Iodine Water Treatment Banned in Europe; Alternative Water Purification
Methods
Some of you may already know, as of October 26, 2009 the EU has banned
the sale of iodine water purification drops or tablets. The European
Union has in it’s infinite wisdom issued a “Biocides Directive” (detailed
bureaucratic document at this
link) that prohibits the sale of iodine for water treatment or
disinfectant in any of the countries in the EU. Iodine will still
continue to be legal in the United States. The U.S. Center for Disease
Control (link)
has for a long time had a warning out about using iodine for wilderness
water treatment. Iodine can be extremely dangerous if used in
incorrect quantities, if used over an extended period of time (more than a
few weeks) or if pregnant or have a thyroid disease. The CDC recommends
against using iodine as your main water purification/treatment method on a
multi-week long distance backpacking trip.
There are several alternative methods of treating water when hiking in
the wilderness.
- Boil the water. Boiling water is the best method
for making water safe to drink. Boiling water will kill
bacterial,
parasitic, and viral causes of diarrhea. Adding a pinch of salt to each
quart will improve the taste. Although this is the safest method, most
backpackers don’t use this as their normal water purification method due
to the added weight of the fuel required and the time needed to boil and
cool the water.
- Water filters. According to the CDC “Certain types
of portable water filters can also remove some types of infectious
agents from drinking water. However, most of the portable filters on the
market do not effectively remove viruses, thus chemical disinfection of
water is needed after filtering with such filters to make the water
safer for drinking. Some portable water filters designed to remove
parasites (Giardia/Cryptosporidium) have an "absolute” pore sizes of 0.1
to 1-micrometer and, therefore, may also remove most diarrhea-causing
bacteria. Viruses are smaller than 0.1 micron and will NOT be removed
by filters with a pore size of 0.1 or larger. To kill viruses that may
pass through these filters, ..use a chemical disinfection method.” Many
light weight backpacking water filters are available, check
REI.com .
- Chemical treatment. There are three primary types
of chemical disinfection used for water purification. Effectiveness
rates stated here are based on CDC study (CDC
Water Treatment Study).
- Iodine; Iodine is not effective against
Cryptosporidium. It does have a low to medium effectiveness on
Giardia and a high effectiveness on bacteria and viruses
(Campylobacter, Salmonella, Shigella, E. Coli). If water is
extremely cold, less than 5° C (41° F), an attempt should be made to
warm the water, and contact time (standing time between adding a
chemical disinfectant to the water and drinking the water) should be
increased.
- Chlorine Dioxide; Chlorine dioxide has a a low
to medium effectiveness on Cryptosporidium and a high effectiveness
on bacteria and viruses (Campylobacter, Salmonella, Shigella, E.
Coli). The
Aquamira Water Treatment is liquid chlorine dioxide treatment
that purifies water in 30 minutes. Alternatively, tablets can be
used made by both
Aquamira and
Katadyn. Tablets take about 4 hours to be effective.
- Chlorine; Chlorine, similar to iodine is not
effective against Cryptosporidium. It does have a low to medium
effectiveness on Giardia and a high effectiveness on bacteria and
viruses (Campylobacter, Salmonella, Shigella, E. Coli).
- Ultraviolet Light. Ultraviolet light can be used
as a method against some microorganisms. The technology requires
pre-filtering due to to its dependence on the water not being cloudy.
The
SteriPEN Adventurer Water Purifier is one of these ultralight
ultraviolet water purifiers. Independent testing on specific systems is
limited.
- MIOX systems. These use a salt solution and
electrical current. The
MSR MIOX Purifier is an example of this. Generally kills viruses
and bacteria in 15 minutes.
