Arsenic does not occur naturally in water. Therefore, if arsenic is found in water, it usually originates from metallurgical works or mining. Apart from metallurgical works and mining, farming using fertilizers made from arsenic can also pollute the water. Important to note is that arsenic and phosphate are chemically similar. Hence, commercially-use phosphate may contain arsenic too. Arsenic is very harmful, to be precise, toxic. It is grouped by the US EPA as a cancer-causing substance. With an MCL of 0.05mg/l, arsenic is lethal.
Using common water treatment processes, arsenic in water can be eliminated or lowered. There are various methods to do this. To name a few, there are reverse osmosis, activated carbon, ion exchange, activated alumina and distillation. Using activated carbon to filter water, it can remove 40-70% of arsenic in the water. Ninety to a hundred percent of arsenic can be reduced using anion exchange. Reverse osmosis can remove 90% arsenic while distillation can remove 98%. When arsenic in its original form oxidize and solidified, it can be easily wiped out.
Commercially available arsenic water filters span over a range. The variety spans from countertop, undersink, refrigerator, whole house and commercial arsenic water filter to filtration systems. These water filters are effective in lowering the toxic elements in water and also durable. These water filters are made of high quality materials and henceforth are durable.
Many organizations sell water filtration products. These companies are committed to provide consumers with the best quality water, hence they are always developing new and more effective technologies. Yet at the same time, these products are economical too. You may also find good quality products online, with installation service included.
Specifically effective in eliminating arsenic are those few arsenic water filters that make use of the basic hybrid anion exchange resins. These are the water filters that are particularly effective in removing arsenic from drinking water. Unlike the usual water filters, it is only affected to a very small extent by anions such as sulfates, bicarbonates and chlorides. No matter how high or low the pH of the water may be such water filters can still work. Some of these are made from ANSI-61/NSF authorized anion exchange resin. Once the arsenic is eliminated from the water, it is basically harmless and insignificant.
Arsenic in the water that humans drink can be transported in the human body along the blood vessels. It does not enter the human body when one bathes or breathes. When people drink water, arsenic will then be able to enter the body affecting our health. Arsenic can cause acute abdominal pain, diarrhea and vomiting. Ingesting arsenic will have adverse consequences in the long term, including lung cancer, liver cancer and skin cancer. Obviously, arsenic is deadly poisonous and all efforts have to be put in to remove arsenic in drinking water.
Tags: Arsenic Water Filter
