Can Toilets Affect Our Health?

By RISC | 2 weeks ago

If our stool can reveal insights about our health, then so can proper, clean, and hygienic toilets. Poor hygiene, inadequate sanitation, lack of access to clean water, and consumption of contaminated water can lead to diarrheal diseases. While preventable and treatable, diarrhea remains the third leading cause of death among children under five. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF, over 1,000 children die from diarrhea every day, totaling more than 400,000 deaths annually.To raise awareness of the importance of hygiene and sanitation, the World Toilet Organization (WTO) established World Toilet Day on November 19, recognized by the United Nations. This day serves as a launchpad for global campaigns and aligns with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6, which aims to ensure access to clean water and sanitation for all. Target 6.2 specifically focuses on providing adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene, ending open defecation by 2030, with special attention to the needs of women, girls, and vulnerable groups.Clearly, the lack of quality toilets is not a minor issue—it is a national public health concern. Addressing it requires adequate public utilities, well-designed and maintained restrooms, and proper waste management systems.The Ministry of Public Health has introduced the National Public Toilet Standard (HAS), based on three core principles: Clean, Adequate, and Safe, to raise public toilet standards and enhance Thailand’s image. Basic requirements include:✅ Health• All areas—including floors, walls, ceilings, and mirrors—must be clean, stain-free, and dry. Doors, handles, and locks must be fully functional.• Sanitary fixtures such as sinks, faucets, urinals, toilets, bidet sprays, and flush buttons must be clean and in proper working order.• Adequate clean water supply.• Sufficient hand soap and toilet paper.• Proper ventilation and no unpleasant odors.• Trash bins with lids, clean and leak-free.• Wastewater pipes and holding tanks must be intact, with no leaks or damage.• Regular cleaning and monitoring systems in place.• A pleasant environment that supports both physical and mental well-being.✅ Accessibility• Sufficient number of toilets for all users.• Facilities must accommodate everyone, including persons with disabilities, the elderly, and pregnant women.• Public toilets must remain functional during all operating hours.✅ Safety• Toilets should not be in isolated or hidden areas.• Clear male–female separation with visible signage.• Adequate lighting.When all these standards are properly implemented, maintained, and monitored, they significantly improve access to equitable sanitation and hygiene for everyone. While many sectors have made progress, others still require greater awareness and upgrades to meet the standards.According to the 2025 Public Toilet Assessment Report by the Environmental Health Bureau, Department of Health (data as of November 4, 2025), of 7,461 public toilets assessed, 6,999 met the standards, while 462 failed, representing 6% of all assessed facilities. Buildings with the highest number of non-compliant toilets include religious sites, schools, government buildings, and restaurants—places that serve children and the elderly, who are especially vulnerable. Chart showing the results of the toilet assessment for the year 2025Source: Environmental Health Bureau, Department of Health, Ministry of Public Health Public buildings are not the only concern—households must also prioritize hygiene and cleanliness. Even simple practices like handwashing are crucial. Data shows a positive trend in households having designated handwashing areas with water and soap or cleaning products—an encouraging sign that should continue with ongoing promotion and monitoring. Chart showing the proportion of the population using handwashing facilities with soap and waterSource: Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council Toilets matter. Neglecting them affects everyone’s health and well-being. Change begins at home.Story by Saritorn Amornjaruchit, Assistant Vice President, RISC

Did you know that the environment can also affect diabetes?

By RISC | 3 weeks ago

Many people may be unaware that diabetes is one of the world’s major non-communicable diseases (NCDs), ranking third after cancer and cardiovascular disease.Diabetes is a metabolic disorder, meaning it stems from a disruption in the body’s ability to convert food into energy. Normally, the body breaks food down into glucose, which enters the bloodstream. The hormone insulin, produced by the pancreas, acts like a key allowing glucose to move into cells to be used as energy. When the body doesn’t produce enough insulin or becomes resistant to it, glucose remains in the bloodstream instead of entering the cells, leading to high blood sugar levels.A fasting blood sugar measurement (after at least 8 hours without eating or drinking) of more than 126 mg/dL indicates diabetes. When left uncontrolled, high blood sugar can cause inflammation, damage, and eventually failure of vital organs such as the eyes, kidneys, heart, and nerves—resulting in complications like blindness, chronic kidney disease, heart attacks, or slow-healing wounds that may lead to amputation.Types of Diabetes✅ Type 1 Diabetes — Often diagnosed in children and adolescents. It occurs when the pancreas produces little or no insulin. Lifelong insulin therapy is required.✅ Type 2 Diabetes — The most common type, usually seen in adults. It develops when the body becomes resistant to insulin or does not produce enough. This form is strongly associated with lifestyle factors, including diets high in sugar and fat, overweight or obesity, lack of physical activity, chronic stress, and insufficient sleep.More than 90% of people with diabetes worldwide have Type 2 diabetes, and the number continues to rise—especially in low- and middle-income countries. This trend reflects low awareness and unhealthy eating habits.The good news is that adopting healthier daily routines can significantly reduce your risk. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), adults should consume no more than 6 teaspoons of sugar per day, and children or older no more than 4 teaspoons. Adults are also encouraged to exercise regularly—at least 150 minutes per week. Yet research from Thailand’s Department of Health and the Thai Health Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth) shows that Thais consume an average of 20 teaspoons of sugar per day, nearly three times the recommended amount.Simple Tips to Prevent Diabetes✅ The 2:1:1 Healthy Plate Rule — Divide each plate into four parts: 2 parts vegetables, 1 part grains (rice or starch), and 1 part protein.✅ Read nutrition labels before buying food or beverages to avoid high-sugar options.Did you also know that your environment can influence your diabetes risk?Recent studies show that beyond lifestyle choices, environmental factors also play a meaningful role. For example:▪ Light at Night (LAN): Exposure to light at night disrupts glucose regulation and increases diabetes risk. White light at moderate brightness (50–150 lux) causes a greater rise in blood glucose compared to dim light (5–20 lux). Consistent nighttime light exposure is linked to higher blood sugar, insulin resistance, and a greater incidence of Type 2 diabetes. Communities exposed to higher nighttime light levels show a 28% higher prevalence of diabetes than those living in darker areas.▪ Air Pollution: Pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), tobacco smoke, and particulate matter (PM) are significantly associated with increased diabetes risk. Air pollution can alter biological markers related to inflammation, glucose regulation, insulin resistance, and mitochondrial function—all of which contribute to the development of Type 2 diabetes.Every year, 14 November is observed as World Diabetes Day, a global effort to raise awareness about a chronic disease affecting more than 600 million people worldwide—with numbers still increasing.Diabetes is not a disease without hope. With the right knowledge, small lifestyle adjustments, and healthier environments—including protecting your natural circadian rhythm—it can be managed and even prevented. These changes make a profound difference in long-term health for yourself and the people you love.Content by: Supunnapang Raksawong, Sustainable Building Material ResearcherReferences1. World Health Organization (WHO). Diabetes. Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/diabetes2. Siriraj Diabetes Center, Mahidol University. Healthy Plate 2:1:1. Available at: https://www.si.mahidol.ac.th/th/division/diabetes/ct_knowledgesdetail.asp?div_id=44&kl_id=343. Golden Jubilee Medical Center, Mahidol University. Healthy Living Made Simple: Just Cut Down on Sugar. Available at: https://www.gj.mahidol.ac.th/main/sweet/4. Opperhuizen, A.L., Stenvers, D.J., Jansen, R.D., Foppen, E., Fliers, E., & Kalsbeek, A. (2017). Light at night acutely impairs glucose tolerance in a time-, intensity- and wavelength-dependent manner in rats. Diabetologia, 60(7), 1333–1343.5. Zheng, R., Xin, Z., Li, M., et al. (2023). Outdoor light at night in relation to glucose homoeostasis and diabetes in Chinese adults: a national and cross-sectional study of 98,658 participants from 162 study sites. Diabetologia, 66, 336–345.6. Li, Y., Xu, L., Shan, Z., Teng, W., & Han, C. (2019). Association between air pollution and type 2 diabetes: an updated review of the literature. Therapeutic Advances in Endocrinology and Metabolism.

How to Protect Your Home from Floods​

By RISC | 2 years ago

Flooding inevitably threatens many people during the rainy season.​But we can protect ourselves by developing and managing flood prevention systems. Many aspects must be considered to design the most appropriate and efficient system:- Risk assessment:  Evaluating dangers in each location, such as water sources that may be vulnerable to flooding, storm risks, and other potential variables to determine the required level for a house and its inside space based on historical water level survey data going back 10 years.​- Design of the drainage system: A suitable drainage system must be able to handle the volume of water during severe rain or flooding. If the residence is below the public drainage level, this system may also incorporate wastewater pumping equipment in addition to gutters and drainpipes.​- Preventing water incursion into your property: If your home is beneath the public drainage system, water may enter through pipes. During the rainy season, we may need to prepare waterproof material to prevent flood waters from entering the structure through gaps or fractures, such as concrete sealer and sandbags filling manholes in the drainage system.​- Building defenses and walls: Building flood protection such as walls or other structures. Even though it is the final stage, it is the first step that must be avoided: building a wall or designing a door that can be utilized with a basic water protection device, such as a flood prevention door.​You might wonder why there’s still indoor flooding even if a wall or sandbag are in place and sealer has been used to keep water from leaking into the house. ​That's because key aspects are often overlooked, resulting in a failure to prevent water from entering the house from outside, namely the sewerage system."Wastewater normally exits the building via pipes into the lower public sewer. During a flood, however, the water level in the public sewer pipe will be higher than the sewage pipe level. Outside water therefore flows back into the house. So be ready for a future flood with a system to prevent water running back into the sewer pipe. ​A "backflow prevention system" stops water returning to the house via the sewage or plumbing pipes. The system can be utilized in situations where we can keep water from entering the house by other methods (when the outside flood level is about 50-60 cm). The system protection directs higher water levels back into the house via the sewer system. The size of the water backflow prevention system depends on the size and volume of water utilized in each dwelling. A house with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, for example, should construct a wastewater tank that is at least 50 x 50 x 50 cm (width x length x depth) and has enough space to install a water pump or divo pump. Pumps need electricity so electrical wiring should be run into the home to make it easier to turn the system on and off. A 1.5-inch-diameter pump pipe can connect to a PVC pipe or rubber hose to pump outside the building or outside the gate. A water valve (sluice gate or butterfly valve size 6 inches) or a set of short pipes covering plate to the sewerage pipe can drain water from the wastewater pond to the public drainpipe. The valve should be fitted and closed if the water level outside is higher and opened if the water level inside is higher. ​After constructing the flood protection system, regular maintenance is required prior to the rainy season. If a pumping system is installed, the machine itself must be inspected or get the fuel ready if it is a pump that uses an electrical system, checking for damage to the electrical wires. Various protective equipment should be kept on hand at all times so it can be used quickly and safely in an emergency.​There should also be an emergency response plan for flooding. Being prepared can help to avoid panic when a flood occurs, including reviewing findings after the storm to see whether the flood protection system is effective or needs to be enhanced.​Story by Montri Phulanku, Senior Research Engineer, Well-Being Research Integration and Building Infrastructure Specialist, RISC

Where does the condo's bad odor from pipe come from?​

By RISC | 2 years ago

Bad smells from pipes are a common issue for residents of condos, high-rises, hotels. Where do these odors come from? ​High rises, condominiums, apartments, or hotels use a single waste storage and wastewater treatment system. You might expect pipes from toilets to be separate from kitchen waste, washing machine, or bathroom drains. Each room and unit has its own set of pipes, but the final destination is the same tank.​ Bad smells are caused by a lack of septic tank management, particularly aeration for removing odors by letting microorganisms function to their maximum. Another source is rotten waste in the P-tap or U-tap pipes.​Building sanitary system designers have produced innovative designs and several techniques to prevent pipe odors:​- Septic tank upkeep with an automatic aeration system and backup device to replace damaged or worn-out aerators.​- Ventilation system with treatment tank for high levels of hydrogen sulfide.​- In each room with a U-tap or P-tap to prevent smells from returning, keep a check to stop water drying out.​- Install an anti-odor device at the floor drain, such as in the laundry room or near the washing machine. When water runs out, this device will allow the water to trickle down and close the odor trap. Various products on the market can keep out odors and insects starting from 100 baht.​ Another significant factor in reducing odor in the sewer system is to separate garbage that creates bad smells to keep water pipes odorless.​Story by Montri Phulanku, Senior Research Engineer, Well-Being Research Integration and Building Infrastructure Specialist, RISC​

How to Get a Research Patent?

By RISC | 2 years ago

Intellectual property (IP) has 2 types: copyright and industrial property.​Copyright grants the creator exclusive rights and immediate protection without registration. But not everything can be protected by copyright. Copyright law covers creative works such as literature, drama, fine arts, musical works, audiovisual materials, movies, sound recordings, and broadcasting, as well as other works of literature, science, or art.​Industrial property refers to creativity connected to diverse industrial products. It has 3 categories: invention patent, petty patent, and product design patent. These serve as proof of ownership to the inventor for preventing violations.​What do you need to register a patent for research or an invention?​According to the legislation, 3 conditions must be met:​• The creation must be novel (not a work that previously exists).​• Innovative step, which is readily apparent to people with basic experience in the field. (This criterion is not applied with a petty patent, which most inventions are granted.)​• Industrial applicability​A patent requires technical qualities and processes that produce new and superior outcomes, according to IP laws for registration.​Story by Rawintisa Taengsuwannanon, IP Ecosystem Manager, RISC​

Passive Cooling: Natural Ways to Cool Your Home​

By RISC | 2 years ago

During the summer, you may look for somewhere to escape the heat. If you prefer to stay home, there are ways to reduce the heat without relying solely on air conditioners with high power costs…Your well-being depends on thermal comfort, air quality, visual comfort, and acoustic comfort. These are all components of human comfort. With scorching summer weather, thermal comfort is a priority. You have various ways to reduce heat in your house and make it feel more comfortable.​​• Environmental factors such as air temperature, relative humidity, the average temperature of the surrounding surface, and wind speed are examples of human thermal comfort variables.​• Manmade factors​Let's look at environmental factors affecting human thermal comfort.​To begin, air temperature is defined as the temperature of dry bulb air as measured by a thermometer. The comfort temperature range is 22-27 °C, with 24-25 °C being optimal.​Relative humidity is the ratio of moisture in the air to the maximum quantity of moisture that the air can accept without condensation. The comfort range is 20-75%RH, with 55%RH being the most comfortable.​The average quantity of heat radiation influencing that environment is referred to as the mean radiant temperature (MRT). Humans feel around 1.4°C warmer or cooler if the average temperature of the surrounding surface increased or decreased by 1°C.​Finally, wind speed (air velocity), can be experienced as air movement, with an acceptable boundary range of 0.05-1.00 m/s. The wind speed should be neither too low or too high. When the wind speed increases by 1 km/h, or around 0.28 m/s, we feel 0.4 degrees Celsius cooler.​Let's now look at the sources of coolness that exist around our homes.​Here are several natural cooling sources:​Coldness from the ground has both underground and underwater sources not influenced by heat from the sun's rays. As a result, the temperature is lower than the ambient outside air temperature and remains consistent throughout the day. The typical soil temperature in Thailand is roughly 26-28 degrees Celsius at a depth of 1 meter from the soil surface, and the average water temperature from significant water sources at a depth of 1.50 meters or more is approximately 23-25 degrees Celsius.​Evaporation at the surface, both from the water source and from absorbent materials, and plant transpiration, which collects heat energy from the environment and uses it to convert water to steam. As a result, the temperature of the surrounding surroundings drops. Water evaporation requires 2.3 MJ/kg (2,200 BTU/hour) of heat energy to convert 1 liter of water to vapor.​ Wind helps in the removal of heat and moisture from objects and surfaces, as well as the evaporation of sweat, which is the release of heat from the human body. However, the average wind speed in Thailand is moderate to low, rarely exceeding 4 m/s (about 1 m/s at a height of 10 m from the ground). As a result, before entering the structure, it is required to plan for wind resistance, increase wind speed, or decrease wind temperature.​Cool from the sky: Because the background temperature of the universe is as low as -270 degrees Celsius (2.735 degrees Kelvin), the temperature of the sky when not impacted by solar radiation is exceedingly low. It has a temperature range of roughly -70 degrees Celsius (203 degrees Kelvin) and rises as it gets closer to the ground. To put it simply, the sky is an excellent source of cooling.​Shade can protect from solar radiation, the most powerful generator of heat on the Earth's surface. A shadow avoid heat from the sun's beams, especially at 2pm, when the heat is at its peak. Shade can reduce heat by up to 5 times.​As we know, environmental elements play a role in natural cooling around the house. The next stage is to determine which natural cooling methods can be used in our homes in accordance with building design rules.​Earth Cooling ​• Dug down 0.60 meters deep to create a hole at 26-28 degrees Celsius with shading and plant protection to limit sun exposure. Create water sources or water the area to raise soil humidity, causing evaporation and lowering soil temperature.​• Create a 1.50-meter-deep pond with a temperature of 23-25 degrees Celsius and shade. Increase evaporation through wind speed or the installation of fountains, waterfalls, or water turbines.​Evaporative Cooling​• Water source design by constructing a 32-meter-wide pond in the absence of sunshine to provide environmental cooling as an air conditioner rated at 12,000 BTU/hour.​• Choosing trees with 5.5 liters per hour transpiration (65 liters per day) can generate environmental cooling as an air conditioner with 12,000 BTU/hour.​• Exterior surface material selection: materials with high water absorption and evaporation, low thermal absorption (light color), low mass, low density, high emissivity (rough surfaces, big surface area).​Natural Ventilation​• Increase wind flow by orienting the building and designing the building shape to capture more wind from each direction.​• Increase wind speed by strategically arranging trees and soil hills, such as planting trees with wind gap proportions of roughly 1.75:1 and constructing 30-degree soil hills.​• Reduce wind temperature by creating water sources, planting trees, and choosing surface materials, such as adjusting water source into shading area, creating wind flow into building, choosing trees with spreading shapes to create shades and tall trees to increase wind movement, selecting exterior surface materials with shading and evaporative area, and getting the wind into the building. ​Night Sky Radiation​To reflect heat radiation back to the sky at night, choose a roof covering with an emissivity greater than 0.9. Furthermore, the roof material should be lighter in weight to reduce heat accumulation and improve exothermic reaction. Furthermore, the roof slope angle should be 15-30 degrees for coolness accumulation in a certain region. Roofs that face the sky can maintain around 7 BTU/hour/square foot of cooling at night.​Solar Radiation Protection​• To avoid heat, use landscape design to plant trees in surrounding areas to produce shade and lessen direct heat from sun radiation. Furthermore, depending on the leaf forms, bushes, sizes, and types that coincide with these orientations, trees can absorb heat, enhance water evaporation, and raise soil surface humidity.​    South: hits by sun rays from above over time.    • Spreading shape: the trunk height should be greater than the users in the region.    • Shrubs layered to generate horizontal shading from above with wind movement​    • Trees that do not shed leaves in the summer    • Trees that transpire at a rate of 5.5 liters per hour    • Trees that can filter particles and toxins​     ​West: affected by sun radiation from a low angle with extreme heat from afternoon to evening.​     • Trees with column/cone or pyramid shapes to create buffers​     • Vertical shading trees to prevent sunlight in low angle and promote wind flow     • Trees that do not shed leaves in the summer     • Trees that transpire at a rate of 5.5 liters per hour     • Trees that can filter particles and toxins​• Design for heat prevention by aligning roof and shade design with building location and direction by checking home sunshine direction during hottest period or 14:00 in each day and then picking shading equipment to install depending on each region.​ ​As we can see, we may conclude that these methods are natural strategies to lower heat in our home.​• Adding shade to an outdoor area by using roofs, awnings, or trees.​• Opening the windows to allow air to circulate without introducing heat into the house. Installing fans to boost air ventilations if there are constraints about ventilation gaps.​• Planting as many trees as possible around the house, especially near doors and windows, to provide shade and cooling. Adding ponds, fountains, or waterfalls can promote coolness through water evaporation if there are more areas in the house. ​Story by: Saritorn Amornjaruchit, Assistant Vice President and Research Integration & Design Solutions for Well-Being, RISC ​

Empowering Individuals with Disabilities through Innovative Technology for a More Inclusive Society

By RISC | 2 years ago

A well-being society means one in which every being, including plants and animals, has a happy environment. Furthermore, it is believed that interacting with people, plants, and animals brings happiness. In our current society, however, many people form groups and only interact with certain types of community. Those with physical or mental disabilities, especially, are restricted to closed, narrow communities by their disabilities. Individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), for example, cannot move their bodies freely but are otherwise like everyone else. Yet they have far fewer job opportunities, mainly because of arbitrary assumptions that people cannot work if they cannot move their bodies and their lack of opportunities to attend school and learn during childhood. This leads to their isolation from society and reinforces loneliness, which is a major challenge. So, how can we create a society in which they also can be happy? The answer is actually not difficult: it is the same as for us. They should participate in school from childhood, make friends, work, and feel that they are contributing to society. Of course, just like our own happiness, theirs is diverse. However, it is a reality that our current society sets high hurdles for them to have the broad connections with people and society that lead to happiness.Some cutting-edge technologies and services have been developed to lower these hurdles and help individuals with disabilities participate in multiple communities, make new connections, and overcome loneliness.Eye-Tracking TechnologyEye-tracking technology can enable us to type, paint, play some games by moving only our eyes. These capabilities open opportunities, including for employment. Through eye-tracking technology, people who cannot move their bodies or speak due to disabilities can now communicate and work on computers just like anyone else. With the right education and tools, they can even become creators and innovators. Various technologies have been developed to help people with disabilities communicate more easily, including products like the OriHime eye. These innovations demonstrate how technology can be used to address important challenges and improve people's quality of life. As engineers and innovators, we can create products with positive social impact.Avatar Robotics: Harnessing Mutual Strengths for Collaborative SuccessAvatar robots can help people who are unable to go out or bedridden by acting as their representatives and allowing them to communicate and meet new people. Small robots can even be carried on the shoulder like a buddy, opening opportunities for collaboration based on mutual strengths. Someone with impaired vision, for example, can use their avatar robot to explore the world. Someone who can see but cannot leave the house can serve as the eyes and ears of the person and provide a sense of adventure.We should emphasize that technology can be developed to benefit those in need, even if it is a similar technology that can bring awareness. Instead of relying on AI-powered robots that still lack flexibility and human-like communication skills, why not develop robots as communication tools for people with disabilities? This way, we can create solutions that directly help those who are struggling.Story by Difei Miao, CCUS Research Project Consultant, Nanotech Specialist, RISCReference1) "A vision for a wellbeing society" by Nic Marks, New Economics Foundation2) "Social: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Connect" by Matthew D. Lieberman3) https://orylab.com/en/4) https://youtu.be/91BjginKFeU