Could something as simple as putting an activated carbon based water filter on your kitchen sink prevent or lower the risk of breast cancer for you and your family? Thousands of American municipalities add chlorine to their drinking water to get rid of microbes and kill bacteria in our drinking water. But this inexpensive and highly effective disinfectant also interacts with organic compounds to create trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs). THMs and HAAs are formed by reactions between chlorine and organic material such as humic acids and fulvic acids (both generated from the decay of organic matter) to create halogenated organics. —which when ingested encourage the growth of free radicals that can destroy or damage vital cells in the body. Recent studies have shown that chlorine and its by-products increase the risk of developing malignant melanoma, bowel, breast and bladder cancer. Researchers have found links between common chlorine disinfectant and breast cancer, which affects one out of every eight American women. A recent study conducted in Hartford, Connecticut found that women with breast cancer have 50-60 percent higher levels of organochlorines (chlorine by-products) in their breast tissue than cancer-free women. The fact of the matter is that if you live anywhere where the water is being treated with Chlorine you can inexpensively remove the risk of your exposure to it by installing a carbon-based filter containing activated carbon, which absorbs chlorine and other contaminants. Activated carbon surface properties are both hydrophobic and oleophilic; that is, they “hate” water but “love” oil. When flow conditions are suitable, dissolved chemicals in water flowing over the carbon surface “stick” to the carbon in a thin film while the water passes on. This process is called adsorption. As a result of the adsorption process, activated carbon is an effective method in removing chlorine and it’s by-products (TTHM’s) and volatile organic compounds (carbon based VOC’s), both, man-made and naturally occurring. Activated carbon is a natural material derived from bituminous coal, lignite, wood, coconut shell etc., activated by steam and other means and each one have different adsorption properties (e.g. bituminous carbon for high chlorine reduction capacity). Some manufacturers use various blends of carbon to achieve specific water quality and contaminants reduction (e.g. coconut shell carbon for “sweet taste”).
Everpure has an entire line of filters containing Micro-Pure® carbon designed to remove chlorine and chlorine by products including THMs generating premium quality drinking water for your home and office. Filter Pure recommends the Everpure OW, (Office Water) Family of water filters. Their unique filter blend uses activated carbon to reduce chlorine taste and odor and offensive contaminants down to ½ micron in size even taking out water borne cysts such as cryptosporidium and giardia. All the OW replacement water filter cartridges are NSF Certified under NSF/ANSI Standards 42 and 53, the OW200L (P/N EV9619-01) , OW2-PLUS (P/N EV9634-01) , and OW4-PLUS (P/N EV9635-01). We also carry the 4C cartridge (EV9600-00) and new line of Everpure (Fibredyne II) FC-L cartridges. For more information about the Pentair/Everpure line of premium drinking water filter cartridges for your home or office, contact us at 1-800-942-7873 or click on the “Live Help ONLINE” link on the left of your screen.