21st century highrise buildings Steven White
TECHNICAL
The importance of water trap seals and correct drainage ventilation in
With the urbanisation and globalisation of our cities around the world, buildings are being constructed in ever increasing heights to provide accommodation and workspaces for the population. With all people, once the front door off the apartment is closed, there is an illusion that they are protected from the outside world; shutting the doors and windows and within the four walls they are protected from other people and environmental factors, such as pollution Few people understand that that there is a physiological connection through the drainage network and that the barrier to the living space is provided by the water-trap seal in or below their appliances and that this 50mm water seal is what protects them from the outside environment through the building drainage network. This paper looks at why the trap seal is so important to public health.
Water Trap primary purpose
T
he water trap provides the barrier to protect the occupants from the pathogens originating from the drainage network, the sewerage system and the living space. The invention of the water trap seal in the 18th century was to prevent the propagation of sewer gases from entering indoor space. But from the SARS virus outbreak in Amoy Gardens Hong Kong in 2003 the spread of the disease through the water trap seals was across multiple levels and travelled up the drainage system and not down the system, and the virus was in form of aerosolised matter.
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