Tag: decrease plastic waste

Why Filter Potable Tap Water?

Published on by Nikken

We often take water for granted, especially when we live in areas with free-running tap water 24/7. Then the unthinkable happens and we become more aware. For example, in 2014, there was a water crisis in Flint, Michigan, due to lead contamination. It’s been nine years and the people who live there are still dealing with the after effects. And, as recently as last year, the residents of Jackson, Mississippi, were left without potable water and that problem is ongoing. Even in Canada, a country that has multitudes of lakes, is home to First Nations people who continue to have to boil water to decontaminate it.

What’s going on? Why is potable tap water not the “safe” and convenient choice even in North America and parts of Europe? We’ve long known not to drink tap water in many countries when we travel, and that has added to the rampant use of single-use bottled water.

In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates public tap water used for drinking. The EPA sets limits on how much of an element that may be harmful to human health is allowed in the water supply. Limits are based on the amount deemed safe for human consumption and how much the water treatment facilities are capable of removing.

According to Sarah Grady, a science analyst at the Environmental Working Group (EWG), “There’s a gap between what is legal and what is safe.”1 She explains that many regulations are based on “old science” and therefore are insufficient to keep current water supplies safe. In other words, even when tap water is considered potable, it might not be completely safe. The EWG therefore maintains their own tap water database with stricter limits determined by peer-reviewed studies, research from state agencies and their own scientists.

Drinking tap water can be risky, not just when traveling to so-called third-world countries.

•          In the United States, about 90% of the population obtain tap water from a public water system. This water comes from a lake, reservoir, river or aquifer, which is piped into a water treatment facility. The “treatment” involves adding chemicals that bind to pollutants that may be in the natural water, so that they can be sifted out.2 This process makes it drinkable, but  the water contains chemicals.

•          The chemicals added to the water are disinfectants such as chlorine and chloramine. These chemicals are known to help kill pathogens in the water as well as any that might be contained in the water pipes themselves.3

•          Water treatment facilities vary in their capabilities, depending on location and funding. A study published in 2018 cites that 21 million people were exposed to tap water that violated federal guidelines in 2015. According to Maura Allaire, a water quality expert at the University of California in Irvine, the most common sources of the violations stemmed from unsafe levels of bacteria and viruses, nitrates, arsenic and harmful byproducts from the disinfectants themselves.4 It’s a catch-22 in that disinfectants are added to address contaminants but they create a whole different set of potentially harmful aspects.

•          Studies conducted on drinking water have shown that PFAS (per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are commonly found throughout the U.S. These chemicals have been found in our blood and are linked to serious health issues, including cancer. PFAS are pollutants that are sometimes called “forever chemicals” because they last in the environment for so many years. The EPA just this year has proposed rules to address PFAS at the federal level in order to try and remove these toxins. Meanwhile, PFAS have been contaminating water supplies for decades.4

•          The EPA has identified and regulates 90 water contaminants. There are many more that are identified and not yet regulated. They include 66 chemicals, 12 microbes and all PFAS, six of which were recently named as specific ones to limit.5 The gap between identifying toxins, providing substantiated proof of harm, proposing regulations, and finding funding to enact the rules is unfortunately huge. Meanwhile, people continue drinking the so-called potable tap water.

Nikken has been a vocal champion of hydration and clean drinking water for decades and now more than ever, our Global Wellness Community is at the forefront of the movement to filter potable tap water for our health and that of our children. The PiMag Waterfall® and PiMag® Sport Bottle are simple to use and help make potable tap water cleaner and better tasting. They provide convenience at home and when traveling.

Now through the end of the month, get PiMag® replacement filters at 20% off!  The PiMag Waterfall filters 900 liters or 238 gallons before replacement is needed, and the PiMag Sport Bottle filters 40 gallons or 151 liters per cartridge. You benefit from clean alkaline water, and help decrease plastic waste!

1, 2, 3, 4, 5 National Geographic, Is tap wate rsafe to drink?, Sarah Gibbens, March 20, 2023.

Plastic: Why We Need to Learn How to Dispose of It

Published on by Nikken

Plastic is strong, flexible and durable. It’s extremely useful and in the last decades, it would be hard to imagine life without it. Plastic’s strength is also nature’s nemesis, because plastic virtually never breaks down. For example, a plastic bottle can last for 450 years in the marine environment, slowly fragmenting into smaller and smaller pieces until it becomes microscopic. Those microscopic specks, otherwise known as microplastics, don’t go away. It’s mind bending to realize that every piece of plastic that was ever produced is still with us in some form.1

According to Surfers Against Sewage, one of the United Kingdom’s most active and successful environmental charities, 12 million tons of plastic find their way into the oceans every year, and scientists have discovered microplastics embedded deep in the Arctic ice. It’s no wonder that 80% of the marine debris studied is made of plastic.2

Fishing debris such as nets and lines, filmlike wrap such as what is used on store bought vegetables, and latex, which makes things such as balloons, are responsible for the most deaths among 80 marine megafauna species that include dolphins, whales, seals, seabirds and sea turtles.3 As of 2018, 100,000 marine mammals and turtles plus one million sea birds are killed by plastic pollution annually.4

Plastic debris affects wildlife adversely via three key methods: entanglement, ingestion and interaction.5

• Entanglement occurs when marine animals are trapped or constricted most commonly by plastic rope, netting and abandoned fishing gear.

• Ingestion occurs when a species unintentionally or indirectly ingests another species that contains plastic. For example, if a fish eats microplastics or even a larger size piece of plastic waste and a shark eats that fish, then both have ingested plastic waste. By the same token, humans ingest plastics whenever microplastics are embedded in sea creatures turned into seafood.

• Interaction includes collisions, obstructions or abrasions. For example, floating fishing gear has been shown to cause abrasion and damage to coral reef ecosystems upon collision.

With one in three fish caught for human consumption now containing plastic, the question is no longer are we eating plastic but how bad is it for us? Researchers caution that it’s unclear what effect microplastics can have on the human body but they have been found in everything ranging from fish and shellfish found at the super market to tap water. In seawater, plastic absorbs chemicals such as PCBs, which have been linked to endocrine disruption and even some cancers. Even people who do not eat fish are impacted, because 70% of the oxygen we breathe is produced by marine plants, and to breathe is to live!6

Plastics are not going away. Its usefulness pervades our lifestyles: diabetics benefit from plastic each time they use their disposable syringes; they’re in the appliances used in hip replacements; construction workers wear it in their protective helmets; it’s in our computers, phones and cars.

One of the main problems is the pervasiveness of single-use plastics. A plastic bag, for instance, is used for an average of 15 minutes when shopping and may take up to 300 years to deconstruct into microplastic!7  Reuter, an international news agency, reported that as of 2018, 481.6 billion plastic bottles were used worldwide in a single year. That’s 40 billion per month and 1.3 billion per year.8 And, plastic production has been forecast to grow by 60% by 2030 and to treble by 2050.9

Practicing an Active Wellness lifestyle not only means being mindful of our own health but also the health of planet Earth. We are all part of nature and each one of us can do something daily to decrease the amount of plastic waste we produce. Since single use plastic is one of the biggest problems we face, that’s a good place to start. Visit repurpose.global to calculate your own annual plastic footprint.

You still have a few days left to take advantage of our special PiMag® Water Packs, available through April 30, 2022. PiMag® products not only help filter out bacteria and alkalize water but also help eliminate the use of plastic water bottles. The special PiMag® Water Packs give you two items with one at the regular price and the second at 50% off. You will benefit personally as well as be part of the environmental solution that planet Earth needs.

1,2,4,7,9 https://www.sas.org.uk/our-work/plastic-pollution/plastic-pollution-facts-figures/

3 parade.com/zoo, April 17, 2022, Kathleen McCleary

5,6 https://ourworldindata.org/plastic-pollution

8 https://habitsofwaste.org/call-to-action/plastic-bottles/#:~:text=Plastic%20Bottle%20Facts,plastic%20is%20wasted%20each%20year.