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Health & Environmental Issues

SERVICING THE NSW MID NORTH COAST

THOUGHT PROVOKERS

a) Plastics for storage of Potable water supplies: “Phthalates” are chemical compounds used in plastics as softeners to make it flexible. Studies have shown increasing evidence that these compounds are leaching into the water. These chemicals are known as “Endocrine Disruptors” which either block or mimic hormones and disrupt the body’s normal functions. Concern is also high for users of medical supplies, toys and baby pacifiers. “Biphenol-A” (BPA) is a synthetic molecule which is a known carcinogen. In animal studies it was shown to mimic the hormone “Estrogen” and has been linked to Prostrate cancer and other major health issues.

b) Concrete Tanks: The acceptable pH range as per the “Australian Drinking Water Guidelines” should be between 6.5 and 8.5. This range is based on the “need to reduce corrosion and encrustation in pipes and fittings”. Scaling and encrustation problems can be caused by a high pH (>8.5) with corrosion concerns at a low pH (<6.5). “Insufficient data are available to set a health-based guideline value for pH”-“Australian Drinking Water Guidelines-2004”.

The Drinking Water Guidelines 2004 factsheet on pH states “New concrete tanks and cement-mortar lined pipes can significantly increase pH and a value up to 9.2 maybe tolerated, providing monitoring indicates no deterioration in microbiological quality”

To acidify the alkaline water to the Drinking water guidelines, the addition of an acid, typically, Hydrochloric Acid was commonly used. To us, this would have meant effectively adding chlorine to our drinking water and we didn’t want to risk it.

c) Chlorinated water: The storage requirements under BASIX these days increases the potential for “Trihalomethanes” (THM) to form when Chlorinated water in a tank is mixed with rain water carrying organic matter such as leaf litter, animal faeces from birds, bats, frogs, etc. Water Treatment plants have in place, filtration methods that reduce the THMs that form when the Chlorination process occurs, however, on storage in water tanks that level begins to increase again. Some THMs of interest are Chloroform and Bromodichloromethane which are classified as Group 2B – possible human carcinogens based on available data. Stainless Steel tanks won’t stop this from happening but Carbon filters can!

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