If you were looking at the Earth from space, you might think that we have plenty of water for everyone. While much of the planet is covered in water, only 3% is fresh. Additionally, only 1% of all water on the planet is fit to be consumed. In addition to the lack of available drinking water, a lot of what we have can easily be contaminated. This is why we have increasing numbers of water treatment companies.
Earlier this year, the National Sanitation Foundation Internationalandnbsp;announced the development of a water filter that uses nanotechnology to rid drinking water of deadly arsenic. They announced they had developed a water pitcher, called the NanoNose, that can remove the toxin from drinking water. This was the first time a company was able to make such a product that consumers can use to make the water they drink safer. In addition to arsenic, this new tool can also take care of mercury and lead.
Liangjie Dong, CEO Mesofilter and NanoNose creator said, “Arsenic in drinking water threatens public health in the U.S. and worldwide. In California and Texas alone, there are 87 troubled sites with arsenic poisoning. In addition, the nation has become more aware of lead in drinking water. Our current water filter technology andndash; for use in both home and industries — removes arsenic, lead, and mercury in water. Our companyandrsquo;s focus is on developing next-generation nanotechnology and products to ensure that people around the world can access safe and affordable drinking water.”
Water treatment companies are always on the lookout for new ways to keep contaminants out of drinking water. It has been estimated that in the United States, more than 80% of the most dangerous hazardous sites have already caused groundwater contamination. Additionally, the World Health Organization (WHO) has found that at least 200 million people around the world have chronic exposure to arsenic. It is in their drinking water. This exposure can lead to chronic arsenic poisoning. For the last 16 years, arsenic has been the highest contaminant priority for the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) .
Dong said, “It has been a great challenge for conventional technologies to treat arsenic in drinking water as current solutions usually require complex chemical processes and toxic waste disposal post-treatment. Thousands of engineers and scientists around the world are actively researching simple and affordable methods or materials to solve this global problem.andrdquo;
It took 12 years to develop this new water treatment process. It came about from a collaboration between the University of Hawaii and the China Medical University in Shenyang, China.
Dong added, “Our technology solution came in a burst of an epiphany andndash; the nose as the model for filtering out carcinogenic substances in a simplified way. We will continue to innovate the next-generation water filtration technology and products for personal and large-scale industries such as soil remediation, groundwater cleaning, nuclear wastewater cleanup, and air pollution caused by coal mining in our Silicon Valley headquarters.”
This shows how water treatment companies and groundwater environmental services are working to use the latest technology to make drinking water as safe as possible.
Clif McLellan, Vice President of Water Systems at NSF International said, “NSF International continues to protect and improve public health by certifying products worldwide that help improve the quality of drinking water. NSFandrsquo;s certification of the NanoNose Pitcher Filter System and Midea-NanoNose filtration cartridge to the NSF/ANSI 53 means consumers now have a verified a solution to reduce pentavalent arsenic (or arsenic V) in their drinking water to 10 ppb which is set by the EPA and WHO.”
The problem with arsenic is that it occurs naturally. It can be found in most of the planet’s crust. When arsenic is found in drinking water, it is usually from agricultural or industrial pollution or naturally from the earth. It has been found both in private wells and municipal water. Its prevalence and its use in various industries, where it does serve a purpose, combined with the dangers it poses to health, make it a prime target for water treatment companies. The multi-national approach that was taken to developing this product speaks to the real need to keep water safe from arsenic and arsenic poisoning.
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