National Hug A Plumber Day - Plumbers and their vital role in protecting public health
It is often said, (in our industry at least), that “plumbers have saved more lives than doctors”.
This is because plumbers ensure the use of sound plumbing practices in installing and maintaining effective, and above all, safe, water and sanitation systems.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recognizes plumbing and sanitation as one of the top Ten Great Public Health Achievements in the 20th Century.
Plumbers play a vital role in protecting public health.
As citizens of a developed country we often forget that before public water and sanitation existed, drinking a glass of water could be fatal. At this time in U.S. history, (only about 150 years ago) outbreaks of cholera, dysentery, typhoid fever and other communicable diseases ran rampant.
19th Century
In the early 19th century, it’s estimated that infectious disease claimed the lives of 125,000 in the U.S. each year.
The U.S. experienced a rapid increase in immigration during the Industrial Revolution. Urban areas quickly became overcrowded and living conditions filthy.
1840-1920 the U.S. urban population grew from about 2 million to 54 million
There was no public health system in place and disease was spreading through poor sanitation and polluted drinking water.
The most widespread school of thought at the time was the
miasmic or anticontagionist theory:
the idea that disease was caused by sewer gas, garbage fumes and poor sanitation.
Although now we know this theory to be false it started a flow in organized public movements to improve sanitation - Great Sanitary Awakening.
Alongside the medical community, plumbers actively sought legislation to improve sanitation and hygiene.
Reform Quick Facts
- Reform began in Britain
- Public Health Act of 1848 - Britain’s first Board of Public Health.
- Two major contributors were Edwin Chadwick and Dr. John Snow.
- Chadwick and Snow advocated in Britain for proper sanitation and water supplies in Britains over-crowded communities.
- 1854: Dr. John Snow recognized that the source of Cholera was from a single pipeline carrying polluted water in one town. Removing the pump, spurred the acceptance of bacteria as a source of disease.
- New York, 1865: Metropolitan Board of Health was the first government agency dedicated to professional sanitary reform in the United States
Feeling a hug coming on…
Alongside the medical community, sanitarians actively sought legislation to improve sanitation and hygiene.
The sanitarians may not have had the science right, but their activism has helped preserve the life and health of our generation, and affords us the lifestyle we enjoy today.
.. for that I say: take a moment to be thankful and hug a plumber. #hugaplumberday
Looking for a reliable plumber? Kennedale Mansfield Plumbing (KMP) has been serving DFW and the surrounding areas since 1985.
Local. Homegrown. Family Owned. Since 1985.
Sources
1. ”Achievements in Public Health, 1900-1999: Control of Infectious Diseases." Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 29 July 1999. Web. 24 Apr. 2017. <www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4829a1.htm>.
2. Burgon, Robert D. "THE ROLE OF THE PLUMBING INDUSTRY IN GLOBAL HEALTH." World Plumbing Council (WPC). N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.worldplumbing.org/assets/uploads/2016/11/Bonn_presentation_BURGON_25April_07.pdf>.
3. ”Dangers to health : a pictorial guide to domestic sanitary defects : Teale, T. Pridgin (Thomas Pridgin), 1831-1923 ." Internet Archive. Open Knowledge Commons, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 17 Apr. 2014.
4. ”Lectures on the science and art of sanitary plumbing [electronic resource] : Hellyer, S. Stevens (Samuel Stevens)." Internet Archive. Wellcome Library, 20 Oct. 2014.
5. Pizzi, Richard A. "Apostles of cleanliness." Modern Drug Discovery (MDD) 5.5 (2002): 51-55. Modern Drug Discovery. ACS Publications. Web.
Other Readings:
https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/mdt40
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1113797/
