2 forwarded sust-mar messages... water filtration

Date: Fri, 7 Jan 2000 08:09:50 -0400 (AST)
From: Paul A Falvo <pfalvo@chebucto.ns.ca>
To: Sustainable Maritimes <sust-mar@chebucto.ns.ca>
Precedence: bulk
Return-Path: <sust-mar-mml-owner@chebucto.ns.ca>

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This bundle contains messages from:
- Helen Lofgren
- Kevin Chisholm
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Date:	Mon, 13 Dec 1999 11:35:10 -0400
From:	Helen Lofgren <as112@chebucto.ns.ca>

re: query of  Paul Falvo:

It's a good thing to be concerned about the quality of water used for
drinking, food preparation, cooking and bathing.  Our municipal water
supply, in common with most, is contaminated with particulates, pathogenic
organisms, and volatile chemical contaminants all of which are hazardous
to health on a long-term basis, & sometimes on a short-term basis.  Even
aluminum is added to our drinking water!  Hazards are exacerbated by the
excessive acidity of the water supply which leaches additional chemicals
from the pipes.  In a 10 minute shower you absorb through the skin as much
of the volatile chemicals as you would from drinking two litres of the
same water. 

I have a small business selling air and water filtration systems for
environmentally sensitive people, and can supply you with information about
effective, efficiant, economical water filtration systems for the home.
Helen Lofgren
(902) 477-4022

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date:	Wed, 05 Jan 2000 10:47:49 -0400
From:	Kevin Chisholm <kchishol@fox.nstn.ca>
Organization: Dynagen Systems Inc.

Further comments on "water filters" are as follows:

Charcoal based filters will remove dissolved organics, such as oils and
some dissolved gases, such as chlorine. 

They will catch some suspended matter.

They will not remove salts or dissolved minerals.

Reverse osmosis will remove salts and dissolved minerals.

"Water softners" are of several types: One uses sodium chloride to replace
calcium, yielding a "soft" water withy less calcium and more sodium.
Another uses ion exchange resins which actually remove calcium ion and
replace it with hydrogen ion. 

Water filters can be a health hazard if not changed adequately often;  the
trapped materials can sometimes serve as a breeding ground for pathogenic
bacteria. 

"Gassy water", smelling of hydrogen sulphide, often results from shallow
wells in slate with pyrite; surface water with oxygen breaks down the
pyrite, yielding H2S as a by-product. This can sometimes be readily cured
by simply draining the well several times, to bring "new" water to the
pump zone. Such waters are sometime associated with "iron stain";  this
can often be removed readily with lemon juice (citric acid), Vitamin C
(Ascorbic acid), or potassium metabisulphite (Campden Tablets) 

Javex oxidizes the iron, and precipitates it out of solution. If youi mix
Javex with your wash water, the iron drops out on the clothes, but if you
have a stagnant barrel of water, the javex can cause the iron to drop out
of solution. 

Isn't bucket chemistry fun? :-)



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