Do Berkey® Water Filter Systems Leach Aluminum Into Your Drinking Water? Activated Alumina and Aluminum are Not the Same, and Why You Need to Know the Difference.
Do Berkey® Water Filter Systems Leach Aluminum Into Your Drinking Water
Activated Alumina and Aluminum are Not the Same, and Why You Need to Know the Difference.
Tap water quality is a major cause of concern for many consumers who are
looking for ways to reduce the numerous contaminants that their drinking water
may contain.
If fluoride is one of the main contaminants with which you are concerned, you may see the terms “aluminum”, “alumina (aluminum oxide)” and “activated alumina” being used interchangeably on different websites or social media posts. Sometimes this is due to innocent misunderstanding by uninformed individuals casually reviewing water filtration systems.
But sometimes, mixing up the three terms and providing blatant misinformation occurs intentionally in order to create doubt and to discredit legitimate products (such as our time-proven Berkey PF-2® Fluoride and Arsenic Reduction Elements) for the purpose of marketing their own water filtration products whether they sell directly or are paid commissions as affiliates when people purchase a product by clicking on links in their articles or links listed in the comments sections of their videos.
The aim of this article is to set the record straight regarding irresponsible and false claims that some alumina-based fluoride reduction filters, such as ours, leach aluminum back into filtered water—and to help you separate fact from fiction when it comes to researching water filter systems.
While aluminum can pose health risks, alumina and alumina oxide are inert and their properties are as different from aluminum as chlorine is from sodium chloride (table salt).
First, we’ll examine the differences between aluminum, alumina (aluminum oxide) and activated alumina, which are terms that sound very similar, but are absolutely different materials in their composition and use.
Next, we’ll answer the question, “Do Berkey® systems leach aluminum into the water they are supposed to be treating?”.
We’ll also take a look at the limitations of standard aluminum testing protocols and why you should properly prime Berkey PF-2® Fluoride and Arsenic Reduction Elements to flush away traces of alumina fines, which may cause water to appear cloudy, affect taste, or be detected by a TDS meter (causing unnecessary alarm).
View the full article here.