The cruel hidden truth of household water filters in Malaysia
When comes
to water filter, the first most common question buyers will ask is “How good is
your water filter and the quality of its treated water?” In line with such
‘requirement’, water filter suppliers make many manipulative claims which are
mainly false.
Why did
this happen? The simple reason links to the basic marketing rule of “supply
versus demand”. Even as the buyers possess little scientific knowledge on water
quality and its treatment process, they demand super high-tech products and
hence, opening a loophole for sellers to take advantage of this situation.
All genuine
water treatment professionals know the truth but it is difficult to explain and
to prove this to the not-so-technically-inclined users.
Generally,
people are reluctant to accept the cruel truth. Even those who are willing to
listen would impatiently demand the explanations to be brief. Therefore, only
certain misleading brief information is understood and yet still, not the whole
truth.
I
personally feel that the public should be educated with some basic scientific
knowledge of the water treatment and water quality specifications recommended
by the World Health Organisation, before they jump into any conclusion.
With more
than 20 years experience in the design and commissioning of various water
treatment projects mainly, in Malaysia
I dare
firmly declare that most household water filters in Malaysia
Classifications
of proofs for carcinogen generating filters are as follows:-
(1)
Scientific
theories of water treatment technology
(2)
Analysis
of water from existing household water filters
(3)
Statistic
reports from Health Ministry ,
Malaysia
Theories
In order to
understand the theories, one must first understand what a carcinogen is and how
carcinogens are formed.
Almost all
water authorities worldwide agree that the main carcinogen found in water
supplies that boost the world’s cancer rate, is the famous Trihalomethane
(THM).
You can log
on to any international health authorities’ website to look for information regarding
THM or read the attached page (Attachment #1) from University
Kebangsaan Malaysia
The report
states that “chlorine posed potential health risks due to formation of
carcinogenic or mutagenic halo-organic compounds as disinfection by-products
such as THM.”
You might
find some of the technical words fairly confusing. However, the following
explanation may help clear some of your doubts.
THM are a
group of four organic chemicals - bromoform, chloroform, dichloromethane and
dibromochloromethane – that are formed when chlorine, used as a disinfectant,
reacts with organic matter in water.
To put it
simply: Free Chlorine + Organic Matter = THM
(e.g. Decaying leaves
& animal carcass)
Where :
-
Free
Chlorine is a poisonous gas injected into the water at the municipal treatment
plant to kill bacterial.
-
Organic
Matter is trapped sediments (organic based), given sufficient time (more than a
week) to decay and dissolved in water.
In other
words, THM will not be formed if any one of these two elements is absent. Per
contra, a high Free Chlorine and Organic Matter content in the water will
result in a high level of THM.
Since there
are only two elements, it is not difficult to study each element in detail.
Free Chlorine
The World Health
Organisation recommends that in order to prevent secondary infection, certain
amount of residue chlorine should remain in the pipe-line until it reaches
consumers.
For
reference, attached herewith is a copy of ‘Water Quality Standards and
Frequency of Monitoring’ (Attachment #2). It is recognised and is
supposed to be strictly followed by the Water Works Department of Malaysia.
It
recommends that the standard readings should not be less than 0.2mg/l and
1.0mg/l for Free Chlorine and Combined Residue Chlorine respectively. Recommended content of Combined Chlorine is
much higher than Free Chlorine partly because Combined Chlorine creates fewer
THM.
Now, let’s
look at the actual situation. Does our tap water comply with the
recommendation? The answer is a definite NO.
I
discovered this ridiculous phenomenon way back in 1993 when I tendered for a
water-treatment project for Kapar Power Station in Selangor. For the purpose of
system design and calculation, the consultant had to furnish the bidders with a
comprehensive analysis of the raw water supply, which in this case, was the
city’s tap water.
As stated
in the tender document, (Attachment #3 - Water Analysis Report),
Combined Chlorine was not present, while Free Chlorine was measured at 2.0
mg/l; 10 times more than the recommended level.
Ironically,
the consultants chose to put the words ‘in an epidemic’ next to the
figures for Free Chlorine to cover-up our ‘weird demands’ evidently, in
attempt, to prevent the results from being exposed to the other international
professionals (the tender was open to international bidders). By doing so, the consultants were actually
suggesting an assumption that we had experienced an epidemic outbreak
throughout the year. If this had been true, our government would have
declared an emergency due to the epidemic… or perhaps, is this situation so
common that it had grown to be a non-issue?
Organic Matter
The main
risk associated with high level of Free Chlorine is if it reacts with Organic
Matter to form THM.
Due to
excessive rainfall, raw water in Malaysia
The
Municipal Water Works Department has taken various steps to ensure their sand
filters remain clean at all times. By doing so, the decaying process of trapped
organic sediments could not take place inside the filter and thus, restricting
the production of organic matter.
The
operators must frequently (preferably daily) backwash the filter with
specially-sized high flow-rate water pumps. The backwash efficiency is further
enhanced by air scouring.
Even with
the presence of high Free Chlorine, the level of THM generated could still be
minimized. Please refer to the report by UKM (Attachment #1).
Without the
above, it is very difficult for normal home water filters to avoid the
production of organic matters. The end result will be horrifying, when
accompanied by the known high levels of Free Chlorine.
Water Analysis
Analyzing water samples collected before and after
filtration by a water filter is the best method to prove, not only the
theories, but also the filter’s effectiveness or weaknesses.
There are many parameters which can be analyzed to determine
whether the water is healthy for human consumption or otherwise. However, such
analysis can be very costly. Furthermore, the analysis by itself may be
difficult to explain without clarification from different theories and other
relevant supporting facts.
I chose the THM test because THM is a water-borne carcinogen
which water professionals and health authorities worldwide, are most concerned
about.
Attachment #4: Certificate of Analysis issued by M/S:
ALS Technichem (M) Sdn Bhd which
is self explanatory.
The water samples were collected from a house in Kajang,
Selangor, in February 2009. In this case
study, the house-owner has installed (1) an outdoor water filter, of a
well-known brand, at the main water inlet and (2) another water-filter
underneath the kitchen sink.
(1) With
reference to the above attachment, the THM level in water increased after
passing through the first filter (Diamond Master) even though the water
appeared physically clean. No one would ever expect that the filtered,
cleaner-looking water was actually more harmful (cancer-causing wise)
than the outwardly-dirtier raw tap water. Another test moreover, proved
that the increase in THM was due to the higher organic level in the water (increased
by more than double after filtering through the first water filter).
(2) Luckily,
this house has also installed a point-of-use water filter (AquaKitch) which
was able to eliminate THM and at the same time, reduce the organic content.
Reminders
Although the second filter may solve the problem but it is
still not recommended to install any water filter that generates toxin.
Owners need to acquire sufficient technical knowledge of
their water-filters before they engage a qualified independent laboratory to do
the tests. Furthermore, the sampling of water has to be done professionally;
otherwise the test results may not be fair and accurate.
Statistic
If the above-mentioned is true,
then surely it will be evident in the increase of the number of cancer cases.
The most reliable method is to obtain the statistics for cancer cases from the
Health Ministry. Although it has been
occasionally reported by many mainstream newspapers, unfortunately, people
rarely take notice of such reports and are even much less likely to link them with
the water quality or water-filters.
Our former Health Minister, Datuk
Chua Jui Meng, has announced that Malaysia is one of the world’s highest
risk countries for cancer.
Attachment #5: MCA women
chief Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun’s statement as reported in a local Chinese
newspaper: “One of the world’s highest rate; cancer is haunting Malaysians.”
Attachment #6: The Health
Minister disclosed the statistic which showed that Chinese cancer patients
out-number that of other races. Earlier, Datuk Seri Chua Soi Lek also
mentioned that among all races, approximately 50% of cancer patients are
Chinese (even though Chinese comprise less than 30% of the total
population).
Attachment #7: Under
sub-headline “Most cases involve Chinese”, Datuk Liow Tiong Lai said
“Researchers should find out why the rate in this country is higher and
why mainly Chinese women are affected”.
Yes! I fully agree with him that
should have more research on this subject. Coincidentally, from the numerous
market feedbacks that I have received, the vast majority of the sales of all
major brands of water filters were to Chinese customers.
After reading all the explanations
above, you may ask, “Why have there not been any warnings from the water
professionals on this issue?” The answers are in the following attachments.
Attachment #8: Syabas’
Executive Director, V. Subramaniam, a local water professional, cautioned that household
filters which are not well-maintained could contaminate drinking water.
(Reported by New Sunday Times, May 25, 2008)
Attachment #9: The first
sentence in a report on tap water quality by The Herald (Ireland, UK newspaper)
reads, “Expensive filters only take good out of tap water, experts say”.
The report ended with “water quality poorer because of the build-up of
deposits”.
Attachment #10: more
reports can also be found in watertechonline.com, a website of Water Technology
magazine, USA, which many water professionals worldwide subscribed to.
For your information, most
developed countries consider their Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as the
most powerful authority on issues concerning health and the environment.
Attachment #11: Water and
Energy Consumers Association Malaysia (WECAM) commented that most
water-filter manufacturers over-exaggerate their products’ abilities and
advised the general public not to be conned by such claims.
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