PFA contamination in the United States By Eldon C. Muehling A recent update (March 2019) published by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and the Social Science Environmental Health Research Institute at Northeastern University, includes a map of the United States that documents publicly the currently known extent of a large family of contaminants called PFAs. …
A family of chemicals has been dominating water news lately. The New York Times calls them 'Toxic Forever Chemicals.' The Environmental Working Group calls them 'health hazards.' The EPA has established health advisories for them and made their research on them a 'national priority.' These chemicals are known as PFASs, and there is a lot…
Lately, a new question has been popping up online: what's the difference between sterile water and distilled water? Sterile water has usually been boiled to kill anything living in the water, but it still has other things in it. Distilled water is made to get you as close to pure H2O as possible - no…
August is National Water Quality Month As you may know, August is National Water Quality Month. National Water Quality Month was founded years ago to educate consumers about the importance of clean water. Water, especially PURE water, is so important not only to our wellbeing but our very existence! We should celebrate every time we…
What are Microbeads? Microbeads are man-made solid plastic particles of less than one millimeter in their largest dimension. They are commercially available in particle sizes of 10 micrometers to 1 micrometer. That would be the equivalent of 0.00039 inches to 0.039 inches so they are very small and may be hard to detect except with…
Health Effects of Fluoride For a variety of health reasons, many people are looking for ways to remove fluoride from their drinking water or they are seeking out bottled water without fluoride. While water fluoridation is a widespread water treatment practice in the United States, and a few other places, fluoride opponents, and many preventative…
Nitrates in water can cause blue blood syndrome and birth defects, as well as stomach and colon cancer. Nitrates are mainly used in fertilizers for better crop production. This can cause water quality issues especially for people who live in states that are heavily involved in farming such as Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, South Dakota, North…
Chlorine in drinking water is a big concern these days, which has prompted numerous people to look for ways to remove chlorine from tap water. While chlorine is added to municipal water supplies as a disinfectant to kill disease-causing pathogens, such as bacteria, viruses, and protozoans, it also has a negative side. Many people do…
