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Water Treatment Issues:

Acid Water

Algae, cyanotoxins

Alkalinity

Alum (Aluminum Sulfate)

Aluminum

Ammonia

Arsenic

Asbestos

Bacteria

Barium

Benzene

Bicarbonate Alkalinity

Boron (Borate, Boric Acid)

Brackish Water

Bromine

Bromate

Cadmium

Calcium

Carbon Dioxide

Carbon Tetrachloride

Chloramines

Chloride

Chlorine

Chromium

Color

Copper

Corrosion

Cryptosporidium

Cyanide

Dichloroethylene

Endocrine Disruptors

Fluoride

Giardia Lambia

Hardness

Heterotrophic Bacteria (HPC)

Hydrogen Sulfide

Iodine

Iron

Iron Bacteria

Lead

Magnesium

Manganese

Mercury

Methane

MTBE

Napthalene

Nickel

Nitrates and Nitrites

NMDA (N-Nitrosodimethylanime)

Norovirus

Odor

Organics

Perchloroethylene (PCE)

Perchlorate

Pesticides

pH

Pharmaceuticals

Radon

Radium

Selenium

Silica

Silver

Strontium

Sulfate

TDS (Total Dissolved Solids)

Trichlorethylene (TCE)

Tritium

Uranium

Vanadium

Vinyl Chloride

VOC


Silver

Silver, biologically, is neither essential nor beneficial to humans. When ingested, it is held indefinitely within tissue, especially in the eyes, skin and mucous membranes.

The EPA has established a recommended Secondary MCL for silver of 0.1 mg/L. The effects of silver are aesthetic rather than health related.

Some confusion exists in water treatment in regard to silver because silver has strong bacteriostatic properties and is sometimes used by filter makers to prevent the growth of bacteria in filter media. The EPA "certification" required for such devices is not a performance guarantee (as some vendors imply) but a guarantee that the silver content is within safe limits for human consumption.

Silver is not common in water supplies but when it is there it usually appears as Silver Fluoride or Silver Nitrate.

Reverse osmosis removes 90% plus of silver, and distillation about 98%. Strong Acid Cation Exchange is also effective at reducing silver.

 
Main Source: WQA Technical Bulletin.