Archive for June, 2010
UL Press release about new test methods for “emerging contaminants”
I read this press release today, and it made me think about our industry in general. Sometimes we’re so fixated on calcium/magnesium hardness, chlorine, heavy metals, and the other “usual suspects” that we forget there are countless other compounds and byproducts that could exist in the water we deal with.
What will the long term human health impact impact be of endocrine disruptors and other “emerging contaminants” that we and our clients have been and will be consuming in our drinking, cooking, and bathing water.
To protect the overall health & safety of our clients, we should be guiding them into comprehensive protection for their homes instead of just basic softening and clarification technologies. Whole home filtration is not expensive, and it certainly helps to ensure better water quality.
Our customers deserve the very best water!
http://www.ul.com/global/eng/pages/corporate/newsroom/newsitem.jsp?cpath=%2Fglobalweb%2Fglobal%2Feng%2Fcontent%2Fcorporate%2Fnewsroom%2Fpressreleases%2Fdata%2Funderwriters-laboratories-announces-improved-testing-methods-for-detecting_20100621142400.xml
Underwriters Laboratories Announces Improved Testing Methods for Detecting and Analyzing Emerging Contaminants in Drinking Water
Northbrook, Ill., June 21, 2010 - Underwriters Laboratories (UL), a global leader in drinking water quality and safety, today announced that it has combined existing proprietary testing methods for identifying emerging contaminants in water. By using highly specific and sensitive instrumentation practices, UL has developed two new methods that provide cutting-edge and cost effective analytical services for contaminants such as PhACs in the 160,000 water supplies in the U.S.
UL combined its existing methods (L200, L211, L220 & L221) to develop UL test method L222 used for the analysis of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) and Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products (PPCPs). This method focuses on detecting and analyzing nearly 30 most frequently studied and detected contaminants of emerging concern including acetaminophen, bisphenol A, caffeine, DEET, estrone, nicotine, nonylphenol, triclosan, etc. UL also streamlined the analysis of selected semi-volatile organic compounds including sterols, phosphate flame retardants, fragrances, polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), phenols, and pesticides to create UL method S190. Both the L222 and S190 testing methods are used to analyze contaminants of emerging concern found in treated wastewater, surface water, groundwater and municipal drinking water.
According to a report from IMS Health, a leading provider of market intelligence to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, in 2009 global pharmaceutical sales exceeded $773 million. As a result, the consumption of PPCPs has increased significantly over the last 20 years triggering a rise in the amount of PPCPs entering water supplies through excretion, bathing and the disposal of medications in sewers and trash. Today, UL analytical capabilities include analysis of nearly 120 emerging contaminants including EDCs, PPCPs, flame-retardants, and other contaminants of emerging concern.
“The human health and environmental effects associated with PhACs in water supplies are not well understood at this time,” said Dennis Leeke, Business Manager, UL Global Water Business. “UL recognizes the importance of this growing issue and is one of only a few laboratories in the country that has developed methods to detect pharmaceuticals and other compounds at ultralow levels. We are committed to supporting the drinking water industry by providing water utilities and government agencies with new ways to detect and analyze emerging contaminants more accurately than ever before.”
As a global leader in drinking water quality and safety, UL has analyzed more than two million drinking water samples for thousands of public and private entities, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. UL tests water representing more than 7,000 municipalities and is certified in 48 states and Puerto Rico. The company also is an approved certifier of water products that meet the criteria of the EPA’s WaterSenseSM program, which identifies and promotes the use of water-efficient products. For more information on UL’s water programs and services, visit the water industry section on http://www.ul.com/.
MSNBC.COM – Go green and save money by filtering your water
This misinformed piece is another reason why consumers are so confused about their water quality treatment options. A layperson watching this would assume that a Pur pitcher or Brita filter is “just as good”as a reverse osmosis system. Janice Lieberman comment “…so really, all the products do the same thing…” is one of the most irresponsible journalistic statements I’ve heard in a while.
There is so much more to water treatment than this piece alleges. The production rate, effluent water treatment quality, and mechanical integrity of water improvement systems vary widely. Unless absolutely prohibited from installing an undercounter POU or whole-house filter, I can’t fathom why someone would pick the “cheapie” products shown in the piece. It looked like thinly-veiled product placement to me with Pur, Brita and GE residential being deliberately and overtly displayed. The quality of journalism these days is lamentable.
Deceptive Sales Practices in Nevada
My good friend Bruce Whitney posted this thread on the softwateradvice.com forum.
http://softwateradvice.com/showthread.php?t=1725
I replied in the forum, but reflecting on it I felt it was a big enough issue that it warranted a blog posting.
The residential soft water industry is relatively unregulated and we rely on ourselves as a community of professionals to maintain a code of conduct and protect the consumer through education, training and certification such as those provided by the WQA and other sterling organizations.
When I read about a retailer behaving in this manner, it is both infuriating and disappointing. I had hoped that in the 21st century, those old “slick” dinosaurs had all faded away. It sounds like we still have people out there who are conducting themselves unprofessionally and unethically.
If you purport yourself to be a water treatment expert/professional, you shouldn’t want to or need to do anything illegal or unethical to make your sale. Soft water is one of the few “luxuries” a homeowner can buy that are actually extremely beneficial, and can often pay for themselves tangibly (soap, energy, appliance savings) in addition to the intangibly “lifestyle benefits” that we all understand like improved aesthetics in the home, time savings and peace of mind.
It is astounding to me to hear of a dealer who conducts himself in this way. As an industry, we all know better and we all should behave better.
I’m certain that some of the disgruntled customers will contact their local TV station, complain to the BBB, post bad reviews on the internet etc… and even complain to their state office of consumer protection. While some of you might think that this only has a detrimental effect on the miscreant dealer who is out there behaving badly, but it actually really reflects poorly on our entire industry.
Remember this unethical dealer when you or your team are out there selling and remember to adhere to the highest ethics.