How are Chemicals Getting in My Water?

How Are Chemicals Getting Into My Water?

Ever wonder how those mysterious chemicals end up in your drinking water? It’s not sorcery; it’s science! Chemicals make their way into your tap water via three main routes:

1. Direct Additives: These are chemicals like coagulants and disinfectants intentionally added during the water treatment process. While they do their job, they can leave behind residues or by-products.
2. Disinfectant Residues: Chemicals like chlorine are added to ensure your water remains germ-free all the way to your tap. These too can leave by-products in the process.
3. Material Leaching: Chemicals can also seep into your water from the pipes and plumbing materials as it journeys to your home.

Managing these chemicals is crucial, and often, the best approach is through optimizing treatment processes and regulating materials, rather than just monitoring and analyzing.

Water Treatment Plants are the source of the majority of chemicals that are added to our water

Chemicals Used in Water Treatment

Water treatment isn’t a one-size-fits-all affair. It involves a cocktail of chemicals, each with its unique role. Here’s a closer look:

1. Disinfectants: The unsung heroes keeping our water free from harmful microorganisms.
   • Chlorine: The most common and widely used disinfectant. While effective, it reacts with organic matter to form by-products like trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs). Optimizing coagulation and filtration is most important in helping to remove the precursors of these by-products and will, in turn, reduce the formation of THMs, HAAs and other unwanted by-products. To ensure the microbial safety of drinking water, disinfection should never be compromised in trying to meet guidelines for any disinfection by-products.
   • Chlorine Dioxide: Breaks down into chlorite and chlorate, requiring careful dosage control. Chlorite can also be found in hypochlorite solution that has been allowed to age. There is no guideline value for chlorate because of limited data on its toxicology, but this chemical is less toxic than chlorite and is present at lower concentrations. Controlling chlorite will generally also adequately control chlorate.
   • Ozone: Leaves no residual trace but can form bromate in the presence of bromide. . The analysis of bromate is difficult and expensive because several other inorganic substances that interfere with the analysis may be present. It is considered, therefore, that bromate monitoring is a low priority, and that management should instead involve controlling the conditions of ozonation.
2. Monochloramine: Used as a residual disinfectant, formed by reacting chlorine with ammonia. Its formation must be carefully controlled to prevent undesirable tastes, odors, and nitrite formation.
3. Algaecides: Typically made from copper sulfate, safe for humans but toxic to fish and some pets. Hydrogen peroxide is also used but is less effective.
4. Coagulants: Essential for removing organic matter and turbidity. Common coagulants include aluminum sulfate and ferric sulfate. While generally safe, excessive amounts can cause discoloration and sedimentation.
5. Other Additives: Sodium hydroxide for pH adjustment, fluoride for dental health, and various polymers to aid coagulation. Quality control of these chemicals is vital to avoid unwanted contaminants.

Chemicals should not be added to our drinking water when there are better solutions to the problems chemicals address.

Descaling Chemicals: Friend or Foe?

Chemicals used to treat scale and corrosion, like phosphoric and muriatic acids, have both benefits and drawbacks. While they prevent scale formation and extend the life of water distribution systems, they are highly corrosive and can cause severe health issues upon contact or inhalation.

Phosphoric Acid:

• Widely used in corrosion control processes.
• Found in everyday products like toothpaste and soft drinks.
• Can cause severe burns and respiratory issues upon exposure.

Hydrochloric Acid (Muriatic Acid):

• Used for scale treatment but extremely dangerous.
• Can cause eye, skin, and respiratory tract irritation, and even pulmonary edema.

Environmental impact? These acids can be toxic to aquatic life and persist in the environment, raising concerns about their long-term effects. Especially when there are superior methods of treating scale in domestic water systems that don’t require the use of chemicals.

What are the Health and Environmental Effects of Descaling Chemicals?

The health effects of phosphate and orthophosphate products and other acid-based products are mainly due to their corrosive properties. They are corrosive to skin, eyes, or respiratory tract. Contact with skin may cause redness, pain, and severe skin burns. Contact with eyes may cause redness, pain, blurred vision, eye burns, and permanent eye damage. In applications where dust, vapors, or mist are created, inhalation may irritate the respiratory tract. Symptoms may include coughing and shortness of breath. Ingestion may cause sore throat, abdominal pain, nausea, and severe burns of the mouth, throat, and stomach. Severe exposures can lead to shock, circulatory collapse, and death.

Phosphates are slowly and incompletely absorbed when ingested. If ingested symptoms may include vomiting, lethargy, diarrhea, blood chemistry effects, heart disturbances, and central nervous system effects (seriously and you’re adding this to our water?) The toxicity of phosphates is because of their ability to sequester calcium.

Phosphate and Orthophosphate products are expected to be toxic to aquatic life when present in high concentrations, mainly due to their acidic nature. When released into the soil, this material may leach into groundwater. When released to water, natural water hardness minerals may readily reduce acidity. The phosphate, however, may persist indefinitely. During transport through the soil, phosphoric acid will dissolve some of the soil material carbonate-based materials. The acid will be neutralized to some degree. However, significant amounts of acid will remain for transport down toward the groundwater table. Since it is an inorganic compound and contains no degradable functional groups, it exerts no biological oxygen demand.

There are options other than chemicals to treat water systems for scale and corrosion. There is no excuse to allow this old way of thinking to be the main tool for water treatment. Chemicals are bad for us and the environment. We all know this, but municipalities and corporations are either too lazy or too scared to change how this is done. Our health depends on them getting with the times and stop thinking that old solutions are the best and only solution. Innovate your mind and understanding with what we now know as facts.

Distribution Systems: Hidden Chemical Sources

Believe it or not, the pipes carrying water to your home can be chemical culprits. Iron pipes, commonly used in distribution systems, can corrode and release products that cause water discoloration. Lead, copper, and zinc can also leach into water from plumbing, especially in older or poorly managed systems.

Lead:

• Often found in pipes, solder, and brass fittings.
• Can cause serious health issues, particularly in children.
• Monitoring lead levels is challenging due to variability in concentration.

PVC Pipes:

• May contain lead stabilizers, leading to elevated lead levels after installation.
• Proper management and materials specification are crucial to prevent contamination.

A Call for Innovation

Chemical treatments for water have been around for ages, but it’s high time we embrace modern, safer alternatives. While chemicals play a crucial role in ensuring clean water, their potential health and environmental impacts cannot be ignored. Let’s innovate and push for solutions that prioritize both our health and the planet’s well-being. If you want to learn more, please follow the link. Want an alternative to water treatment that doesn’t use Chemicals?