State and Stamford health officials are urging residents with private wells to get their water tested for pesticides and other possible contaminants.

A study of 628 private wells by the Stamford Health Department found that 195 had some amount of the pesticides Chlordane or Dieldrin. More than half of those 195 had concentrations that put residents who regularly drink the water at a greater risk for health problems, as defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Joseph Kuntz, a Stamford lab technician, said that when health officials first discovered some well contamination in 2009, they expected it to be localized and due to the nearby Scofield Town Dump. But testing had unexpected results.

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Chlordane and Dieldrin were used for termite and other insect extermination in homes and on farms for decades in Connecticut. They were banned in the 1980s, and the EPA now says that exposure to such chemicals over a lifetime, even at trace amounts, can increase the risk of health problems.

“You can’t see it, you can’t taste it and you can’t smell it,” said Bill Warzecha, an environmental analyst at Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. “And so except if you test it, you’re not going to know that it’s in there.”

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Stamford, where Kuntz estimates that 5,000 households have private wells, is unique in offering lower-cost testing. The city health department contracted with a local laboratory to bring down the cost of a $350 test to just $100. More than 1,700 people have signed up to get their wells tested, and last year the city passed an ordinance requiring 750 wells to be tested each year starting in 2012. ( source )

This unfortunate ground water contamination story does an excellent job of showing how a suspected small water quality issue in one area can quickly turn into a major problem for an entire region and how diligent testing of well water helps health officials get a better handle on the severity of the situation.

To all the residents in Stamford whose water may contain the compounds (Chlordane and Dieldrin) mentioned in this article, we highly suggest taking advantage of the special pricing offered by the local laboratory. Otherwise, as the full article very plainly stated, testing for pesticides such as chlordane and dieldrin could become very costly.

Other pesticide testing options

With the exception of water testing by a certified water testing laboratory, no real options exist for testing chlordane and dieldrin levels in well or drinking water… BUT home water test kits for other pesticides/herbicides like atrazine and simazine do exist

Both atrazine and simazine got used heavily in the agricultural world in the United States for quite some time before scientists and health experts determined that too much of either compound could cause health problems.

Therefore, if you live in an area once designated as agricultural it may prove wise to test your water for atrazine and simazine.

Regular well water testing

While we sincerely wish yearly testing, or even less frequent testing, of well water would ensure the quality of well water, we know better. Shifts in weather patterns (i.e. droughts, heavy rains, etc.) and changes in the demand on an aquifer can radically change the quality of water an aquifer produces — with little or no warning to those whose wells tap into the aquifer.

Home well water test kits like the Well Driller Master carried by FilterWater.Com make it possible for well owners to perform critical water quality checks on a regular basis.

Do water test kits like the Well Driller Master (or less expensive versions like the Well Water Test Kit, COMPLETE Water Test Kit & SenSafe Water Quality Test Kit) provide ALL the tests required to guarantee the quality of one’s water? No, but their tests can provide key insight into changes in one’s water quality and help one to know when more sophisticated water testing should take place.

SenSafe Water Water Quality Test Kit

So, without further ado, get ready for a list of chemicals and chemical compounds that call into the VOC category of NSF/ANSI Standard 53:

alachlor	endrin	simazine
atrazine	ethylbenzene	styrene
benzene	ethylene dibromide (EDB)	1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane
carbofuran	haloacetonitriles	tetrachloroethylene
carbon tetrachloride	bromochloroacetonitrile	toluene
chlorobenzene	dibromoacetonitrile	2,4,5-TP(silvex)
chloropicrin	dichloroacetonitrile	tribromoacetic acid
2,4-D	trichloroacetonitrile	1,2,4-trichlorobenzene
dibromochloropropane (DBCP)	haloketones	1,1,1-trichloroethane
o-dichlorobenzene	1,1-dichloro-2-propanone	1,1,2-trichloroethane
p-dichlorobenzene	1,1,1-trichloro-2-propanone	trichloroethylene
1,2-dichloroethane	heptachlor	trihalomethanes (TTHM)
1,1-dichloroethylene	heptachlor epoxide	(THM) bromodichloromethane
cis-1,2-dichloroethylene	hexachlorobutadiene	bromoform
trans-1,2-dichloroethylene	hexachlorocyclopentadiene	chlorodibromomethane
1,2-dichloropropane	lindane	chloroform
cis-1,3-dichloropropylene	methoxychlor	xylenes
dinoseb	pentachlorophenol

Note: While the NSF/ANSI Standard 53 for VOC Reduction deos specify just 43 compounds, the list above contains extra entries because the Standard considers three ‘families’ of compounds single entries and then goes on to specifically call out the names of individual compounds within those chemical families.

Where do these things called VOC’s come from?

The VOC Fairy brings them while you sleep… but not really. On the NSF Web Site we found the following definition which we think does an excellent job of describing the origin of VOC’s:

“The category of VOC (Volatile Organic Chemical) includes a number of chemicals that are both man-made and naturally occurring. Water from wells and utilities may contain some of these contaminants. Some VOCs are pesticides, herbicides, or insecticides that seep into the ground water after application. Other VOCs enter the water supply through industrial or other waste disposal. This category also includes total trihalomethanes, which are a by-product of chlorination.”

For those who believe VOC’s cannot get into their water supply because you don’t live in close proximity to industrial complexes or agricultural areas, think again. Once these things enter the environment they, like many other categories of drinking water contaminants, could possibly travel many miles before dissipating to a ‘safe’ level.

Thanks for the chemistry lesson, but…

“Why does any of that matter to me?”

In a nutshell, scientists and health officials have agreed that the presence of any of those chemicals in too high a concentration in water poses a potentially serious health risk to people if they consume the water. Devices that have tested and certified to NSF/ANSI Standard 53 for the reduction of VOC’s must satisfactorily reduce levels of all the chemicals on that list to ‘safe’ levels.

As an example, the rise and fall of aquifer levels in certain parts of the United States can have a pronounced effect on dissolved arsenic levels in the water contained in those aquifers.

As a second example, water from melting snows or from Spring showers traveling across the land in agricultural regions has a tendency to pick up potentially harmful bacteria and nitrates/nitrites that could work their way into poorly capped wells.

Other unwanted drinking water contaminants such as atrazine and simazine also get picked up runoff water making its way through the countryside. As you may recall, farmers in the United States used both of those compounds, especially atrazine, as an herbicide/pesticide for many years — and therefore it ought not surprise you that pockets of washed away atrazine lurk in many unsuspecting parts of the country.

Oh, and did we also mention you have the option of easily adding subtle, tasty flavors to the purified water it produces?

What importance does NSF Certified have?

Getting back to what really matters when it comes to a water filtration system, the PUR Pitcher Water Filter with PUR Flavor Options has passed independent laboratory testing and certified to NSF Standards for its ability to reduce levels of the following nasty water contaminants (if present to begin with):

• 2,4-D Reduction
• Atrazine Reduction — test for atrazine
• Benzene Reduction
• Cadmium Reduction
• Carbofuran Reduction
• Carbon Tetrachloride Reduction
• Copper Reduction — test for
• Cyst Reduction
• Mercury Reduction — test for mercury
• Simazine Reduction — test for simazine
• Tetrachloroethylene Reduction
• Toluene Reduction
• Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction
• Chlorine Reduction – Aesthetic — test for total chlorine / test for free chlorine
• Nominal Particulate Reduction, Class I
• Taste and Odor Reduction
• Zinc Reduction — test for zinc

The PUR Water Filter in this water filter pitcher was successfully tested and certified by NSF International against NSF / ANSI Standards 42 and 53.

No, this filter will not protect your family against EVERY possible drinking water contaminant, but it does offer a decent amount of protection against some truly unpleasant compounds that don’t belong in your water.

Know what contaminants your drinking water contains

The best thing to do before ordering a water filter of ANY size, brand or type… Get your water tested to find out what you need to remove! If you have serious reason to suspect your water contains contaminants, consult with a certified water testing laboratory with proper accreditation. A lab like that will have the equipment and expertise to accurately assess any risks posed by contaminants in your water.

As an example, National Testing Laboratories, a water testing lab certified to perform water testing in pretty much every State in the US, offers three different water testing packages as well as a host of other contaminant-specific tests to the general public.

Click here to view National Testing Laboratories residential water testing packages.

Nitrate & Nitrite Test Strips

We have posted a number of articles about nitrates in drinking water and given a number of links to products that can remove nitrates from drinking water… and today we found out that FilterWater.Com has started carrying a highly effective nitrate removal system made by Crystal Quest that costs less than $150, features a dual filter system containing a total of 7 filtration stages, and qualifies for free shipping.

Do I have nitrates in my drinking water?

Nitrates occur naturally in the environment and may come from any number of sources in nature including, but not limited to, animal waste that filters down into the aquifer. Wells tapping into that aquifer as a source of drinking water then pull the water to the surface where it gets used by the well owner for cooking, drinking, bathing, etc.

• Testing for Nitrates in Drinking Water
  – includes a simple explanation of Blue Baby Syndrome
• Springtime Testing of Well Water in Farming Community?
• Simple Test for Nitrates and Nitrites in Water

• Nitrates in Well Water / Private Well Testing

What harm can nitrates in drinking water do?

The USEPA summed up the effects of nitrates in drinking in the following ways:

“Short-term: Excessive levels of nitrate in drinking water have caused serious illness and sometimes death. The serious illness in infants is due to the conversion of nitrate to nitrite by the body, which can interfere with the oxygen-carrying capacity of the child’s blood. This can be an acute condition in which health deteriorates rapidly over a period of days. Symptoms include shortness of breath and blueness of the skin.” ( source )

“Long-term: Nitrates and nitrites have the potential to cause the following effects from a lifetime exposure at levels above the MCL: diuresis, increased starchy deposits and hemorrhaging of the spleen.” ( source )

How can I get rid of nitrates in my water?

We started this posting by saying that Filter Water now carries a dual filter counter top nitrate removal system… so now we figure we ought to tell you a little more about it.

Stage 1 — This product uses as dedicated nitrate removal filter. Water first flows through a nitrate-selective resin cartridge designed to reduce nitrate levels in water by 90 to 95 percent. The cartridge has an expected nitrate capacity of approximately 5500 ppm and owners can regenerate (aka: recharge, flush out, clean) the cartridge using a sodium chloride brine solution when it gets full.

Stages 2 & 7 — Pre and post one-micron filter pads remove suspended particles such as silt, sediment, cyst (Giardia, Cryptosporidium), sand, rust, dirt, and other undissolved matter in the water.

Stages 3 & 4 — Specially formulated beds of copper and zinc (KDF-55D, and KDF-85D) use a process known as oxidation-reduction to exhaust any chlorine in the water and convert iron and hydrogen sulfide into insoluble matter which attaches to the surface of the media. Heavy metals such as lead, mercury, copper, nickel, chromium, cadmium, aluminum, etc. also get removed during stages 3 & 4.

Stage 5 — Ion exchange resins reduce heavy metals such as lead, copper and aluminum further and also reduce water hardness by filtering out magnesium and calcium.

Stage 6 — Granulated Activated Carbon (GAC), a universally recognized and widely used adsorbent for a wide variety of unwanted drinking water contaminants such as chlorine (99.9%), chemicals linked to cancer (i.e. THM’s, benzene) pesticides & herbicides such as atrazine and simazine, insecticides, volatile organic compounds (VOC’s), PCB’s, MTBE’s and hundreds of other chemical contaminants which could possibly exist in your water supply.

Other features of the Dual Filter Nitrate Removal System?

Many people simply do not want to mess around with plumbing under their sink so a unit like the Crystal Quest Dual Filter Nitrate Filter System which requires no plumbing will work out beautifully.

The unit sits quietly next to the sink on the counter top and connects easily to pretty much any standard kitchen faucet. It also comes with a diverter valve which allows people to switch between filtered and unfiltered water with the flip of a switch.

Not digging the stark white appearance of the filter? Don’t worry! You have the option of ordering the unit with a chrome finish if that better suits the decor of your kitchen.

How long will the filters last and what do replacements cost?

The manufacturer estimates that the filters ought to last between 1 and 3 years depending upon the initial quality of source water. Keep in mind, though, that a soaking of the nitrate-specific cartridge in sodium or potassium chloride solution at room temperature will recharge the cartridge for additional use.

1. Remove cartridge from unit
2. Immerse the cartridge in a sodium or potassium chloride and room temperature water for a period of 30 minutes
3. Rinse off and then soak the cartridge for 30 minutes in salt-free water
4. Shake excess water off of and out of the cartridge
5. Place the cartridge back in the filter housing
6. Run through the systems for a period of 5-10 minutes

When it comes time to replace the nitrate-specific filter cartridge it will cost around $50 and the 6-stage filter cartridge will cost about the same.

If you would like the taste of filtered water but don’t feel like cluttering you refrigerator with water pitchers, using valuable counter space for a counter top water filter system, installing an under sink water filter system that may require you to know a little about plumbing, the Brita “On Tap” Faucet Filter offers the benefit of filtered water w/o any of those things.

Available in both chrome and white finish, Brita “On Tap” Faucet Water Filter features an electronic indicator light that changes from color when the filter gets within 2 weeks of needing replacement and flashes when the filter needs immediate replacement.

Brita claims the “On Tap” filter has successfully tested to NSF/ANSI Standard No. 53 and should last for approximately 100 gallons. This means the filter should effectively remove or reduce compounds and chemicals such as VOC, TTHM, O-Dichlorobenzene, lead, Cysts – Cryptosporidium and Giardia, asbestos, turbidity, carbofuran, alachlor, atrazine, heptachlor epoxide, 2,4-D, chlordane, trichloroethylene, lindane, methoxychlor, chlorobenzene, styrene, toxaphene, ethylbenzene, endrin, simazine, and carbon tetrachloride.

As we said, filters in the Brita “On Tap” Water Filter should last an estimated 100 gallons. Keep in mind, though, that actual filter life will depend heavily upon the quality of your source water.

Final words of advice?

Before investing in a water filter we suggest that you test your water to find out what, if any contaminants, your water contains. Otherwise you run the risk of purchasing too large/complex of a filter (and wasting money) or not purchasing the correct filter (and wasting money). Purchasing the incorrect filter will mean you have also wasted your time since unwanted contaminants will remain in your drinking water.

Got concerns that you really and truly may have a problem with drinking water contamination? Consult with certified drinking water testing laboratory such as National Testing Laboratories.

Looking for a way to supply your office or home with safe, clean drinking water… but don’t want the hassle of changing bulky, heavy and otherwise cumbersome 5 gallon tanks all the time?

If so, then the Sharp Ultrafiltration Bottleless Water Cooler may solve your dilemma. It contains four replaceable filters that have an average lifespan of approximately 2 years and hooks up directly to the cold water line in your home or office.

Able to provide an office of thirty people with a continuous supply of safe, clean and thoroughly filter hot and cold water, this unit works well, looks good, and will NOT require you to sign any monthly or yearly service contracts with water delivery companies. Also keep in mind that monthly service contracts will run upwards of $50 per month and you will have change the heavy 5 gallon jugs each time one runs dry. Each jug weighs approximately 50 pounds. Not fun!

The Sharp Ultrafiltration Bottleless Water Cooler can provide freshly purified hot water for teas and other warm drinks on command… something many water coolers using bottles simply cannot do!

4 Stages of Water Filtration

In this unit drinking water travels through 4 separate water filters, each designed to remove specific contaminants. This intense amount of filtration produces crystal clear, fresh and tasty water on a continuous basis – with no bottles to buy!

• Stage 1 – A sediment filter which removes 99.99% of microbiological cysts, cryptosporidium, giardia, and ‘particles’ from the water.
• Stage 2 – A granulated activated carbon (GAC) cartridge effectively absorbs a wide variety of organic contaminants such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), chemicals linked to cancer (such as THMs and benzene), pesticides (like atrazine and simazine), herbicides, PCBs, and chlorine (removes 99.9%).

  The activated carbon cartridge also reduces MTBEs and removes bad taste and odor from drinking water.

• Stage 3 – An UltraFiltration (UF) membrane removes synthetic organic compounds ranging in size from 0.0001 to 0.005 microns in size, bacteria, viruses, colloids, and waterborne parasites. This stage also removes and/or greatly reduces salts and water hardness.

• Stage 4 – A multi-stage filter which removes hundreds of other potentially harmful or aesthetically displeasing contaminants (if present in the water) and puts a final ‘polishing’ on the water.

Additional Details About This Water Cooler

Before shipping to a customer, each unit gets tested for a period of 72 hours, the unit as a whole carries a 1-year manufacturer’s warranty (excluding replaceable filter cartridges), the unit’s compressor carries a 3-year warranty, and the unit comes with a set of filter cartridges.

With regard to replacement costs for the filter cartridges, as of the date we posted this blog entry a full set of replacement cartridges, which ought to last 2 or more years, cost approximately $160 for a complete set of 4.

A member of Congress is seeking to ban one of the nation’s most widely-used herbicides, which has turned up in drinking water in some states. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) is for the second time proposing legislation that would outlaw any use or trade of atrazine.

Atrazine is most commonly sprayed on cornfields, and can run off into rivers and streams that supply drinking water. As the Huffington Post Investigative Fund reported in a series of articles last fall, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency failed to warn the public that the weed-killer had been found at levels above federal safety limits in drinking water in at least four states. A coalition of Midwestern communities — along with the nation’s largest private water utility — is suing atrazine’s manufacturer, Syngenta, seeking to have it pay to filter the chemical from public water.

Steven Goldman, spokesman for Syngenta, did not comment specifically on the proposed bill or on the prospect of a nationwide ban.

Read more: U.S. Congressman Renews Attempts to Ban Controversial Herbicide Atrazine

Not sure if your drinking water contains atrazine or other potentially harmful drinking water contaminants? The following information about testing for atrazine might come in handy, then:

Pesticide in Water Test Atrazine & Simazine 2 Tests for Each

National Testing Labs 83 Water Parameters 20 Pesticides/Herbicides

Want our advice? Of course you do!

If you live w/in 50 to 100 miles of an agricultural area and have a well, or your local water system draws from a well located near agricultural areas, either get your water tested for atrazine as well as other pesticides and herbicides several times a year — especially after periods of heavy rain and/or runoff.

Test kits such as the Pesticide Test Kit for atrazine and simazine work well as occasional screening methods but when it comes to giving the final word on whether or not your water contains harmful contaminants, always turn to the experts at a certified drinking water testing lab such as National Testing Labs.