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This bundle contains messages from: - Helen Lofgren - Kevin Chisholm -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- 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? :-) -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- The preceding message was posted on Sustainable Maritimes (sust-mar) -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- Looking for an old message? You'll find it in the sust-mar ARCHIVES ... http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/lists/sust-mar
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