More information about other contaminants can be found here.
Living in the Midwest I often drive by corn fields and farm fields that are interspersed throughout my neck of suburbia. I love the springtime when I see all the tiny shoots of green forming into rows of rich produce. But springtime is also a time to be wary of when it comes to agriculture and safe water. While the fresh smell of soil and new sprouts fill the air, the smell of pesticides can also be noticed. In particular, Atrazine, which has been named the number one contaminant to be found in not only water in the US, but water around the world. Studies show that 94% of the United States' drinking water contains trace amounts to amounts well over the accepted limit set by the EPA.
WHAT IS IT?
Atrazine is a synthetic, man-made herbicide used for agricultural purposes. It's main use is to kill weeds that may choke out plants or infiltrate a residential lawn. It is also highly used in golf courses. It was created by a company in Sweden and is still manufactured and used prevalently in the US. It has however been banned in areas of Europe.
HOW IT GETS INTO WATER
Atrazine gets sprayed onto farmers plants in large quantities during the spring and early summer months. This helps prevent the weeds from choking out their growing plants. When it rains after the herbicide is used, the Atrazine travels through layers of soil and ground water and is carried to lakes, streams and into ground water and water sheds. Atrazine contained in runoff can travel hundreds of miles. The EPA allows 3 parts per billion to remain in drinking water. The problem however is that the EPA is not necessarily testing drinking water 24/7. Often times there is a test performed once a year to determine the safety of your home's water at the city's source. Unfortunately, levels of Atrazine can spike during the spring and early summer which are the times farmers and agriculturalists are using the herbicide. If your city's water or well water isn't tested until late summer or early fall, there is now a chance that the test results will be different and show much less Atrazine than was there in the spring or summer.
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ATTRAZINE AFFECTS ON HEALTH
Just like any man-made chemical, it poses certain health risks. Atrazine is accepted as a Group II concern, meaning that it is possibly a carcinogen to humans. However, vast studies have been performed on this herbicide to try to find out exactly how it affects our health as humans. They have shown that Atrazine does in fact cause a higher risk of ovarian, breast and prostate cancer when consumed in low doses. It has also been shown to interfere with hormone activity, causing low sperm count and low fertility when consumed in very low doses. Another risk when consuming water that has been contaminated by Atrazine is birth defects. A greater risk of birth defects has been detected when a baby is conceived during a time where water had higher concentration of Atrazine (in the spring and early summer as mentioned).
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Just as in any environmental issue, there are groups of people looking to remove Atrazine from farming altogether. They approximate that even with getting rid of Atrazine, there would be less than a 1% loss in food production. Another avenue that is being perused is by two University of Minnesota chemists who have found a bacterium called Arthrobacter that "eats" the Atrazine in drinking water. The arthrobacter consumes its weight in Atrazine every two minutes, which is an extremely efficient way to rid the water of the herbicide. The great thing about this method is it doesn't just filter out the Atrazine, but this method uses an enzyme to break the Atrazine down into a harmless substance.
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IN THE MEANTIME: HOW TO RID YOUR WATER OF ATRAZINE
The best way to purify your water of Atrazine is to use an activated carbon filter. Activated carbon filters use physical absorption to remove many contaminants from the water. The herbicide Atrazine is one of those contaminants that a carbon filter can remove. As the water passes through the activated carbon filter and membrane, the contaminants adhere to the activated carbon media. Because of the large surface area of the carbon, it naturally has attractive forces that pull the contaminants into it. They are then absorbed into the carbon and leave the water clean to pass through the other side of the filter and into your home.
Below are some recommendations for an activated carbon filter system for YOUR home.
Below are some recommendations for an activated carbon filter system for YOUR home.
Activated Carbon Water Filters
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Amanda Klecker, Zell Plumbing & Heating