Latest news with #urine
BBC News
7 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Canterbury's shrubs removed after urine and beer poured on them
Decorative shrubs have been removed from a city centre after they were found to be damaged by urine and other liquids being constantly poured over plants, in St George's Street, Canterbury, Kent, had suffered from "urine, alcohol, fizzy drinks and hot drinks", according to the city planters containing the shrubs had also been filled with cigarette ends and general litter, so they will now be filled a statement the council said: "It's not how we wanted it to be, but having tried to make the planters work, it's time to do something different." The authority is working on a plan to extend the benches to cover the spots where the planters said this work could take some time. The damage was discovered during a general clear up of St George's Street, which runs through the heart of Canterbury.A scrub deck machine was used to clean the pedestrianised area, while a second device was used to remove discarded chewing gum.
Irish Times
19-07-2025
- Health
- Irish Times
Rear of Mountjoy Square afterschool centre being used as a toilet
Matches at Croke Park can be joyous occasions, but they bring a certain level of dread for staff at the nearby Community After School Project (CASPr) in Dublin's northeast inner city. Each day, staff attempt to keep 30 or so children as young as six to one end of a long room in an ageing building within the confines of Mountjoy Square Park, due to a continuous and strong smell of urine. A rusting door at the rear, used by staff to enter the premises, is urinated on 'every day' by passersby and park users – and, during big occasions in Croke Park, match-goers. The door has holes at its base with more forming through the rust, allowing the urine to enter. READ MORE Lino flooring inside, meanwhile, is stained from various attempts by staff to wash away the smell over the years with 'industrial strength' cleaning products. During a warm day last week, CASPr's chief executive Dr Tom O'Brien pointed to the corner of the building that is so often used as a toilet while children are inside. The back door at the Community After School Project in Mountjoy Square, Dublin, where some passersby, park users and match-goers urinate. Photograph: Tom Honan 'My nose is kind of blocked, but the smell is building up here, you can smell it, it's gone in under the building,' he said. Staff find themselves 'dreading every Monday', particularly after matches at Croke Park, he said. 'The smell when you go in, it's just against human dignity to have that smell, for children particularly.' Any sort of issue you're trying to address, it's very slow to get responses, it makes you feel disempowered, voiceless. You kind of give up after a while — CASPr chief executive Dr Tom O'Brien Initially set up by local parents in 1995 to tackle educational disadvantage, CASPr provides a space for children to get help with homework, take part in activities and go on trips. 'It's about keeping the children in education but it's also about giving them a consistent place to come each day – because otherwise, it's running the streets of Seán McDermott Street and Summerhill, which are open havens to get into the wrong lifestyle,' said Ruth Breen, CASPr's designated safeguarding and community liaison officer. The project at Mountjoy Square Park is to be relocated to the site of a creche within the Hardwicke Street flats, though this is contingent on the creche's relocation to the original Rutland Street School building which is undergoing redevelopment. 'This is my third year as CEO but this is going on 10 years, this promise of moving,' Dr O'Brien said. Long-term issues inside the building, meanwhile, include non-functioning heating, leading to children wearing coats inside in the winter. The most pressing issue for staff, however, is the frequent urination, for which repeated requests for assistance from the council have been made. [ Dublin's north inner city and Cork's northside identified as the dirtiest places in Ireland Opens in new window ] Jasmine Cumiskey, a staff member who had just told a man to stop urinating on the door, said the smell is at its 'worst' in the summer months. 'You're trying to keep 30 kids to one end of the room because the smell is so bad,' she said. Council officials visited in May to assess the issues, which was 'encouraging', staff say, though there has been 'little to no follow-up' since then. 'Any sort of issue you're trying to address, it's very slow to get responses, it makes you feel disempowered, voiceless. You kind of give up after a while,' Dr O'Brien said. Asked about the ongoing issues, Dublin City Council said a contractor has been appointed to carry out essential repairs 'without delay.' The works are expected to be completed by the end of July, the council said, and will include the installation of an aluminium 'emergency door', and the replacement of the floor lino near the rear door. It said communication will continue with management concerning the relocation to the Hardwicke Street flats, which has been 'agreed in principle'. 'Dublin City Council remains committed to ensuring the safety and functionality of community facilities across the city,' it said.
Independent Singapore
15-07-2025
- Independent Singapore
AMK residents forced to use stairs thanks to persistent lift urination issue that remains unresolved despite complaints
SINGAPORE: A foul-smelling and persistent issue at Block 223 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 has left residents frustrated and some choosing to avoid the lift altogether. Residents say the lift at Block C has frequently reeked of urine and that the issue remains unresolved despite multiple complaints. Mike, a resident who moved into the block in January last year, told Channel 8 that he often encounters urine stains in the lift, and the stench has become part of daily life for those living in the block. 'It's very uncomfortable,' he said, 'I've been reporting this through the OneService app since August last year. I even contacted the town council via Facebook, but the problem still hasn't been solved.' According to Mike, while cleaners do remove the mess when reported, the urination continues to recur. 'The town council said it would investigate, but it has not solved the problem yet. After the cleaners cleaned it up, the problem continued to happen. I think it is only treating the symptoms and not the root cause,' he said. Mike shared that some residents have resorted to using the stairs whenever they spot urine in the lift, 'Residents here say they've complained many times, but nothing has happened. Everyone is very angry. If I see urine, I won't take it because it smells bad and is unhygienic.' He also believes the culprit is likely an adult, 'There are residents here who have pets. We all know each other. Everyone brings their pets downstairs to relieve themselves, and every time there is a large pool of urine, which doesn't look like it belongs to pets or children.' Other residents backed up Mike's concerns, with some recalling seeing what they believed to be urine stains regularly in the elevator — and in at least one past instance, even faeces. When a Channel 8 reporter visited the block on Tuesday (Jul 15), there were visible water-like stains in the lift. A sign inside urged people not to urinate in public areas. See also Domestic worker accused of abusing elderly woman in wheelchair Mr Deng, 58, a long-time resident who has lived there for 13 years, told the reporter that he had raised the same issue two years ago through the OneService platform. According to him, the town council made an effort to identify the culprit, but he never heard any updates after that. 'Urine stains can appear at any time, and the cleaners are slow to respond. Sometimes they're still there after hours,' he said, 'Some kind neighbours will lay newspaper down to cover it, but that just makes the area dirtier in my opinion.' Mr Deng added that the problem poses a serious risk to elderly residents, 'This puddle of water is unsafe for residents. It makes the floor slippery; you have to walk sideways and stuff like that. Some of the elderly here are in wheelchairs or on crutches. The urine contaminates their wheelchairs and crutches, and they bring it home. It's unhygienic.' Another resident, who declined to be named, expressed similar concerns, especially for young children. He told the Channel 8 reporter, 'I have kids at home and sometimes push them in a stroller. When I see water stains in the lift, I would rather walk further to use another one so my child doesn't step in it or dirty the stroller.' Several residents said they suspect the same individual is responsible, and pointed to the same unit in the block. However, when the reporter visited the unit, no one was home.
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Scientists transform pee into material fit for medical implants
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Scientists have developed a method that can transform human urine into the hard mineral in bones and tooth enamel. The research, funded by the U.S. military's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), uses yeast to break urine down into hydroxyapatite, a form of calcium used in bone and dental implants. And hydroxyapatite isn't useful only for implants — the researchers behind the study said the material could be used in archaeological restoration, as biodegradable alternatives to plastic, and as building materials for construction projects. They published their findings May 6 in the journal Nature Communications. "This process achieves two goals at the same time," study co-author David Kisailus, a professor of materials science and engineering at the University of California, Irvine, said in a statement. "On the one hand, it helps remove human urine from wastewater streams, mitigating environmental pollution and the buildup of unwanted nutrients; and on the other hand, it produces a material that can be commercially marketed for use in a variety of settings." Hydroxyapatite is a tough solid containing charged molecules of calcium, phosphate and hydroxide. It's naturally occurring, as it is the primary component in both bones and teeth. This makes it useful in medical implants because it's not likely to be rejected by the body and can stimulate further growth. However, synthesizing the mineral is expensive, and some methods of doing so produce toxic intermediate chemicals. In mammals such as humans, hydroxyapatite is secreted by specialized cells called osteoblasts that draw in calcium phosphate from body fluids. But these cells don't live very long or divide frequently, which makes harnessing them at industrial scales challenging. Related: Are cavities 'contagious'? Tooth-decay yeast can pass from moms to babies To find another way of producing hydroxyapatite, the researchers turned to Saccharomyces boulardii, a type of yeast. Found on the skins of tropical fruits like lychee, the yeast species is commonly used as a probiotic. RELATED STORIES —Astronauts could ditch diapers on spacewalks thanks to new device that let's them drink their pee —A woman kept getting drunk despite not drinking. Fungi in her gut were brewing their own alcohol. —New urinal designs could prevent up to 265,000 gallons of urine from spilling onto the floor each day By applying some genetic tweaks to this yeast, the scientists transformed it into what they call an "osteoyeast" that breaks down urea to release hydroxyapatite. Urea is a waste product formed when the body breaks down proteins, and it's then filtered by the kidneys and excreted in urine. The process of transforming the urea produces a gram of hydroxyapatite for every liter of urine, the scientists reported. "This process to yield hydroxyapatite, or bone mineral, takes less than one day," Kisailus said. "The fact that it uses yeast as a chassis, which is inexpensive and can be placed in large vats at relatively low temperatures — think about beer that's made via fermentation processes and is well scaled — shows that this can be done easily without major infrastructural needs, and that has the added benefit of making it accessible to developing economies." With their method demonstrated, the scientists are now investigating ways to make it work at scale. They say that they hope to apply the process in order to 3D print hydroxyapatite-based materials for implants, plastics, construction and energy applications.
Independent Singapore
29-06-2025
- Independent Singapore
Persistent stench of urine plagues Woodlands residents despite complaints and CCTV surveillance
YT screencapture/8World SINGAPORE: For nearly a year, residents of a block of flats in Woodlands have been battling an overpowering smell of urine that refuses to go away, despite repeated complaints to the town council, appeals to their Member of Parliament, and even police reports. The stench, which many say is at its worst near the second-floor elevator lobby, has left residents feeling sick, frustrated, and helpless. When an 8World reporter visited the block recently, she observed that the odour hit as soon as he climbed the stairs to the second floor. The pungent smell seemed to emanate from the garbage chute area, though a closer inspection did not reveal any obvious urine stains on the floor. For residents who live on this level or need to wait daily for the elevator, enduring the stench has become part of their routine. One resident, who has lived there for over a decade, said the problem started about a year ago. 'The smell is very, very strong, so it's hard to breathe while we're waiting for the elevator to go up,' she told 8World, 'I don't really understand why there are two cameras but they still can't catch it.' According to her, complaints were filed with the Sembawang Town Council and the MP several times. In response, the council put up a notice at the elevator area warning against urinating in public spaces. However, the situation has not improved. Another resident living directly opposite the garbage chute said the problem had become almost a daily ordeal. 'I am closest to it and I can smell it almost every day,' she said, 'They install this and that and ask the cleaners to come and clean it up, but there is no improvement. It has always been this smelly and no one can catch them.' Some residents speculated that discarded diapers from a nearby kindergarten could be the source of the odour. However, when asked, the kindergarten firmly denied any wrongdoing and explained that all used diapers are securely packed into bags, placed in covered bins within the premises, and later sent to the HDB's garbage collection point. Sembawang Town Council confirmed that it had installed CCTV surveillance in the area but said that the cameras had so far failed to detect any suspicious activity. The council told 8World that it would be taking further steps to tackle the issue, such as adjusting the positioning of cameras and fencing off some areas.
