University of Illinois geneticist Michael Plewa said that disinfection by-products (DBPs) in water are the unintended consequence of water purification. "The reason that you and I can go to a drinking fountain and not be fearful of getting cholera is because we disinfect water in the United States," he said. "But the process of disinfecting water with chlorine and chloramines and other types of disinfectants generates a class of compounds in the water that are called disinfection by-products. The disinfectant reacts with the organic material in the water and generates hundreds of different compounds. Some of these are toxic, some can cause birth defects, some are genotoxic, which damage DNA, and some we know are also carcinogenic."
The first discovery of the University of Illinois research team involved water with naturally high bromine and iodine in it, produced primarily from sea water or underground aquifers most likely linked to ancient sea beds in the past. When this type of water was disinfected with chemicals, DBPs were produced that had iodine atoms attached -- creating a gene harming toxin.
The second discovery revealed a danger from nitrogen-containing DBPs. "Disinfectant by-products that have a nitrogen atom incorporated into the structure are far more toxic and genotoxic, and some even carcinogenic, than those DBPs that don't have nitrogen. And there are no nitrogen-containing DBPs that are currently regulated," Dr. Plewa said in the media statement.
Our skin is not waterproof; it absorbs water. That's why it becomes wrinkly like a prune after we sit in the bath or swimming pool too long. Our skin doesn't absorb that much water, but absorption does occur.
Then what about what the environment is putting in your water without the help of what we use to "clean" the water?
Bokor, the Idaho Department of Environ-mental Quality's regional drinking water protection coordinator, and a number of other water officials and companies set themselves up inthe KMVT Community Room on Saturday for a water-quality fair, featuring free tests for nitrate levels in private wells. Such wells aren't regulated by the state and testing is the owner's responsibility, he said. But it's something that owners should do, given the risks involved.
Twin Falls County now hosts the No. 1 nitrate priority area in the state for its level of contamination. And in a report released March 27, the U.S. Geological Survey announced that more than 20 percent of private domestic wells sampled nationwide by the agency contain at least one contaminant at levels that prompt possible health concerns. The data came from around 2,100 private wells tested between 1991 and 2004, including some in the Magic Valley.
The specific contaminants varied by region and type of rock, but included nitrate, radon and arsenic - the last one specifically noted as existing in Idaho's basalt-rock aquifers. The agency estimated that about 43 million people, 15 percent of the population, rely on drinking water from private wells.
Of all the disinfectants, the chemistry and toxicity of the reaction by-products of chlorine have been the most extensively studied.
Chloramine generally produces by-products similar to those observed with chlorine but at much lower concentrations. The use of chloramine as a disinfectant has increased in recent years because of limited formation of THMs, however, little is known about the nature of other by-products.
The main disinfection by-products of chlorine dioxide are chloride, chlorate and chlorite. Chlorine dioxide is more effective towards inactivation of Giardia cysts than free chlorine, but less effective towards rotavirus and E. coli. Unlike chlorine, the disinfection efficiency of chlorine dioxide is independent of pH and the presence of ammonia.
Ozone is the most efficient disinfectant for all types of microorganisms. Disadvantages include lack of disinfectant residual, biological regrowth problems in distribution systems, high cost, and limited information on the nature and toxicity of its by-products.
Something to keep in mind is the risk of death from pathogens is at least 100 to 1000 times greater than the risk of cancer from disinfection by-products.
So why does it seem very active swimmers are more likely to have bladder cancer? I am sure all this will be research and studied in the near future.
Sources: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2009, April 7). What's In Your Water? Disinfectants Create Toxic By-products In Drinking Water And Public Swimming Pools.
Regli S., Berger P., Macler B., Haas C. (1993). Proposed decision tree for management of risks in drinking-water: consideration for health and socioeconomic factors. In: Safety of water disinfection: balancing chemical and microbial risks. Craun G.F. ed. ILSI Press, Washington, D.C.
Apparently, I am completely clueless because when I saw the release about the first carbon free water I had to re-read the headline. I didn't realize carbon had anything to do with water.
Through a state of the art water purification process, NIKA is a clean, fresh tasting water bottled in California with additional planned sites located throughout the U.S. to reduce transport and associated carbon emissions. Currently, NIKA is sold in case quantities for home and business delivery at nikawater.org but is also planning to partner with core retailers who believe and support its mission to provide clean drinking water and safe sanitation.
NIKA Water earned Carbonfund.org's CarbonFree Product Certification after going through a rigorous life-cycle assessment (LCA). The CarbonFree Certified water is carbon neutral as NIKA is offsetting carbon emissions associated with NIKA Water's manufacturing, distribution and consumption, including disposal. NIKA has also pledged that for every bottle of NIKA Water sold, the company will ensure that another plastic bottle is taken out of the environment and recycled. To do this, NIKA is working with schools and universities around the U.S. to create plastic bottle buy-back programs where NIKA pays the sponsoring school a small fee for every plastic bottle they collect and recycle.
The offsetting by NIKA is done quarterly based on actual sales and supports Carbonfund.org's Return to Forest reforestation project in southwestern Nicaragua.
The United Nations estimates that 1.1 billion people in the world lack access to safe water and 2.5 billion people lack access to safe sanitation. It is estimated that 4,500 people die per day from waterborne diseases and causes and 90 percent of these deaths are children under the age of five. Furthermore, within the next fifty years, the world population is expected to increase by 40 to 50 percent. This population growth, coupled with industrialization, urbanization and global warming will result in increasing demand for clean water, which NIKA believes could potentially eclipse the demand for oil.
PUR Water Filtration is partnering up with model Cindy Crawford to help promote the use of filtered tap water and reduce consumption of the bottled kind. The campaign, which is launching this May, is called "Thirsty for Change" and will include Crawford designing her own eco-chic reusable water bottle - with all proceeds from the sales going towards Children's Safe Drinking Water; a program which is dedicated to providing safe drinking water to impoverished children around the world. Said Crawford,
"Like me, many moms today are concerned about the environment. We all want to live a little greener and do our part for the planet and for the health our families. The good news is that even small changes can make a huge impact on the environment. And that's great news for my family because changes that fit easily into our hectic routine are the ones that are going to stick.
That's why I would like to share some easy, green tips for other moms out there. They've worked in my house. I have learned that getting the whole family involved shows the kids that being eco-friendly can be fun!"
I didn't know about this program for safe drinking water, so being inquisitive, as I am to a fault, I looked it up.
According to their website, "To date, the Children's Safe Drinking Water Program (CSDW) has provided enough product to produce more than 500 million liters of clean drinking water for children and their families in need around the world."
Isn't that a fantastic number!? It was established in 2003 and has already helped so many children in impoverished countries.
Millions of children die each year due to drinking water from lakes and rivers contaminated with pollutants, parasites, and viruses. Studies show the PUR water can reduce diarrheal illness in children by up to 50 percent.
If you would like to donate to this cause, or learn more about it please click through to CSDW.org and see how you can get involved.
This topic piqued my interest and so I thought I'd look into a bit further. What exactly is Hydropower Kinetic Technology?
Well, this it is the ability to produce zero emission renewable power (energy) from the movement of water. There are two types of kinetic energy involved here, one is wave based and the other is current based. To harness these energies water currents pass through a turbine and the turbine then rotates on a shaft that is connected to a generator. Make sense?
"Hydro Green Energy, LLC (HGE) is a Houston, TX-based renewable energy project developer and equipment manufacturer that designs, builds and operates hydrokinetic power systems."
The problem here is in the costs. How you can place a number on the future of the planet is beyond me, but people need to make a living. I think we all need to work together to find more cost effective ways of renewing energy. As with all great things, the cost in the beginning will probably be excessive, but don't you think after a period of time it will all have been worthwhile?
In June of 2007, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued preliminary permits for the first-ever water energy projects in the state of Mississippi. The permits provide Hydro Green the exclusive right for three years to develop projects.
Yes, it's true, as part of a public project there will be a waterfall constructed underneath the Brooklyn Bridge. I'm not sure the logistics have been figured out for this...though I am sure they have figured on it being a tourist attraction.
The hope is for $55 million in extra tourism revenue for the Big Apple. Installing them will cost about $15 million, says Danish artist Olafur Eliasson, but apparently that amount will be paid by New York's Public Art Fund.
Eliasson said the "scaffolding will have a floating barrier at the bottom to stop small boats going underneath and a "shark cage" under the water to stop fish being sucked into the pumps that will take the water to the top."
My concern would be for the effect this will have on the body of water. I understand keeping the fish safe, but if you have that much water falling into the river in a location under a bridge which has never before seen such a force of water...I would be worried about where the sediment will be pushed and how that will effect water flow. In addition, can the Brooklyn Bridge support these changes or will this cause cracks in the foundation?
I have to admit I would definitely want to see and photograph the waterfalls. And I in no way want to be one of those critical, skeptical people who only sees the negative, but I do wonder how this will pan out long term.
