Does Reverse Osmosis Remove Perchlorate?

Does reverse osmosis remove perchlorate?

Yes, reverse osmosis water filters can remove perchlorate from water. A research paper named “Removal of Perchlorate Using Reverse Osmosis and Nanofiltration Membranes” proved that commercially available reverse osmosis filters can be used to remove up to 96% of perchlorate ions from drinking water. The research was conducted by the University of South Carolina, Columbia, and the Department of Chemistry and Environmental Sciences, Korea Army.

In case you are wondering, the nano filter was only able to reduce 80% of perchlorate at most which were unsatisfactory. The researchers concluded that NSF-certified reverse osmosis water filters are by far the most affordable, quick, and widely available option for average people to get perchlorate-free drinking water.

Now let’s focus on how perchlorate gets into drinking water, what its health effects are, and how a reverse osmosis water filter removes it from water.

What is perchlorate?

Perchlorate (ClO4-) is a chemical ion that contains four atoms of oxygen and one atom of chlorine. The Environmental Protection Agency has recognized it as an emerging drinking water contaminant. Perchlorate ions are very stable and can last for many decades in the environment. It can easily dissolve in water and pollute surface water as well as groundwater.

What are common sources of perchlorate?

Usually, perchlorate ions can be found in various salt forms in the environment, groundwater, and surface water. Although normal natural activities can form perchlorate salts, the majority of these salts are being created by humans for use in industries. There are 4 different kinds of commonly found perchlorate salts. They are:

1. Ammonium perchlorate (NH4ClO4)
2. Potassium perchlorate (KClO4)
3. Lithium perchlorate (LiclO4)
4. Sodium perchlorate (NaClO4)

Apart from these, people also manufacture perchloric acid to use as an oxidizing and dehydrating agent.

Space industrialists use Ammonium perchlorate (NH4ClO4) as an Energetic booster in rocket fuel. Defense contractors and weapons manufacturers use Potassium perchlorate (KClO4) as a strong oxidizing agent in explosives, bullets, rockets, and in various missiles, etc.

Automobile manufacturers also use perchlorate as components to create airbags. Even farmers have been using potassium perchlorate as fertilizer for years in the U.S.A.

As a result, perchlorates are being found in great concentration around numerous manufacturing sites, army bases, and agricultural fields.

How does perchlorate get into drinking water?

Due to its chemical structure, the soil barely absorbs perchlorate ions. So, when related to manufacturing plants, perchlorate ions sit on top of the nearby ground. During its decades-long lifetime, it can be easily dissolved in water and spread in natural water sources like rivers, lakes, groundwater, etc. The situation worsens during a flood and stormwater runoff.

As of 2022, the environmental protection agency has not passed any regulation to enforce water plant authorities to treat water for perchlorate. So, without any kind of filtration, perchlorate ions end up right in your drinking water from contaminated water sources.

How does a reverse osmosis water filter remove perchlorate from water?

A single molecule of perchlorate salt is made of positively charged ions and negatively charged ions.

For example, a single molecule of Ammonium perchlorate (NH4ClO4) contains 4 molecules of positively charged Ammonium Ions (NH+) and 1 molecule of negatively charged Perchlorate ion (CLO4-). They are linked together by an electrostatic attraction named the ionic bond. When the salt dissolves in water, water molecules pull the ions apart, causing the ionic bond to break.

NSF-certified reverse osmosis water filters use a specialized ‘Reverse Osmosis Membrane’ that has a pore size of 0.0001 microns. The pore size is smaller than the freely floating perchlorate ions in water. So when the water filter pushes raw water through the membrane, only the water molecules pass and all the ions get stopped by the membrane.

That’s how a reverse osmosis water filter provides perchlorate-free drinking and cocking water.

Best Reverse Osmosis Water Filter for Perchlorate

To get perchlorate-free drinking water, our first choice is to use the WaterDrop G3 RO water filter. It is an NSF-58 certified water filter, capable of reducing perchlorate and other dissolvable solids from water. It filters water in 7 deep stages. G3 can remove 100+ pollutants from water along with bad taste and smell.

Our Readers Get an Exclusive 10% Discount on all WaterDrop Water Filters. Click Here to Apply Coupon Code: Open-air-home-10

For people who can’t install a water filter in their home because of renting agreements or other conditions, we recommend the Aquatru Countertop RO water filter. It is also an NSF-58 certified water filter that doesn’t require any kind of installation. You can place it anywhere you like and get purified healthy water in minutes.

How to test for perchlorate in water?

If you live near a military base or near factories that manufacture bullets, explosives, and fireworks, you should immediately test your water for perchlorate. There is a high chance your drinking water might be contaminated with perchlorate.

People who collect their drinking water from wells, rivers, streams, and other natural sources should also test their water.

The EPA has approved methods 314 and 332 for perchlorate detection. Both of these methods use ion chromatography technology to find perchlorate ions in water.

So clearly, the perchlorate test can not be done by an average joe. In that case, you can get help from TAPSCORE. They provide numerous water testing services including perchlorate testing kits. If you follow some simple instructions and send a water sample to them, they will test your water for you.

What is the EPA’s standard for perchlorate?

Shockingly and quite unfortunately, the EPA has not set the allowable Maximum Contamination Level (MCL) of perchlorate in drinking water yet. Although they suggested the MCL should be set at 1 µg/L, they have not made it official.

Meanwhile, the California state government set the MCL for perchlorate at 6 µg/L. But realizing the potential health risk associated with perchlorate, they are planning to reduce the maximum contamination level to 2 µg/L.

Apart from California, Massachusetts is the only other state that also has set the MCL for perchlorate. 2 µg/L of perchlorate in drinking water is considered safe in Massachusetts.

What are the health effects of perchlorate?

Exposure to perchlorate disrupts the usual function of the thyroid. It also blocks iodine transport in the thyroid gland. Iodine is a vital element for the thyroid to produce thyroid hormone. Without the hormone, the human body can’t regulate metabolic processes. Studies have found unregulated metabolic processes may create tumors and, in time, cancer. Continuous congestion of perchlorate can cause fatigue, depression, anxiety, weight gain, hair loss, and low libido as well.

Moreover,

Without thyroid hormone, the brain development of fetuses and infants gets hampered. Lack of iodine due to perchlorate congestion increases the risk of miscarriage and having autistic children. It can also cause delayed development and decreased learning capability in young children.

How many people in the U.S are drinking perchlorate-contaminated water?

Perchlorate, as a drinking water contaminant, was first detected in February 1997 at an Aerojet Rocketdyne’s site in California. They used perchlorate as a component for manufacturing liquid and solid propellants for rocket engines for military and commercial use.

After that, authorities conducted a study and found various other weapon manufacturing plants to release perchlorate into the environment and water sources, including Aerojet (Azusa), WhittakerBermite (Santa Clarita), and Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Pasadena).

The Environmental protection agency raised an alarm and ordered every water supply plant in the country to test whether they have perchlorate in the water or not. Local authorities tested thousands of water samples and reported them back to the EPA.

The results showed out of 50 states, at least 26 states have some level of perchlorate in their water. The United States Water Quality Association has reported that at least 11 million people in the USA are drinking perchlorate contaminated water without even knowing it.

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