Heavy Metals Removal

Do you have heavy metals in your water?

FACT: Most heavy metals in our water supply cannot be detected by sight, smell or taste.

The only way to detect the presence of heavy metals is through a water test. You may expect the today’s town water supply is safe but here is a quote form NZ Ministry of Heaths web site:

“About 1.1 million New Zealanders were supplied with drinking-water during 2003 that failed to comply with the current DWS2000 Standards”

There are serious health risks from drinking water with excessive levels of heavy metals with many of them affecting the brain. See the links below for more information on this.

Can heavy metals be removed from the supply?

We can remove most heavy metals from your drink water very easily with reliable technology. Our standard underbench filter removes a huge range of metals commonly found in your water.

BUT before we any recommend any solutions, we recommend Water Testing. If you are unsure and particularly if you are on bore water, we recommend water testing first. You don’t know what’s there until you test. In numerous water tests we have found excessive heavy metal levels that would affect your health.

Ring us free on 0800 787 392 for a water test.

If you don't have a water filter then YOU are the water filter.

Heavy water FAQ

What are the negative health effects from heavy metals?
Definition of a Heavy Metal What metals are in our water?
How do we remove heavy metals?
Detecting Heavy Metals in your Water
Arsenic in drinking water linked to type 2 Diabetes (new page)

What are the negative health effects from heavy metals?

Heavy metals are dangerous because they tend to bioaccumulate. Bioaccumulation means an increase in the concentration of a chemical in a biological organism over time, compared to the chemical's concentration in the environment. Compounds accumulate in living things any time they are taken up and stored faster than they are broken down (metabolized) or excreted.

Heavy metals can enter a water supply by industrial and consumer waste, or even from acidic rain breaking down soils and releasing heavy metals into streams, lakes, rivers, and groundwater.

Heavy metal toxicity can result in damaged or reduced mental and central nervous function, lower energy levels, and damage to blood composition, lungs, kidneys, liver, and other vital organs. Long-term exposure may result in slowly progressing physical, muscular, and neurological degenerative processes that mimic Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, muscular dystrophy, and multiple sclerosis. Allergies are not uncommon and repeated long-term contact with some metals or their compounds may even cause cancer (International Occupational Safety and Health Information Centre 1999).

The association of symptoms indicative of acute toxicity is not difficult to recognize because the symptoms are usually severe, rapid in onset, and associated with a known exposure or ingestion (Ferner 2001): cramping, nausea, and vomiting; pain; sweating; headaches; difficulty breathing; impaired cognitive, motor, and language skills; mania; and convulsions.

The symptoms of toxicity resulting from chronic exposure (impaired cognitive, motor, and language skills; learning difficulties; nervousness and emotional instability; and insomnia, nausea, lethargy, and feeling ill) are also easily recognized; however, they are much more difficult to associate with their cause. Symptoms of chronic exposure are very similar to symptoms of other health conditions and often develop slowly over months or even years. Sometimes the symptoms of chronic exposure actually abate from time to time, leading the person to postpone seeking treatment, thinking the symptoms are related to something else.

Lead and mercury exact their most devastating toll on the developing brain:

• Children exposed to lead at a young age are more likely to suffer from shorter attention spans and are less able to read and learn than their peers.
• Children with above-average mercury exposures have learning difficulties. 
• Recent studies also suggest that arsenic can harm the developing brain. 
• Many other health effects of these metals are well-known.

Common Health Effects

Lead

• Behavioral problems
• High blood pressure, anemia
• Kidney damage
• Memory and learning difficulties
• Miscarriage, decreased sperm production
• Reduced IQ

Mercury

• Blindness and deafness brain damage
• Digestive problems
• Kidney damage
• Lack of coordination
• Mental retardation

Arsenic

• Breathing problems
• Death if exposed to high levels
• Decreased intelligence
• Known human carcinogen: lung and skin cancer
• Nausea, diarrhea, vomiting
• Peripheral nervous system problems

Definition of a heavy metal

"Heavy metals" are chemical elements with a specific gravity that is at least 5 times the specific gravity of water. The specific gravity of water is 1 at 4°C (39°F). Simply stated, specific gravity is a measure of density of a given amount of a solid substance when it is compared to an equal amount of water. Some well-known toxic metallic elements with a specific gravity that is 5 or more times that of water are arsenic, 5.7; cadmium, 8.65; iron, 7.9; lead, 11.34; and mercury, 13.546 (Lide 1992).

In small quantities, certain heavy metals are nutritionally essential for a healthy life. Some of these are referred to as the trace elements (e.g., iron, copper, manganese, and zinc). These elements, or some form of them, are commonly found naturally in foodstuffs, in fruits and vegetables, and in commercially available multivitamin products (International Occupational Safety and Health Information Centre 1999).

Diagnostic medical applications include direct injection of gallium during radiological procedures, dosing with chromium in parenteral nutrition mixtures, and the use of lead as a radiation shield around x-ray equipment (Roberts 1999). Heavy metals are also common in industrial applications such as in the manufacture of pesticides, batteries, alloys, electroplated metal parts, textile dyes, steel, and so forth. (International Occupational Safety and Heath Information Centre 1999). Many of these products are in our homes and actually add to our quality of life when properly used.

What metals are in our water?

The term heavy metal refers to any metallic chemical element that has a relatively high density and is toxic or poisonous at low concentrations.

Heavy metals are natural components of the Earth's crust. They cannot be degraded or destroyed. To a small extent they enter our bodies via food, drinking water and air. As trace elements, some heavy metals (e.g. copper, selenium, zinc) are essential to maintain the metabolism of the human body. However, at higher concentrations they can lead to poisoning. Heavy metal poisoning could result, for instance, from drinking-water contamination (e.g. lead pipes), high ambient air concentrations near emission sources, or intake via the food chain.

Aluminium
Although aluminium is not a heavy metal (specific gravity of 2.55-2.80), it makes up about 8% of the surface of the earth and is the third most abundant element. It is readily available for human ingestion through drinking water.

Studies began to emerge about 20 years ago suggesting that aluminium might have a possible connection with developing Alzheimer's disease when researchers found what they considered to be significant amounts of aluminum in the brain tissue of Alzheimer's patients. Although aluminum was also found in the brain tissue of people who did not have Alzheimer's disease, recommendations to avoid sources of aluminum received widespread public attention.

As a result, many organizations and individuals reached a level of concern that prompted them to dispose of all their aluminum cookware and storage containers and to become wary of other possible sources of aluminum, such as soda cans, personal care products, and even their drinking water.

However, the World Health Organization (WHO 1998) concluded that, although there were studies that demonstrate a positive relationship between aluminum in drinking water and Alzheimer's disease, the WHO had reservations about a causal relationship because the studies did not account for total aluminum intake from all possible sources.

Although there is no conclusive evidence for or against aluminum as a primary cause for Alzheimer's disease, most researchers agree that it is an important factor in the dementia component and most certainly deserves continuing research efforts. Therefore, at this time, reducing exposure to aluminum is a personal decision.

Target organs for aluminum are the central nervous system, kidney, and digestive system.

Arsenic
Arsenic is the most common cause of acute heavy metal poisoning in adults. Arsenic is released into the environment by the smelting process of copper, zinc, and lead, as well as by the manufacturing of chemicals and glasses. Arsine gas is a common byproduct produced by the manufacturing of pesticides that contain arsenic. Arsenic may be also be found in water supplies worldwide, leading to exposure of shellfish, cod, and haddock. Other sources are paints, rat poisoning, fungicides, and wood preservatives.

Target organs are the blood, kidneys, and central nervous, digestive, and skin systems.

Cadmium
Cadmium is a byproduct of the mining and smelting of lead and zinc. It is used in nickel-cadmium batteries, PVC plastics, and paint pigments. It occurs mostly in association with zinc and gets into water from corrosion of zinc-coated ("galvanized") pipes and fittings.

Target organs are the liver, placenta, kidneys, lungs, brain, and bones.

Copper
Copper at very high levels is toxic and can cause vomiting, diarrhea, loss of strength or, for serious exposure, cirrhosis of the liver. Water turns blue-green in colour as the corroded copper comes off the inside of the pipes and appears in the water as a precipitate. This reaction only occurs in a small percentage of cases.

Iron
Iron is a heavy metal of concern, particularly because ingesting dietary iron supplements may acutely poison young children. Ingestion accounts for most of the toxic effects of iron because iron is absorbed rapidly in the gastrointestinal tract. The corrosive nature of iron seems to further increase the absorption. It can cause a rusty red or brown stain on fixtures or laundry and/or cause your water to develop a metallic taste.

Target organs are the liver, cardiovascular system, and kidneys.

Mercury
Mercury is generated naturally in the environment from the degassing of the earth's crust, from volcanic emissions. It exists in three forms: elemental mercury and organic and inorganic mercury. Atmospheric mercury is dispersed across the globe by winds and returns to the earth in rainfall, accumulating in aquatic food chains and fish in lakes. Mercury compounds were added to paint as a fungicide until 1990.

These compounds are now banned; however, old paint supplies and surfaces painted with these old supplies still exist. Mercury continues to be used in thermometers, thermostats, and dental amalgam. Certain bacteria are able to transform it into methyl mercury, which is concentrated in the food chain and can cause malformations.

Target organs are the brain and kidneys.

Lead
Lead accounts for most of the cases of pediatric heavy metal poisoning (Roberts 1999). It is a very soft metal and was used in pipes, drains, and soldering materials for many years. Millions of homes built before 1940 still contain lead (e.g., in painted surfaces), leading to chronic exposure from weathering, flaking, chalking, and dust. Every year, industry produces about 2.5 million tons of lead throughout the world. Most of this lead is used for batteries.

Target organs are the bones, brain, blood, kidneys, and thyroid gland.

How do we remove heavy metals?

Our standard under bench filter provides great protection from the contaminants found in public water supply systems with the combination of KDF and Carbon treatments.

Unlike carbon filters, the KDF technology increases the range and effectiveness of treatment, while creating an environment which will not support bacterial growth. KDF® the name for high purity copper and zinc granules. In solution, these two metals interact to create a slight electrical charge. The resulting ionization and oxidation/reduction processes modify the structure of heavy metals and other contaminants.

This media is a major advancement in water treatment technology that works on the electro-chemical and spontaneous-oxidation-reduction (redox) principles. Chlorine is instantaneously and almost inexhaustibly oxidized. Iron and hydrogen sulfide are oxidized into insoluble matter and attach to the surface of the media.

Heavy metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium, and aluminum are removed from the water by the electrochemical process. Arsenic and radon are reduced. Metals are attracted to the surface of the media, much like a magnet. The media also inhibits bacteria growth throughout the entire unit and in fact, has been shown to reduce it up to 90%!

For whole house or other heavy metal removal such as high levels of arsenic (found around Taupo and Rotorua) please call us for more info on 0800 787 392.

Detecting heavy metals in your water

Heavy metals cannot be detected by sight, smell or taste. If you are concerned about heavy metals in your drinking water, you should have the water tested by us. Ring us on 0800 787 392 for to organise this. We use reliable chemical laboratory's for our testing who give us comprehensive analysis. Or request a copy of the most recent analysis done by you local council, which is required by law to test and report on a regular basis.

If you don't have a water filter then YOU are the water filter.