UNAIRNEWS “Clams are marine bio-organisms rich of nutrients which are very popular for consumption.Unfortunately, nowadays clams contain dangerous heavy metal content such as lead (Pb),cadmium(Cd) and mercury (Hg).
Food exposed to high lead (Pb) can cause poisoning, diarrhea, and sudden faint.Eating foods exposed tocadmium(Cd) can damage the liver, lungs and kidneys and food exposed to mercury (Hg) can cause damage to skin tissue to nerves.
From the facts, fiveof 51¶¯Âþ make innovations and create a tool that can to reduce the heavy metal content.The tool is named PUMMACH (Depuration Mini Machine) which is easy to use among the fishermen.
The five students are Oktavia Arini Zuhriastuti (S1 Aquaculture, 2014) as team leader, Moch.Yazid Abdul Zalalil Amin (D3 Company Hygiene Occupational Health and Safety, 2014), Luqmanul Hakim (S1 Dental Medicine, 2014), Ria Setiawati (S1 Medicine, 2014) and Abdul Hamid (D3 Automation Instrumentation System, 2015).
Under the guidance of Dr.Ir.Endang Dewi Masithah, MP., who is also Vice Dean I ofand Marine UNAIR, innovation and creativity is presented as a proposal in Student Creativity Program of Technology Implementation (PKM-T), and successfully passed Kemenristekdikti funding selection in 2017.
Oktavia Arini Zuhriastuti, the head of the PKM-T Team,explained that the background of this PUMMACH development was the sea where any water gathers, so it also gathers various environmental pollutants.
One of the dangerous substances is heavy metal.The presence of heavy metal substance in water is very dangerous, either directly to marine life or indirectly to human health.
Marine bio-organisms that can be exposed to heavy metals are clams.This is because they can live by absorbing and filtering food in their habitat (filter feeder), so clams can process and transform any heavy metals that enter and survive.
“Of course it makes people anxious, because clams are one of the popular food source in the community because it has very good nutrition and economical.That’s why we are trying to make a tool to help the fishermen reducing the heavy metal content in their clams, so it improves consumers™ purchasing power, “said Oktavia.
Oktavia and her team developed this PUMMACH in shrimp fishing center in Banjar Kemuning Village, Sedati Sub-district, Sidoarjo Regency.The fishermen were taught how to reduce the heavy metal content on the clams.
Oktavia added that to operate the PUMMACH machine required electrical power.The tool is also designed from various components, such as container boxes, water pumps, UV rays, water filters, flow meters, faucet pipes, and container shelves.
For the operation of this tool, the faucet must be checked to ensure that the outlet path is closed tightly, there should be no leak.Then container is filled with sea water which the salinity and temperature have been managed. All components like UV light and water filter are then turned on.Finally harvested clams are put into the container shelf.
The depuration process on the PUMMACH tool takes 24 hours.During that time the clams will have to be fasting, so there will be excretion process, i.e clams remove heavy metal content from their digestive tract.
The excretion waste will be absorbed through a water filter made from shells.The process will take place continuously until the levels of heavy metals in the shells decreased gradually.
Although PUMMACH tool is small in size, the capacity of clams processed can reach 10 kg.In addition, the effectiveness of heavy metal decrease in clams can reach up to 40 percent.UV rays on PUMMACH will make the clams free from bacteria (salmonella, campylobacter, shigella, cholerae) and viruses (norovirus, hepatitis A, astrovirusÌý).
Editor: Bambang BES
