Detoxicology
Cleaning up the world, one person at a time
Home water filter system.
We rely on the safe supply of water to our homes. It’s quite literally a lifesaver. Having clean water uncontaminated by sewerage has saved more lives than any medical advance. However we are now dealing with the impact of many decades of new chemicals and toxins in our environment, exposing us to toxins we have never had to deal with before. Nowadays the quality of the water we use in our homes is a concern to many. There have been a multitude of different chemicals and toxins found in drinking water in Europe, the UK and the USA.
Given the importance of good water, the pictures above show my home set up. We have a whole house activated carbon filter, which has to be replaced every 3 years, and a tabletop reverse osmosis unit for drinking and cooking water.
So why go to all this effort?
Drugs of abuse (opioid, amphetamine, cocaine and cannabanoid groups) have been found at concentrations from 0.3-340ng/L in 60.5% of water samples taken in EU countries https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0160412022002082-gr1_lrg.jpg Drugs from the cocaine group were most frequently detected, with the amphetamine group second. Inadvertent cocaine ingestion through drinking water has been calculated at 510ng/day – small but not insignificant when considered over a lifetime of exposure. Activated carbon filtration removes most of these toxins, reverse osmosis also removes them.
Microplastics are particles less than 5mm in size. Particles of 150 micrometers can cross the mucus barrier of the gut to enter the circulation and penetrate the organs of the body. 81% of tap water samples worldwide show microplastics, with an average level of 5.45 particles per L, with 440/L in chinese samples. The yearly intake of microplastics through tap water is estimated at 458,000/ year. PP and PET plastics are the most commonly found. A carbon based water filtration system does not remove these toxins, but reverse osmosis does.
Any detectable amount of nitrate within drinking water is associated with a 73% increased risk of cancer, with risk increasing 69% of each 10x concentration increase. For every 10mg/L increase in Nitrate levels, the risk of gastric cancer doubled. Those exposed to higher nitrate levels do show an increased risk of bowel, bladder, ovarian, thyroid, kidney and stomach cancer. Current levels also do lead to risk of harm to developing babies too. These levels are way lower than those established as safety limits to protect infants against ‘blue baby syndrome, where babies appeared blue due to lack of oxygen in their blood. in the USA 50% of samples had detectable nitrates averaging 0.77mg/L. the safety limit is 10mg/L. European water levels can be seen here: http://www.wassertips.de. Bottled water generally has much lower nitrate levels, however the issue with most of them is microplastics and endochrine disrupting chemicals from the plastic bottles they are sold in https://www.bartmaes.eu/en/water/nitrate-in-drinking-water/. The EU limit is 50mg/L. Water is not the only contributor, processed/ cured meats containing nitrates also increase cancer risk. Activated carbon filtration removes these chemicals.
What other chemicals are we finding in tap water in europe?
TFA (trifluoroacetic acid) is a highly persistant degredation product of Fluoride containing gasses and PFAS pesticides. The Pesticide Action Network tested 36 water samples in 11 EU countries. 34 of those samples contained TFA at levels of less than 20ng/L to 4100ng/L. The average was 740ng/L. Only 6% of samples were TFA free and it made up more than 98% of PFAS found. 10 other PFAS have been found in tap and bottled water. AN EU limit of 500ng/Lfor total PFAS (which includes TFA) comes in in 2026, but this level was set before the rise in levels of recent years. Activated carbon filtration greatly reduces the level of forever chemicals such as PFAS in water.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0033350624000131
Detoxicology 
