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PFAS levels have gone down because we drink treated water. Making municipal water safe to drink is a big industry now. Anyone drinking only rainwater is exposed

by Lendal 3y ago

PFAS levels have gone down because we drink treated water. Making municipal water safe to drink is a big industry now. Anyone drinking only rainwater is exposed to those higher levels of whatever is in the rainwater. A small amount of rainwater is probably fine, but if you really do live off the grid year round then you need to treat your rainwater.

datavirtue 3y ago
Kale doesn't get any credit.
nonrandomstring 3y ago
Perhaps you can tell us the magical way that PFAS is currently removed in commercial water treatment?
- Lendal 3y ago
  Certain technologies have been found to remove PFAS from drinking water, especially Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), which are the most studied of these chemicals. Those technologies include activated carbon adsorption, ion exchange resins, and high-pressure membranes. These technologies can be used in drinking water treatment facilities, in water systems in hospitals or individual buildings, or even in homes at the point-of-entry, where water enters the home, or the point-of-use, such as in a kitchen sink or a shower.
  - nonrandomstring 3y ago
    > Certain technologies Actual ones. Actual ones in use right mow in your neighborhood? In use on the water you're drinking today?
    - twodave 3y ago
      Reverse osmosis water filtration systems that use activated carbon are pretty common, and least where I live. We have one under our kitchen sink, and so do my in-laws. Most refrigerators that include a water dispenser come with an activated-carbon-based water filter as well.
      - nonrandomstring 3y ago
        That's nice that you've got that in your home. But at scale? For the rest of us? I live in a "developing nation" [0] of 70 million people whose private water companies are fined billions every year because they cannot meet the most basic standards of supplying potable water and not dumping raw sewerage into the rivers and sea. [0] https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/dec/09/britain-now-developing-country-foodbanks-growth https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/dec/09/britai...
        twodave 3y ago
        I’m not sure what point you’re trying to make anymore. You asked if people actually have these things. We do. Why does this need to scale? If you want to be pedantic, anyone can make themselves an activated charcoal water filter using fire, wood, half a plastic bottle and some rocks and straw and stuff. If you’re on the Internet you already have access to this knowledge.
- nonrandomstring 3y ago
  Downvoting my question will make it go away. It will not make the problem go away.
  - engineer_22 3y ago
    I thought it was a fair question
engineer_22 3y ago
In my area of the country most municipal water treatment systems don't have PFAS treatment. These systems are expensive to install and come with their own headaches. That said, funding is now available to upgrade water treatment plants for PFAS.
gregmac 3y ago
> A small amount of rainwater is probably fine, but if you really do live off the grid year round then you need to treat your rainwater. Drinking untreated rainwater is a pretty bad idea [1], even without considering PFAS. A bird pooping on the surface you collect it from is enough to contaminate the tank with bacteria, parasites and/or viruses, and if you collect any kind of ground run-off it gets significantly worse. [2] [1] https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/drinking/private/rainwater-collection.html https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/drinking/private/rainwater-... [2] https://novascotia.ca/nse/surface.water/docs/SurfaceWaterQA.pdf https://novascotia.ca/nse/surface.water/docs/SurfaceWaterQA....

by Lendal 3y ago

datavirtue 3y ago

Kale doesn't get any credit.

nonrandomstring 3y ago

Perhaps you can tell us the magical way that PFAS is currently removed in commercial water treatment?

Lendal 3y ago
Certain technologies have been found to remove PFAS from drinking water, especially Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), which are the most studied of these chemicals. Those technologies include activated carbon adsorption, ion exchange resins, and high-pressure membranes. These technologies can be used in drinking water treatment facilities, in water systems in hospitals or individual buildings, or even in homes at the point-of-entry, where water enters the home, or the point-of-use, such as in a kitchen sink or a shower.
- nonrandomstring 3y ago
  > Certain technologies Actual ones. Actual ones in use right mow in your neighborhood? In use on the water you're drinking today?
  - twodave 3y ago
    Reverse osmosis water filtration systems that use activated carbon are pretty common, and least where I live. We have one under our kitchen sink, and so do my in-laws. Most refrigerators that include a water dispenser come with an activated-carbon-based water filter as well.
    - nonrandomstring 3y ago
      That's nice that you've got that in your home. But at scale? For the rest of us? I live in a "developing nation" [0] of 70 million people whose private water companies are fined billions every year because they cannot meet the most basic standards of supplying potable water and not dumping raw sewerage into the rivers and sea. [0] https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/dec/09/britain-now-developing-country-foodbanks-growth https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/dec/09/britai...
      - twodave 3y ago
        I’m not sure what point you’re trying to make anymore. You asked if people actually have these things. We do. Why does this need to scale? If you want to be pedantic, anyone can make themselves an activated charcoal water filter using fire, wood, half a plastic bottle and some rocks and straw and stuff. If you’re on the Internet you already have access to this knowledge.
nonrandomstring 3y ago
Downvoting my question will make it go away. It will not make the problem go away.
- engineer_22 3y ago
  I thought it was a fair question

engineer_22 3y ago

In my area of the country most municipal water treatment systems don't have PFAS treatment. These systems are expensive to install and come with their own headaches. That said, funding is now available to upgrade water treatment plants for PFAS.

gregmac 3y ago

> A small amount of rainwater is probably fine, but if you really do live off the grid year round then you need to treat your rainwater. Drinking untreated rainwater is a pretty bad idea [1], even without considering PFAS. A bird pooping on the surface you collect it from is enough to contaminate the tank with bacteria, parasites and/or viruses, and if you collect any kind of ground run-off it gets significantly worse. [2] [1] https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/drinking/private/rainwater-collection.html https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/drinking/private/rainwater-... [2] https://novascotia.ca/nse/surface.water/docs/SurfaceWaterQA.pdf https://novascotia.ca/nse/surface.water/docs/SurfaceWaterQA....