Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation One in three people live without sanitation. This is causing unnecessary disease and death. Although huge strides have been made with access to clean drinking water, lack of sanitation is undermining these advances. Goal 6 is about providing affordable equipment, management and education in hygiene practices to stop this senseless suffering and loss of life.
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United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Report 2023 | York University
YORK NAMED ACADEMIC LEAD IN UN’S NEW GLOBAL WATER ACADEMY
DEVELOPING A NEW TOOL TO DETECT MICROPLASTICS IN WATER
York University’s growing area of strength in water research was recognized as the University became the academic lead on the United Nation’s (UN) new Water Academy. The academy brings together public and private sector partners from around the world to establish an innovative water training and education resource. “By working together with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), York University demonstrates the important role of higher education in addressing societal issues and advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through scholarship and activism,” said Rhonda Lenton, York’s President and Vice-Chancellor. Learn more about the academy.
A group of researchers in Pouya Rezai’s lab at York University have designed and prototyped an affordable and simple microfluidic device for the on-site detection of microplastics. Micro- and nanoplastics pollutants result from the breakdown of large plastics in commercial product development and are harmful to both humans and the environment. Often present in water sources, they can be undetectable to the human eye, and lab testing can be time-consuming and expensive. In future, a sensor fabricated with a 3-D printer will have the ability to be integrated into a handheld device, enabling the affordable, on-site detection of microplastics in aquatic environments. Learn about how testing is underway with microplastics of various shapes and sizes.