Kangaroo fever...!!!
(Baonghean)Last week in my neighborhood, the Kangaroo water purifier was the most talked-about topic. To make it easier to remember, I named the machine after the Australian kangaroo.
According to the women, the Kangaroo water purifier is amazing. From preventing mud, rust, and impurities in the water, to preventing brain-eating bacteria and skin infections, it also removes cancer-causing toxins and increases dissolved oxygen in the water to fight aging... The men, on the other hand, say that when buying a Kangaroo purifier, you must choose one with a filter core made from natural Maifan stone. This type of filter core has medicinal properties, adding natural essences to the water and boosting the body's immunity... I only knew this much because I didn't understand anything about machinery, but I was very curious to know why the whole neighborhood was so interested in Kangaroo. Just as I was about to investigate, I heard the elders say that tap water is very dirty now, and I decided to save up and buy a Kangaroo water purifier to ensure the health of my whole family...
I thought only my neighborhood was interested in Kangaroo water purifiers, but it turns out it's the same at the office. My roommate excitedly announced to everyone that she had just bought a Kangaroo water purifier. She said tap water is dirty now, full of impurities that can't be filtered out, making it very harmful to health. She even said she'd buy one for her family and then another one for her grandparents soon... I chimed in: "Absolutely right! What more could the elderly want than for their children to take care of their health?" But I still wondered, in the middle of Vinh City, every household has access to tap water. And tap water is already treated and filtered, so why would it be so toxic that people are rushing to buy a Kangaroo purifier? My friend laughed, saying the information about dirty tap water is true. At the end of November 2013, the Center for Preventive Medicine tested water samples from water treatment plants and found many samples that didn't meet the required quality standards. Furthermore, one sample was found to be contaminated with both Coliforms and E. coli bacteria. The substandard tap water will be a key issue raised for questioning at the 10th session of the Provincial People's Council...
When I asked some retired people who are very "experts" on drinking water, they said that even tap water is only relatively clean, not sterile. This is because all water treatment plants use surface water; they don't have groundwater to exploit. In all of Vietnam, perhaps only the Yen Phu water treatment plant (Hanoi) and the water treatment plant in Hai Phong exploit groundwater. The rest filter out mud and dirt, remove chlorine from surface water, and then sell it to the public. They then said that it wasn't so bad before, but lately, surface water in our country is truly too dirty. The Duoc River water, which the water treatment plant uses to supply the people of Vinh City, is a prime example. Hundreds of families raise livestock and cultivate crops along both sides of the river. Animal waste, various types of garbage, and pesticide residues from these families are all dumped into the river. But if we can't keep surface water clean, and we don't change our conventional treatment methods, how can water treatment plants remove all the harmful chemicals? I asked, "So, do you have any effective ways to prevent this?" They laughed, "Well, we'll just have to save up and buy a... Kangaroo. You should buy a Kangaroo for your family to filter the water too!"
I think that the water industry should be responsible for the polluted water supply and should have measures in place to properly treat it. Why let the public worry and get so excited about Kangaroo products? That's what I thought, but then I thought to myself, when will they ever show responsibility? So I ended up going to the electronics store to find a Kangaroo...
Nhat Lan
