director Ion Salaru said the study covers all the 1,457 preschool education institutions that are attended by over 146,000 children. The study focused on the quality of drinking water and hygiene of water supply and sewerage systems. It was established that each eighth child in kindergartens is exposed to the risk of becoming ill as a result of using water that is unsafe by the content of nitrates and fluorine. Each fourth child is exposed to increased concentrations of boron, while each sixth child of preschool age is exposed to the risk of caching diarrheal diseases after drinking polluted water.
Ion Salaru noted that the effect on health in case of microbiological parameters is immediate. Most often, the children catch viral hepatitis A or dysentery after drinking contaminated water and after not respecting the hygiene rules. As regards the chemical parameters, the poisonings with nitrates that cause anemia and affect the immunity system are the most often ones. Owing to the fluorine in water, the children risk developing dental fluorosis, while the boron affects the nervous system and circulatory system.
The study shows that 40% of the kindergartens have outhouses that are mainly not connected to the water supply system and are not outfitted with sinks. It is thus hard to respect the personal hygiene rules and to maintain the hothouses in a proper sanitary-technical state. Of the total number of kindergartens that have internal toilets, 13% do not have outhouses.
The authors of the study say firm actions are needed, but these can be taken only with the involvement of the local public authorities and by making the managers of preschool education institutions more responsible and raising society’s awareness of this problem. Pressure should be also exerted on the authorities so that they ensure the supply of safe drinking water and appropriate water supply and sewerage conditions for the healthy education of children from an early age.
