Pub. 7 2017 Issue 3

8 AT THE CENTER OF UTAH INDUSTRY F ew things in life are truly neces- sities, but clean, disease-free water is certainly one of them. People need it to stay hydrat- ed, to cook, and to bathe. Unfortunately, not everyone has access to clean water, and those who do not often become sick because of diseases in the water. For ex- ample, approximately 1.8 million people every year develop and die from diarrheal diseases such as cholera. Thankfully, the mining industry and the materials it pro- duces are helping bring clean water to the world through the purification process. Basic purification traditionally consists of boiling water or purifying it with chemicals such as iodine and chlorine. • The simplest method of filtration is boiling water to kill the microorganisms. Bacteria and protozoa die when the water begins boiling; after threeminutes, the other microorganisms have died as well. The water may still have particles in it after being boiled, which means the water might need to be strained through cloth before it is usable. It can also contain chemical pollutants that contribute to poor tasting, or stale, water. • Chemical f iltration is easy and inexpensive, but the chemicals can cause issues, as well. For example, someone who is pregnant or has a thyroid condition should not drink water that has been treated with iodine, and iodine can only be used for short periods of time. Chlorine can be problematic because ingesting it has been linked to health problems. It also loses the ability to disinfect water when it ismore than six months old. In addition, timing matters: chorine has to be added about 45 to 60 minutes before the water will be used. You are not supposed to treat the water with chlorine and then store it. Two common methods for purifying water are reverse osmosis and activated carbon. Reverse osmosis is effective for separating contaminants from water. It can get rid of asbestos, chlorine, lead and other heavy metals, total dissolved solids, and turbidity (that is, the solid WATER PURIFICATION AND FILTRATION