A Division of Arctic Refrigeration and Merchandise Inc.
312 S. Santa Fe Ave. Pueblo, Colorado. 81003 719-545-1800 Order line 1-800-360-2660
| HISTORY | ||||
Aluminum
Aluminum occurs naturally in some waters but is also introduced as aluminum sulfate by some
Aluminum water departments to remove fine particles, color and bacteria. Municipal water
departments usually control the water to a slightly alkaline condition, i.e., pH between 7 and 8. In
alkaline conditions aluminum precipitates as fine solid particles, which are then filtered out by
means of sand filters. However, sand filters become less efficient for particles as small as 4 to 5
microns and therefore fine particles slip through
For years, researchers have puzzled over the surprisingly high levels of aluminum that turn up in the
shriveled brains of Alzheimer's disease victims. While some scientists believe that the aluminum
deposits are only a side effect of Alzheimer's, a growing number of investigators say that
aluminum. may play a central role in causing the disease that afflicts mostly elderly people.
The latest evidence of a link emerged when Australian scientists reported that aluminum used to
purify water accumulated in the brains of laboratory rats. The Australian study focused new
interest on the issue at a time when Ottawa's environmental health directorate is preparing to
propose Canada's first national guidelines for aluminum levels in drinking water. The Australian
study was important, said the directorate's chief, Dr. Barry Thomas, because it showed that
aluminum in drinking water can be absorbed by the body. "As to whether it actually causes
memory loss and brain damage," added Thomas, "there is not conclusive evidence. But we fear
that it may."
Although tiny amounts of aluminum are used in a variety of products, including antacids,
antiperspirants, and some processed foods, the metal is pervasively present in drinking water. The
reason: municipalities in Canada and other countries often use aluminum sulfate, or alum, to
remove mineral particles from water in filtration plants-a process that leaves an aluminum residue
in the water.
In the past, studies in Canada and other countries have pointed to links between aluminum and
Alzheimer's. University of Toronto researchers found in a 1991 study that they could slow the rate
of deterioration in Alzheimer's patients by treating them with a drug that removed some aluminum
from their brains.
In a far-reaching study published in January (1995), William Forbes, a university of Waterloo
gerontologist, demonstrated an apparent connection between mental impairment and aluminum in
about 100 Ontario communities. In each community, researchers determined the amount of
aluminum 'in the water supply and tested the mental state of people starting at the age of 45 and
continuing over a period of 35 years. They concluded, said Forbes, that the risk of impaired
mental functions was "almost 10 times higher in areas where the aluminum. levels in drinking water
were high."
Since Doulton ceramic filter elements efficiently filter down to less than I micron; they remove most
of the residual aluminum.
Two hundred parts per billion is the maximum level likely to be encountered in our water supply. It
is also the maximum allowable level stipulated by the EEC Regulations but the guide level is 50
parts per billion.