With increasing awareness created by recent recreational water illness outbreaks, such as the 2005 NY state park cryptosporidium outbreak which resulted in over 3000 people becoming ill, it is evident that solutions must be identified to help reduce the potential for recreational water illness (RWI). Diatomaceous earth filtration, long recognized for providing the highest clarity water, has been demonstrated to provide important health benefits to the recreational water market such as reduced exposure to: water-borne pathogens which cause illness, disinfection by-products and other contaminants. DE filtration is also economical and reduces power, water and chemical consumption versus other traditional filtration systems. Diatomaceous earth is a natural occurring filter media capable of removing particles down to 1 micron due to its inherent micron seized ‘filter-like’ structure. DE is simply the skeletal remains of millions of single celled algae, known as diatoms. These diatoms have an average pore size of 0.15 microns making it the ideal choice for removal of harmful micro-organisms which cause illness, such as Giardia (8-14 microns) and Cryptosporidium oocysts (4-6 microns) which are relatively resistant to chlorine and other disinfectants. Studies have been performed which support up to 99.999% removal of cryptosporidium in both recreational water and drinking water with DE filtration by leading researchers James Amburgey and Jerry Ongerth respectively. The ability to filter out many of the particulates and contaminants in the pool will also reduce the chemical demand (COD) in the pool, meaning the chlorine you add will be effective longer and allow you to maintain your desired chlorine residual with less chemical addition. Adding less chlorine translates to reduced disinfection by-products. In addition to reducing your chlorine usage, DE will also remove algae and other contaminants which would require the use of shock and algaecides. DE filtration reduces the amount of chemicals needed to maintain a healthy pool and associated by-products swimmers are exposed to. Other benefits of DE filtration are reduced water and energy use. This is accomplished by elimination of the routine and frequent backwashing associated with sand filtration system and the associated costly water and energy loss. In conclusion, DE filtration has been found to remove water-borne pathogens and other contaminants in a cost effective manner to meet both your health and aesthetic needs. Kimberly Walsh has served as the Director of Marketing of EP Minerals for over 3 years where she works primarily to develop filtration and contaminant removal technology for a variety of industries. Prior to EP Minerals, she worked in the Process Control Industry for over 8 years with Emerson Process Management. She has received an MBA from the University of California, Long Beach in 2001 and a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota, Institute of Technology in 1994.
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