Water Coolers remove PFOS.
March 16, 2011 Beauty, Healthy Living, Lifestyle, Organic, Water
Pure Eau’s illimani water coolers remove contaminants.
It is unbelievable that despite the knowledge that PFOS is an extremely toxic substance, it is still used in the production of fire fighting foam. Whilst in use, the foam can seep into the groundwater supplies and be transported through the air. This chemical is bio-accumulative which basically means that it is harmful to the environment and to human, animal and aquatic life. It is famously difficult to get rid of, as in the case of contamination by PFOS in Guernsey a decade ago and is not biodegradable.
The good news?
1) That after 27th June 2011, the EU Environment Ministry has declared that foams containing PFOS cannot be used or stored. The use of other materials containing PFOS was banned by the EU in 2006
2) That a study conducted in 2006 by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University showed that Reverse Osmosis membranes rejected 99% of PFOS in water.
For Guernsey, the trouble started in 2002 when a fire at the airport was extinguished using foam containing PFOS. Foam spillage entered the water system and contaminated the soil. The last 10 years have meant that Guernsey water have to regularly still check the reservoir for contaminated water. Allowable limits are set by the UK Drinking Water Inspectorate by the island who want to work a permanent solution and with a brand new groundwater site. As it is known that the same reverse osmosis technology used in office water coolers and desalination plants effectively removes the chemical, that would be a solution to the persistent problem. The idea is that all water supplies including streams, water supplies to farmland and boreholes as well as public water supplies should be accessible and safe.
Another event which caused alarm due to the use of PFOS was the Buncefield explosion in 2005 where 50,000 litres of foam containing PFOS was used to put out the fires at the Heathrow Fuel depot. At the time, the inadequate supply of water caused concern as using other means could result in chemicals contaminating water supplies to North London. The go ahead was given despite concerns due to the enormity of the fire. The Conservative MP for Hemel Hempstead, Mike Penning, was perplexed by the decision as Margaret Beckett, the Environment Secretary at the time, drafted legislation saying that anyone bringing in PFOS into the UK would face a 2 year prison sentence but the risk of the public water supply contamination in putting out the fires seemed a secondary concern.
The only real and positive way to protect themselves would have been for individuals to have water coolers such as is supplied by Pure Eau to purify the water and remove the chemical through it filtration system. This technology can also be used in the commercial environment and under similar circumstances to Guernsey and Buncefield, the public would be safe in the knowledge that the water they are drinking is safe.