A Warning to Families - Does Reverse Osmosis Remove Pharmaceuticals From Water?
Monday, March 8, 2010 at 12:51PM By Daniel Steven Acker
Does reverse osmosis remove pharmaceuticals from water? That is one of the questions that you need to consider if you are thinking of purchasing an RO system for your home. It has been recently discovered that there are trace amounts of pharmaceuticals in water supply systems across both the U.S. and Canada, and these drugs provide a potential threat to our health and well being.
We have to first consider what an RO water filtration system is designed to accomplish, before we can answer the question does reverse osmosis remove pharmaceuticals from water. It is a system that completes the task of cleaning our water reasonably well, but that also has many shortcomings.
RO works by pushing highly pressurized water through a membrane filter, effectively removing all minerals and seeable particles. Anything with a molecular weight less than or equal to the weight of the water, is also allowed to slip through. Many of the pharmaceuticals in water supply reservoirs are diluted to the point where they would easily pass through.
So, does reverse osmosis remove pharmaceuticals from water in any way? It may be capable of trapping larger particles of drugs in the system, but certainly not all of them. RO is simply not capable of removing microscopic particles, or of course liquids that have entered the water.
So, just how did we get these pharmaceuticals in water supply systems anyway? Some of the drugs enter the supply by way of urination. The drugs are naturally expelled from our bodies at a point, and end up back in the supply system. It's understandable how that happens.
The way that most of the drugs get there though, is not quite as easily understood. Many medical facilities actually dispose of expired medication by flushing it down the toilet. It makes me wonder how many thousands of these medications are disposed of in this way in a year.
Why would they do something which is so obviously irresponsible? The pharmaceutical companies actually recommend disposing of them in this way. Many of these drugs hold their potency long after the expiration date, so they remain dangerous, especially when mixed with other drugs or chemicals.
Back to answering the question, "Does reverse osmosis remove pharmaceuticals from water?" Not by itself it can't, but if RO was used as just the first step in a multi-phased process then it would be possible. It would be too large a financial undertaking for most municipalities to renovate all of the treatment centers, but there possible for you to take these additional steps.
There are home water purification systems available today that will combat the problem of pharmaceuticals in water supply systems. These units come with a standard activated granular carbon filter for removing chlorine and a few other chemicals, but those also armed with a multi block feature will remove any and all chemicals present.
So, does reverse osmosis remove pharmaceuticals from water? Not without a major overhaul. With a little help though, you can be sure that the water you drink is completely drug free.
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