POUPOE Devices as Final Barriers

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POU/POE Devices as Final Barriers
 
 
 

• Joseph F. Harrison, P.E., CWS-VI
• Technical Director
• Water Quality Association
• jharrison_at_wqa.org

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Barriers against Contaminants in Water

• Sanitary Survey
• Source Water Management
• Central Water Treatment
• Pretreatment
• Filtration
• Disinfection
• Distribution System Management
• and
• POE/POU Devices in Homes?

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Why the Final Barrier?
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Product Usage Habits
Percentages do not add to 100 because of
multiple response
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POU/POE as a Final Barrier

• Aesthetic Concerns
• Treatment Effects
• DBP Levels
• Process Changes, Lead Copper Levels
• Distribution Related Effects
• Corrosion Products
• Microbial Intrusions
• Endemic Diseases
• Security Issues
• MCL Vs MCLG

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POU/POE Technologies

• POU POE technologies mostly miniaturized
  versions of central treatment
• Several different technologies usually available
  for the treatment of any contaminant
• Many small large companies involved in POU and
  POE water treatment
• Standards Certification programs provide higher
  level of confidence and credibility now than in
  prior years

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History of POU and POE Products

• Aesthetic enhancement historical
• Slow evolution to health related claims
• ANSI/NSF Standards in 1980s
• ANSI accredited testing and certification NSF,
  UL, WQA
• State certifications IA, WI, CA
• Automatic water quality monitors and end of life
  indicators 1990s

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NSF/ANSI American National Standards

• Std. 42 Aesthetic Effects
• Std. 44 POE softeners Hardness, Barium, Radium
• Std. 53 Health effects Lead, Cysts, TTHM, VOC,
  MTBE, Arsenic, etc,
• Std. 55 Ultraviolet light (UV) POE POU Class
  A B
• Std. 58 Reverse Osmosis Systems
• Std. 62 Distillers
• All Structural Integrity, Material Safety,
  Treatment Performance, and Approval of Labeling
  and Literature

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Todays Manufacturers and Product Variations

• 70 manufacturers, large and small
• Product types pitchers, faucet attached, under
  sink, counter top, whole-house
• State-of-the-Art Technologies Carbon Block,
  Fine Filters, Specialty Media, RO, UV, Ozone,
  Distillation
• Capacities 35 to over 100,000 gallons
• _at_1 to 20 gallons per min

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Types of Products

• Personal water bottle
• Pour through pitcher
• Countertop Units connected to sink faucet
• Faucet attached filters
• Plumbed-in units
• Plumbed-in units with separate faucet
• Shower Filters
• Whole-house water treatment Devices (POE)

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Contaminants Reduced by these Devices

• Particulates
• Inorganics
• Radium Other Radionuclides
• Volatile Organic Chemicals
• Synthetic Organic Chemicals
• Microbials

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INORGANICS
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POU/POE Technologies for Inorganics

• Water Softener Barium Radium Only
• Media Filters Arsenic, Asbestos, Lead,
  Mercury
• RO All Inorganics
• Distillers All Inorganics (Except for Asbestos,
  Radium, Nitrites not covered presently in Std
  62)

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POU Reverse Osmosis systems and Filters
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Inorganics Included in NSF/ANSI Standards

• Arsenic, Asbestos, Barium, Cadmium, Copper,
  Fluoride, Chromium (Hexavalent Trivalent),
  Lead, Mercury, Nitrite Nitrate, Perchlorate,
  Radium 226/228, Selenium

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Lead Level Survey for Systemsgt50K (USEPA
2000-2004)
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POU POE Products Certified for Inorganic
Reduction
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(No Transcript)
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Figure 6 Arsenic V Reduction
TM
Plymouth Products, Inc. Granular Ferric Hydroxide
- GFH
Total Arsenic Concentration vs. Gallons of Water
at pH 8.5
100
Feed, Total As
EBCT 10.6 sec.
Unit 1, Total As
Unit 2, Total As
10 ppb Line
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Arsenic Concentration (ug/l)
50
25
0
0
75
150
225
300
375
450
525
600
675
750
825
Gallons of Water with a 50/50 Cycle at 0.60gpm
01211-1
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RADIONUCLIDES
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Radium Reduction By Ion Exchange

• Relative affinity of ions for cation resins
• Radium 13.0
• Barium 5.8
• Calcium 1.9
• Magnesium 1.67
• Sodium 1.0

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Radium Barium Reduction

• 33 Water Softeners made by 3 companies have been
  certified for such reduction by Certifiers
• A steady state of operation is achieved for
  Radium sorption when a Softener is operated in
  normal fashion
• Radium never breaks through before Hardness in
  all of the experiments conducted by Dennis
  Clifford and his coworkers. This has also been
  substantiated by Vern Snoeyinks work at
  University of Illinois

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POE Water Softeners
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POU Products For Radionuclides Reduction

• POU RO POU IE recognized by EPA as Available
  Compliance Technologies for Small Systems for the
  Reduction of Radium and many other Radionuclides
• Many POU RO have been certified for Radium
  Reduction (147 products by 33 companies)
• Some POU products have been certified for Radon
  reduction
• No Known POU IE Products currently in the Market.
  Also No Protocol in Std 53 or Std 44
• No Protocol for other Radionuclides in any of the
  Standards at this time

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ORGANICS
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Disinfection Byproducts
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Range of DBPs in Large Surface Water Plants
(USEPA 2000)
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TTHM HAA5 Levels in Small Plants (USEPA 2001)
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Volatile Organics

• EPAs limitation is to use only POE for VOC
  Reduction from a compliance point of view due to
  concerns about dermal and inhalation related
  risks
• There are no POE unit however tested and
  certified for VOC Reduction by any of the testing
  and certification organizations at this time
• Use of Certified POU units while not fully
  protective, does reduce at least that portion of
  the risk associated with consumption

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Synthetic Organics Reductions Included in
Standard 53

• Chloroform Reduction has been substantiated as a
  surrogate for these synthetic organics
• Alachlor, Atrazine, Carbofuron, 2,4-D,
  Dibromochloropropane, Dinoseb, Endrin, Ethylene
  Dibromide, Heptachlor, Heptachlor Epoxide,
  Hexachlorocyclopentadiene, Lindane, Methoxychlor,
  Pentachlorophenol, Simazine, 2,4,5-TP (Silvex)
  --Plus 34 other Volatile Organic Chemicals (VOCs)
• The following can be tested by themselves
  separately Chlordane, PCBs, Toxaphene

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Products Certified for Organics

• For such VOC SOC Reduction Claims
• 25 companies and 115 POU products
• For Chlordane, PCBs, Toxaphene Reduction
  Claims
• 7 companies and 45 POU products

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Surrogate Testing With Chloroform

• 300 ppb chloroform in the influent water to be
  reduced to below 15 ppb in the effluent water
  during the entire test.
• A unit with an end of life indicator is tested to
  remove contaminants for 120 of its claimed life.
• A unit without an end of life indicator is tested
  to remove contaminants for 200 of its claimed
  life.
• An example of an actual test of a unit with a
  claimed life of 500 gal with a shut off device is
  shown here next

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Actual Life Test Chloroform surrogate VOC
reduction for 500 gallons allowed claim
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MICROBIOLOGICAL CONTAMINANTS
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Estimate of number of cases of AGI in USA
attributable to Drinking Water

• By Colford et al, J. Water Health 4, Suppl 02,
  2006 (Based on studies funded by CDC USEPA)
• With an assumption of 90 risk being associated
  with source water contamination or inadequate
  treatment
• ESTIMATED NUMBER 4.26 to 11.69 million per
  year
• With an assumption of 90 risk being associated
  with contamination in the distribution system
• ESTIMATED NUMBER 10.87 to 11.69 million
  per year

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Microbiological Purification

• New Comprehensive ANSI/NSF Standard for all
  Microbial Issues in Development
• Cyst Reduction Covered in Std 53
• Std 55 Std 62 Cover Specific Aspects of
  Microbial Issues
• Std 55 recently updated using MS2 as a surrogate
  for validation of UV Units
• Std 62 uses B.subtiles as a surrogate to validate
  the capability of a distiller

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EPA Guide Standard Protocol

• Drafted in 1987. Covers Halogenated Resin, UV,
  and Ceramic Filters. Has become the reference
  Guide in this area
• Uses Raoultella terrigena, a mixture of polio
  simian rota viruses, and Giardia (Crypto) Cysts
  as Test Organisms
• Requires reduction of 6 logs of bacteria, 4 logs
  of viruses, and 3 logs of cysts under a set of
  operating conditions of water quality and
  sequence of cycles and sampling

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Standard 55 UV Units

• Uses MS2 Bacteriophage and Verifies the UV Dose
  at the set point to be no less than 40 mJ/sqcm
  for Class A Performance. Requires the use of UV
  Sensors for sounding an alarm when not effective
• This Dose level has been universally accepted as
  capable of yielding more than 4 log Inactivation
  of Viruses (except adeno), 6 logs of bacteria,
  and 3 logs of Crypto Giardia
• Units certified for Class B are to be offered
  only for Aesthetic Improvement

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UV Units Certified by NSF Intl

• 17 POE products made by 5 companies have been
  listed as of now.
• 3 POU Products by one company carry such
  certification
• Certified POE Products have been verified to be
  operable at flow rates ranging from 8 to 18 gpm,
  appropriate for single home point of entry
  applications

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Purifier Protocol Testing

• Outside the Standard Related Activity, NSF and
  many Universities such as U of AZ and U of S FL
  offer Performance Tests using the Guide Protocol
  as the general Basis
• Shown are the Actual Data from tests done by U
  of AZ on a POU Distiller Product a POU UV
  Product

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Purifier Test Data- Distiller

• BACTERIA
• E.coli, S.typhimurium, S.dysentariae,
  C.jejuni, Y.enterocolitica, V.cholerae,
  M.fortutium, R.terrigena
• VIRUSES
• HAV, Adeno type2, Polio, Simian rota
• CRYPTO

• gt99.9999
• gt99.9999
• gt99.99
• gt99.9

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Purifier Test Data- UV UNIT

• BACTERIA
• E.coli, S.typhimurium, S.dysentariae,
  V.cholerae, R.terrigena
• VIRUSES
• Polio simian rota
• CRYPTO GIARDIA

• gt99.9999
• gt99.999
• gt99.9

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Newer Microbial Devices

• POE Ultrafiltration units
• POU RO Systems with/without added Microbial
  filters
• Combination Filter systems with Microbial filters

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MCL Vs MCLG
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MCL, MCLG, TT

• Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) - The highest
  level of a contaminant that is allowed in
  drinking water. MCLs are set as close to MCLGs as
  feasible using the best available treatment
  technology and taking cost into consideration.
  MCLs are enforceable standards.
• Maximum Contaminant Level Goal (MCLG) - The level
  of a contaminant in drinking water below which
  there is no known or expected risk to health.
  MCLGs allow for a margin of safety and are
  non-enforceable public health goals
• Treatment Technique - A required process intended
  to reduce the level of a contaminant in drinking
  water.

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MCL Vs MCLG (Microorganisms)
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MCL Vs MCLG (Disinfection Byproducts)
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MCL Vs MCLG (Inorganics)
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MCL Vs MCLG (Organics)
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MCL Vs MCLG (Organics) Cont.
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MCL Vs MCLG (Organics) Cont.
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MCL Vs MCLG (Radionuclides)
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Needs in this Area

• Actual Tests showing the reduction from MCL to
  MCLG for different contaminants
• Protocols for use by certifiers
• Incorporation into present ANSI/NSF standards or
  development of new Standards

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Examples of POU/POE as Final Barriers
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Carbon Block Filter

• Assumption Tested Certified for lead, cyst,
  and VOC reduction
• Barrier to synthetic volatile organics, lead,
  and protozoan cysts AND a partial barrier to
  bacteria and viruses even though not claimed
• Not a barrier to most other inorganics or
  radionuclides

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RO System with Carbon Filter

• Assumption Tested Certified for reduction of
  several Inorganics, Radionuclides, Cysts, and VOC
• Barrier to all tested inorganics, radionuclides,
  protozoan cysts, many synthetic and volatile
  organics. Also a probable barrier to several
  other inorganics, bacteria, and viruses
• Not a proven barrier against all microbials and
  some organics

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POE UV System

• Assumption Tested and certified as a purifier
  under ANSI/NSF std 55
• Barrier to all pathogenic bacteria, viruses, and
  protozoan cysts
• Not a barrier to organics, inorganics,
  radionuclides, and particulates

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POE Softener

• Assumption Tested for hardness reduction as well
  as tested and certified for Radium and Barrium
  reduction
• Barrier to Radium Barium as well as to soluble
  lead, copper and other divalent cations
• Not a barrier to most other contaminants

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WATER SOFTENER IN REGENERATION CYCLES
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Examples of Commonly Used Combinations

• GAC filter, fine filter(with lead reducing media)
• Carbon block, Arsenic removal media, microbial
  Filter
• RO, carbon block, UV/Microbial Filter
• Distiller, carbon filter

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Other Technologies

• POE Aeration for Radon and other Volatiles
• POE Anion Exchange for Nitrate Arsenic
  Reduction
• MTBE Reduction at POU POE
• POE Ozonation for Microbials
• POE Fine Filtration for Microbials
• POE Halogenated Resin for Microbials

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POU/POE as a Final Barrier

• Aesthetic Concerns
• Treatment Effects
• DBP Levels
• Process Changes, Lead Copper Levels
• Distribution Related Effects
• Corrosion Products
• Microbial Intrusions
• Endemic Diseases
• Security Issues
• MCL Vs MCLG