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Did
you know?
Reverse osmosis is the finest water filtration method known. This process will
allow the removal of particles as small as ions from a solution. It is used
to purify water and remove salts and other impurities in order to improve the
color, taste or properties of the fluid. R.O. uses a membrane that is semi-permeable,
allowing the fluid that is being purified to pass through it, while rejecting
other ions and contaminants from passing.
This technology uses a process
known as crossflow to allow the r.o. membrane to continually clean itself. This
is the reason of why an r.o. element can last many years before clogging or
need replacement. This
water purification process requires a driving force to push the fluid through
the membrane, and the most common force is household water pressure or pressure
from a booster pump. The higher the pressure, the larger the driving force and
efficiency.
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Common
contaminants in your water system.
Since
water is capable of dissolving or suspending a tremendous variety of materials
there is simply no way to get "pure" water (H2O and nothing but H2O) out
of your faucet. All water, outside of a research laboratory, will have
some other stuff in it. Even distilled water you purchase in plastic bottles
at the store will eventually have some carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air
dissolved in it forming a weak acid (carbonic acid), and worse, there
will probably be some dissolved plastic molecules in it as well.
Are
all water contaminants bad for our health? Not at all. Many of the naturally
occurring compounds in water are benign or even good for our health. Some
minerals, like calcium and magnesium are essential to human health, and
some reports indicate that drinking water can provide a dietary source
for these minerals. Most of the discussion below will focus
on the undesirable or dangerous water contaminants. The environmental
Protection Agency has established Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) for
some of the most common and/or potentially dangerous of the identified
water pollutants. The materials besides H2O that might be in your drinking
water can be categorized as shown below (only the most common or dangerous
examples in each group are listed here, since there is a nearly infinite
number of possible contaminants).
This
is a highly simplified list, let's into a lot of chemistry
and technical ideas and terms here. These are not necessarily the contaminants
that will be in your water (hopefully most will not be present). Nor,
as I mentioned, will this be a comprehensive list (some contaminants not
mentioned below may, in fact, be in your water). The only way to determine
for sure what contaminants are in your water is to test for them. Where
appropriate, in the lists of contaminants below, it is been indicated in {MCL=}
the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) established by the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA). The units are usually milligrams of the contaminant per
liter of water.
Materials
dissolved in water:
Inorganic
Compounds - Compounds that typically do not contain the element Carbon.
They can become dissolved in water from natural sources or as the result
of human activity.
Dissolved
gases (oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, radon, methane, hydrogen sulfide,
etc.) - no appreciable health effects, except for hydrogen sulfide and
dissolved radioactive gases like radon. Both methane and hydrogen sulfide
can be inflammable. Carbon dioxide dissolved in water creates carbonic
acid - a weak acid that gives carbonated water its "bite" and plays an
important role in the weathering of limestone and other carbonate rocks.
Caverns are a product of eons of erosion by carbonic acid laced water.
Metal
and metalloid positive ions - (aluminum, arsenic {MCL=0.05}, lead {MCL=0.015},
mercury {MCL=0.002}, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, zinc, copper
{MCL=1.3}, etc.) Some of these ions (lead, mercury, and arsenic) are dangerous
at extremely low concentrations and can be introduced into drinking water
either though natural processes or as a result of human activity. Other
ions in this group (for example, calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium)
are essential to human health - in the correct amounts. Calcium and magnesium
are interesting ions. Although their presence in drinking water is actually
a health benefit, they are the prime culprits in most hard water, and
are considered undesirable contaminants by those who must live with scaly
deposits of calcium carbonate on their faucets (and in their pipes and
water heaters) or who can not get their soap to lather.
Negative
ions - (fluoride {MCL=4.0}, chloride, nitrate {MCL=10.0}, nitrite {MCL=1.0},
phosphate, sulfate, carbonate, cyanide {MCL=0.2}) As with the positive
ions, some of these negative ions are necessary to life in proper concentrations
(chloride and carbonate), others can be dangerous to health at moderate
concentrations (nitrates and nitrites - look at the ingredients in the
next slice of ham, bacon, or hot dog you eat), and others are dangerous
at even small concentrations (cyanide).Some, like fluoride, have raised
quite a controversy over its safety as an additive (in many areas) to
drinking water in an effort to lessen tooth decay, particularly in children.
Radon
- Radon is a radioactive gas that comes from the natural breakdown (radioactive
decay) of radium, which is it a decay product of uranium. The primary
source of radon in homes is from the underlying soil and bedrock. However,
an additional source could be the water supply, particularly if the house
is served by a private well or a small community water system.
Organic
Compounds - These compounds all contain the element Carbon. Although there
are many exceptions, naturally occurring organic compounds (sugars, proteins,
alcohol's, etc.) are synthesized in the cells of living organisms, or
like raw petroleum and coal, formed by natural processes acting on the
organic chemicals of once living organisms.
Synthetic
Organic Chemicals - Organic chemicals can also be synthesized in laboratories
and by chemical companies. A growing number of these synthetic organic
compounds are being produced. They can include pesticides used in agriculture,
plastics, synthetic fabrics, dyes, gasoline additives like MTBE, solvents
like carbon tetrachloride {MCL=0.005}, and many other chemicals. Many
synthetic organic chemicals, like benzene {MCL=0.005} carbon tetrachloride,
and vinyl chloride {MCL=0.002}, vaporize easily in air and are grouped
under the category of volatile organic chemicals (VOCs). Methyl tertiary
butyl ether (MTBE) is a common synthetic organic chemical used for a number
of years as a gasoline additive.
In
January 2000 it received national notoriety on CBS' 60 Minutes because
of its ability to contaminate water supplies after leaking from storage
tanks. The potential for water contamination by synthetic organic chemicals
can be understood by the fact that Denver Water (the company that supplies
municipal water to much of the metro Denver area) tests for 54 VOCs (21
with MCLs established by the EPA), 73 different pesticides (23 with MCLs),
25 different chemicals classified as synthetic organic compounds (5 with
MCLs), and 7 as non-specific organics. Nearly all of these chemicals tested
below the levels of detectability. It somewhat disconcerting to realize
that Denver water tests for only 150 or so of the thousands of the synthetic
organic chemicals manufactured, and the EPA has established MCLs for even
fewer.
As you read through the information provided in our site, you will find that these are not nice chemicals to have in your
water, many of them are presumed to increase the risk of various cancers
in humans, often after many years of low-level exposure, others may affect
the nervous system. Some researchers are reporting that yet other synthetic
chemicals can cause hormonal disruptions. Most laboratory tests of the
effects of these chemicals are done using a single chemical, but there
may be several organic contaminants together in a water source. Scientists
are just beginning to realize that exposure to multiple organic chemicals
seems to increase the risk of health problems much more than any of the
chemicals would separately.
Healthy and Convenient!
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