Date: Sat, 31 May 2008 22:57:59 -0400
From: John Bonitz
Subject: Warnings about Pittsboro water — Do Brita filters help?
Dear Neighbors,
My fiancee lives in Pittsboro, and she has been concerned about the warnings the city is required by law to send, notifying everyone of contaminants in the water. I’m concerned too, as I work in Pittsboro and I try to drink lots of water as a good-health practice.
I recall from Chatlist that there is some suggestion that the high levels of trihalomethanes (THM) are nothing to panic about, that it is a concern in cases of long-term exposure, or something like that. Blahdy-blah. I think most of us are pretty darned concerned about it and would like to do something to minimize our exposure and risk.
So I googled, wondering, do Brita filters help? The following scientific journal article popped up at the top of my search results. The way I read it, it does seem to suggest that Brita filters help: Filtering and leaving your water to sit for a couple days helps remove between 30% and 92% of the THM!
I’d like to hear other’s thoughts on it. I’m not endorsing Brita, nor saying everyone should go out and buy a filter. Obviously, the problems at the Pittsboro water plant need to be fixed, and for that, the city must raise substantial new tax revenues.
I’m just saying, does anyone with greater knowledge of chemistry have insights to share on this article? Or are there other studies that we should consider? Other solutions we can implement while we wait for the water plant to be fixed?
Thanks in advance,
John
—
John Bonitz
Silk Hope, NC
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Report: Effects of indoor drinking water handling on trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids
Steven Levesquea, Manuel J. Rodriguezb, Corresponding Author Contact Information, E-mail The Corresponding Author, Jean Serodesc, Christine Beaulieua and François Proulxd
Received 15 December 2005;
revised 31 May 2006;
accepted 4 June 2006.
Available online 4 August 2006.
Abstract
In this study, different tap water handling strategies were investigated to evaluate the effects on two principal chlorinated DBPs, trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs). Tap water samples collected in the Quebec City (Canada) distribution system on a spatio-temporal basis were subjected to diverse indoor handling scenarios: storing water in the refrigerator, boiling water followed by storage and, finally, filtering water with a point-of-use commercial pitcher also followed by storage. In the first two cases, the use of covered and uncovered pitchers was investigated separately, while in the last case, both the use of new and used filters was compared. In all cases, maximum storage time was 48 h. Results demonstrated that in some cases, water handling scenarios have considerable effect, and in other cases, little or no effect. Removal of THM concentrations by simple storage was high (on average 30%) and very high by boiling and filtering with subsequent storage in the refrigerator (on average, 87% and 92%, respectively). In scenarios where water was stored in uncovered pitchers (with or without previous boiling and filtering), the THM decrease was higher for increased storage times. However, storage did not have any effect on HAAs, whereas boiling decreased levels of trichloroacetic acid (TCAA) (on average 42%) and increased levels of dichloroacetic acid (DCAA) (on average 35%), resulting in unchanged average levels of total HAAs. The use of the filtration pitcher decreased HAA levels dramatically (on average 66%). Percentages of change in chlorinated DBPs in the different scenarios varied according to initial concentrations in tap water (baseline water), that is, according to the spatio-temporal variations of these substances in the distribution system. On the basis of these results, the paper discusses implications regarding public health protection and exposure assessment for epidemiological studies.
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