Water Filters and Medicinal contamination

[Blitzfike]

I have a good water filter, filters down to .1 micron and is supposedly good for a million gallons if back flushed correctly. I keep one in my bug out kit for obvious reasons. I also have one in the storm cellar along with a chemical toilet. Thinking about most of us older preppers needing many and varied medicines to survive, made me question the possible dangers of some of the medicines we take passing through the filter and remaining in the filtered water. My son is a Chemist, and has worked in several medically related fields as a chemist, so I posed the question to him. His response was that most of the meds are absorbed by the body if taken in the correct dosage. Hormones (say with a pregnant person in the group..) and metallic ion type meds are another story. His main concern was that if a group was sharing the liquid, both in and out of the filter, as in an enclosed shelter, someone on Lithium for Bi-Polar disorder would potentially pass the lithium to the other members, and worse, the person with the disorder would be subject to increased anxiety and other problems of their disorder being exacerbated by any nsaids such as ibuprofen, Tylenol for Naproxen Sodium passed by others in the group. Apparently those products negate the effects of the metal ion treatments and you could end up with someone experiencing a severe episode of their disorder in those circumstances. Might be bqad to be locked in a small shelter with them in that case. I certainly am not a doctor, and am not offering medical advice, but this is something to consider if entering a closed environment. Blitzfike

Here are a couple of links to articles on this subject.
http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/features/drugs-in-our-drinking-water

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-03-10-drugs-tap-water_N.htm

 

[rlongnt]

I’m missing something. How’s the cross contamination of medicine into the H2O going to happen in the first place? Are we trying to filter urine like Water World and if so WHY? Second, what filter are you using that’s good to a million gallons? Berkey is good to 6K+. Traditional ceramic can last a long, long time but will break & you’ll never see a hand pump unit last too long even if the ceramic element remained intact.

Lastly, secondary filters that can go under the primaries will filter out fluoride, arsenic, heavy metals, MTBE etc.

I see this as a non-issue.

 

[Blitzfike]

This is a worst case trapped in a shelter having to recycle all liquids to survive kind of thing. Not likely to happen, more designed to provoke responses and it did didn't it... Blitz

 

[BadgeBunny]

I’m missing something. How’s the cross contamination of medicine into the H2O going to happen in the first place? Are we trying to filter urine like Water World and if so WHY? Second, what filter are you using that’s good to a million gallons? Berkey is good to 6K+. Traditional ceramic can last a long, long time but will break & you’ll never see a hand pump unit last too long even if the ceramic element remained intact.

Lastly, secondary filters that can go under the primaries will filter out fluoride, arsenic, heavy metals, MTBE etc.

I see this as a non-issue.

Hmmmm ... Non-issue or not it is certainly an interesting topic. GC has worked some OTs at the Water Plant and the techs there apparently have some concerns on how to address these very issues in our drinking water now. I'll freely admit that I don't know if these discussions were of a serious nature or more along the lines of hypotheticals but in a situation where folks may not be using the most sanitary methods of disposing of their waste (and before everybody's Rxs run out) I could see where this might be at least a short-term concern.

 

[amcardon]

I’m missing something. How’s the cross contamination of medicine into the H2O going to happen in the first place? Are we trying to filter urine like Water World and if so WHY? Second, what filter are you using that’s good to a million gallons? Berkey is good to 6K+. Traditional ceramic can last a long, long time but will break & you’ll never see a hand pump unit last too long even if the ceramic element remained intact.

Lastly, secondary filters that can go under the primaries will filter out fluoride, arsenic, heavy metals, MTBE etc.

I see this as a non-issue.

My guess is he is using a Sawyer filter, or something similar. I have a Sawyer Squeeze, and while it's a pain in the butt to use, it works well and does a great job filtering. I also keep Sawyer and Berkey water bottles in the car in case of emergency... They do a similar job, just utilizing different mechanisms.

 

[Blitzfike]

I am using the Sawyer squeeze. They rate it at a million gallons if you properly backwash the filter periodically. It does a good job of filtering, but I would hate for it to be my only source of water, it takes considerable effort to squeeze the water through the filter. Any suggestions for a charcoal after filter would be appreciated.