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| WATER PURIFIERS: Bargaining for clean water!!! | | | Dr. Pragya Khanna
It is a startling fact that one in six of the world population has no access to clean water and 80% of the disease inflicted on the Indian consumer is due to lack of access to safe and potable drinking water. A study conducted by a leading consumer activist in the country Bejon Misra, founder trustee of a non-government organisation, 'Healthy You Foundation' came out with clear science based evidence that the Water purifiers purchased for water purification in our country are misleading the consumers and lack purity and safety as per global best practices. Also a study of leading storage water purifier brands available around has revealed that none of them adheres to international standards of providing clean drinking water.
The study highlighted the fact that the labels on the products do not mention the certified chemicals used to treat the water and how the levels of its presence can be monitored by users. The study also notes that the use of chemicals including chlorine in these purifiers should be carefully governed and regularly monitored to ensure that the dosage is administered under safe level. Also some other chemicals used in the cleaning process by these purifiers decompose themselves during the filtration and treatment of water and produce products which when combined with other routinely used material can be harmful to health. According to Mr. Misra, "People are buying branded purifiers based on faith but actually are consuming overdose of chemicals like Chlorine, bromide and nano-silver".
Here are a few things to consider when thinking about buying a water filter:
1. Carbon Filters can actually lower pH by 1 point.
2. Most water filters don't actually take out all of the toxins in the water.
3. A lot of water filters only get rid of the smell or taste of toxins but the toxins remain in the water.
4. Water filters might clean out some of the toxins which is great but they don't revitalize and bring balance and structure back to water, which water used to have.
Like many human accomplishments in our history of science and technology the process of water purification has needed to evolve and still continues to evolve today. For example, we first thought that adding chlorine to water was a safe way to purify water. Now we are waking up to the insight that chlorine is not safe to drink. So then we moved on to water filters to remove chlorine. But now we are realizing that there is more in water that can be harmful these days than just chlorine such as fluoride and prescription drugs from people flushing them down their toilet from which they enter back into the water supply.
Both ground and surface water sources are polluted everywhere in the country. This is posing a serious risk for public health. With the growing awareness among the consumers for hazards of unsafe drinking water and multitude of diseases caused by water borne pathogens, demand for water purifiers providing safe portable water has been growing.
Even bottled water is often less pure than city water. An independent test performed by the Environmental Working Group, (EWG) revealed the presence of 38 low-level contaminants in bottled water, with each of the ten brands tested containing an average of eight chemicals. They detected disinfection byproducts, caffeine, Tylenol, nitrate, industrial chemicals, arsenic, and bacteria.
In India, the weak water distribution infrastructure combined with questions on effective municipal water treatment plants have made point-of-use (POU) water purifiers a primary defence mechanism to remove various contaminants and to make water safe to drink.
Therefore the Indian consumer is pushed into boiling the water or buying one of the water purifiers as it becomes unavoidable to use a POU water treatment device to provide safe and clean drinking water.
However, all water treatment systems have a limited lifetime and during that lifetime their performance may vary, depending on system type. Most manufacturers like to discuss the capabilities of their systems at the time of purchase and ignore possible system performance degradation as a function of time.
There are four(4) general categories of contaminants present in water supplies:
n Biological entities
n Heavy Metals
n Organic Chemicals
n Inorganic chemicals
We shall focus on contaminates of greatest concern. The five types of contaminants that may be found in water are:
1. Particulates
2. Dissolved inorganics (solids and gases)
3. Dissolved organics
4. Microorganisms
5. Pyrogens
One must ensure that the water purification system employed at home is designed to eliminate those contaminants that are of major concern in the particular techniques. Most water purification systems use a combination of processes to remove relevant contaminants:
1. Distillation - Excellent for removing particulates, microorganisms, pyrogens
2. Deionization - Excellent for removing dissolved solids
3. Reverse osmosis - Excellent for removing particulates, microorganisms, pyrogens
4. Activated carbon filtration - Excellent for removing dissolved organics
5. Microporous filtration - Excellent for removing particulates, microorganisms
6. Ultrafiltration - Excellent for removing particulates, microorganisms, pyrogens
7. Ultraviolet oxidation - Excellent for removing particulates, microorganisms, pyrogens
All water purification systems, however, require some form of maintenance, from the cleaning and changing of filters to the replacement of larger parts. Some systems require servicing from an outside expert, while others can be maintained by users by simply replacing cartridges.
There are different types of water filters available commercially that intend to serve the same purpose that is making water safe for use. These filters use various processes such as distillation, reverse osmosis and carbon bonding.
The distillation process involves boiling the impure water until it vaporizes leaving any particles in it behind. The vapor then passes through a device that cools it back to liquid form. This process, tested in laboratories using an apparatus known as a distillation tank, has proven quite effective.
Reverse osmosis is a more complicated process. The water molecules, which are under great pressure force their way through a thin film or membrane. The membrane blocks substances in the water from seeping through. Reverse osmosis has proven effective in removing heavy metals such as lead and aluminum from water as well as microorganisms like bacteria and viruses.
The systems that use carbon in the filtration process work through adsorption. The carbon filtration process is composed of two distinct procedures, chemical bonding and mechanical straining.
In Chemical Bonding, an activated piece of black charcoal, which is hydrophorbic, is used. The black charcoal has an electro-positive charge that makes it a more attractive bonding agent to chemicals and other impurities. As water forces its way through the carbon, it passes slowly to allow sufficient contact time. This enables sediment in the water to attach to the carbon.
These filtration systems have all proven to eliminate harmful organisms from water to a certain extent. Although water filter manufacturers claim that their products eliminate all impurities in water, the truth is that no filter is 100 percent effective. Human error as well as malfunction of the filtration system is quite possible.
Moreover, the reverse osmosis system has a disadvantage that for each litre of filtered water, the RO filter dumps three to four litres as waste water. Isn't it a significant ratio given that potable water is becoming scarce? The question that comes to mind is whether the technology is so designed as to waste water, or is the user at fault in its application?
Let us look at the inherent nature of the reverse osmosis system. It was invented in 1949 by researchers from the universities of California and Florida, where the technique was employed to produce potable water from sea water. Pressure is applied to force sea water through a micro-sieve, which retains the dissolved salts and allows pure water to pass through it to the other side. The water left behind is often a highly concentrated solution.
Further interaction with a few friends led me to conclude that wherever piped water or tanker supply is brackish, the use of a reverse osmosis filter alone can rid water of excess salts. However, in areas where the supplied water is not loaded with dissolved salts, ordinary filters that primarily use activated charcoal to remove impurities should suffice.
If RO water filters are used in cases where they should not be used, it acts like a double-edged sword. Not only does water get wasted, though not as much as in the case of brackish water, but also the RO filter sequesters every molecule of salt from the water and turns it bland in the process. Consuming such depleted water can be hazardous to health, especially for toddlers and growing children.
Since water supplied in the colony where we live is not brackish, it may not do any good to us if we opt for an RO filter. If every household in the 250-households colony were to use RO filters, consuming 100 litres a day, the cumulative daily wastage could be to the tune of no less than 25,000 litres, assuming that for each litre that is filtered through RO at least two litres get wasted.
When purchasing water filters, it is important to take note of the filtration process they use. Most people prefer those that incorporate distillation while others prefer a combination of several processes. No doubt water filters are effective means of purifying water, however remember all water treatment systems have a finite lifetime and during that lifetime their performance may vary, depending on system type.
While we have finally taken a decision not to go for another RO filter at home, my advice to others who have no option but to use an RO filter is to use the discarded water to wash utensils or mop the floor. A small tank could be attached to the RO filter to collect such water for alternative use. Till such time the RO technology stops generating waste water, we have little option but to use a technology that wastes water. Consumer education is critical to the adoption of any technology. |
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