Pharmaceuticals in Drinking Water
Multi-Pure Vice President of Technology, former NSF Vice President of Technical Services and current member of an NSF task force for developing standards for testing pharmaceuticals in drinking water:
Recently you may have noticed an advertisement from another company claiming that their faucet filter can remove over 99% of pharmaceuticals from water. It is important to understand that this claim of pharmaceutical removal is not part of their NSF certification. You will notice that the NSF mark is not shown in the ad. In addition, you will note that in the fine print of this ad it states that the testing was done by “a manufacturer” and only twelve compounds were tested.
Since the stories were published in March 2008 about pharmaceuticals in drinking water, a specialized NSF task force was formed, consisting of manufacturers and regulators. The task force has been diligently working to develop a protocol for testing that could lead to a certified claim. This group must take into consideration what compounds (there are many more than twelve) to test for, the pH of the water, how compounds react together, and much more. When NSF makes this testing available, it will be the comprehensive and reliable test that consumers depend on. That work is still in progress.
The drinking water industry’s position, as reported by the Water Quality Association (WQA), has been:
“Home filtering systems provide the best protection for drinking water.”
You can read WQA and NSF’s response to pharmaceuticals in the water
A Water Filter System for your faucet is the best solution for all your drinking water needs!
