FACTOR TWO – TOXIC METALS AND CHEMICALS
It is only too apparent that the earth is polluted just about everywhere and more so in the industrialized nations.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency list polluted sites named Superfunded Sites and in these areas, the pollution is so great that it endangers the health and lives of the immediate community around the site. Trust me, I have managed many cases of toxic metal illnesses and toxic metals effect your body adversely systemically. Lead, for example, causes deleterious health effects on your brain, heart, bones, blood and kidneys. For details see www.risk.lsd.ornl.gov/tox/profiles/lead.shtml
There is a list of toxic elements rated by the EPA as the top substances of concern and most of these substances are carcinogenic (cancer agents). www.epa.gov/superfund/index.htm
UNESCO on world day for water 2000 recognises the critical situation with regards to the availability of healthy drinking water to the world. The wonderful article that follows below explains the hydrological cycle and has a pictorial representation of how water is recycled naturally. Notice that aquifer underground water is one of the oldest and most stable raw water source. SAQ acknowledges UNESCO copyright on the article:
World Day for Water 2000 |
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The hydrological cycle |
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Water is the most widespread substance to be found in the natural environment. Water exists in three states: liquid, solid, and invisible vapour. It forms the oceans, seas, lakes, rivers and the underground waters found in the top layers of the Earth's crust and soil cover. In a solid state, it exists as ice and snow cover in polar and alpine regions. A certain amount of water is contained in the air as water vapour, water droplets and ice crystals, as well as in the biosphere. Huge amounts of water are bound up in the composition of the different minerals of the Earth's crust and core.
To assess the total water storage on the Earth reliably is a complicated problem because water is so very dynamic. It is in permanent motion, constantly changing from liquid to solid or gaseous phase, and back again. It is usual to estimate the quantity of water found in the so-called hydrosphere. This is all the free water existing in liquid, solid or gaseous state in the atmosphere, on the Earth's surface and in the crust down to a depth of 2000 metres. Current estimates are that the Earth's hydrosphere contains a huge amount of water - about 1386 million cubic kilometres. However, 97.5% of this amount are saline waters and only 2.5% is fresh water. The greater portion of this fresh water (68.7%) is in the form of ice and permanent snow cover in the Antarctic, the Arctic, and in the mountainous regions. Next, 29.9% exists as fresh groundwaters. Only 0.26% of the total amount of fresh waters on the Earth are concentrated in lakes, reservoirs and river systems where they are most easily accessible for our economic needs and absolutely vital for water ecosystems.
These are the values for natural, static, water storage in the hydrosphere. It is the amount of water contained simultaneously, on average, over a long period of time - in water bodies, aquifers, and the atmosphere. For shorter time intervals such as a single year, a couple of seasons, or a few months, the volume of water stored in the hydrosphere will vary as water exchanges take place between the oceans, land and the atmosphere. This exchange is usually called the turnover of water on the Earth, or the global hydrological cycle, as shown in the diagram below.
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Solar heat evaporates water into the air from the Earth's surface. Land, lakes, rivers and oceans send up a steady stream of water vapour; this spreads over the surface of the planet before falling down again as precipitation. Precipitation falling on land is the main source of the formation of the waters found on land: rivers, lakes, groundwater, glaciers. A portion of atmospheric precipitation evaporates, some of it penetrates and charges groundwater, while the rest - as river flow - returns to the oceans where it evaporates: this process repeats again and again. A considerable portion of river flow does not reach the ocean, having evaporated in the endorheic regions, those areas with no natural surface runoff channels. On the other hand, some groundwater bypasses river systems altogether and goes directly to the ocean or evaporates. Quantitative indices of these different components of the global hydrological cycle are shown in the diagram. Every year the turnover of water on Earth involves 577,000 km3 of water. This is water that evaporates from the oceanic surface (502,800 km3) and from land (74,200 km3). The same amount of water falls as atmospheric precipitation, 458,000 km3 on the ocean and 119,000 km3 on land. The difference between precipitation and evaporation from the land surface (119,000 - 74,200 = 44,800 km3/year) represents the total runoff of the Earth's rivers (42,700 km3/year) and direct groundwater runoff to the ocean (2100 km3/year). These are the principal sources of fresh water to support life necessities and man's economic activities water is in permanent motion, constantly changing from liquid to solid or gaseous phase, and back again. |
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| Figure 1: The hydrological cycle. |
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River water is of great importance in the global hydrological cycle and for the supply of water to humankind. This is because the behaviour of individual components in the turnover of water on the Earth depends both on the size of the storage and the dynamics of water movement. The different forms of water in the hydrosphere are fully replenished during the hydrological cycle but at very different rates. For instance, the period for complete recharge of oceanic waters takes about 2500 years, for permafrost and ice some 10,000 years and for deep groundwater and mountainous glaciers some 1500 years. Water storage in lakes is fully replenished over about 17 years and in rivers about 16 days.
Based on water exchange characteristics, two concepts are often used in hydrology and water management to assess the water resources in a region: the static storage component and the renewable waters. The static storage conventionally includes freshwater with a period of complete renewal taking place over many years or decades such as large lakes, groundwater, or glaciers. Intensive use of this component unavoidably results in depleting the storage and has unfavourable consequences. It also disturbs the natural equilibrium established over centuries, whose restoration would require tens or hundreds of years.
Renewable water resources include waters replenished yearly in the process of the water turnover of the Earth. These are mainly runoff from rivers, estimated as the volume per unit of time (m3/s, km3/year, etc.) and formed either within a specific region or from external sources, including groundwater inflow to a river network. This kind of water resource also includes the yearly renewable upper aquifer groundwater not drained by the river systems. However, on the global scale, these volumes are not large compared with the volume of river runoff and are of importance only for individual specific regions. |
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Water of Hydrosphere |
Period of renewal |
World Ocean |
2500 years |
Ground water |
1400 years |
Polar ice |
9700 years |
Mountain glaciers |
1600 years |
Ground ice of the permafrost zone |
10000 years |
Lakes |
17 years |
Bogs |
5 years |
Soil moisture |
1 years |
Channel network |
16 days |
Atmospheric moisture |
8 days |
Biological water |
several hours |
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Table 1: Periods of water resources renewal on the Earth. |
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In the process of turnover, river runoff is not only recharged quantitatively, its quality is also restored. If only man could suddenly stop contaminating rivers, then with time water could return to its natural purity. Thus, river runoff, representing renewable water resources, is the most important component of the hydrological cycle. It exerts a pronounced effect on the ecology of the earth’s surface and on human economic development. It is river runoff that is most widely distributed over the land surface and provides the major volume of water consumption in the world. In practice, it is the value of river runoff that is used to estimate water availability and/or deficit in water resources for this or that region. Therefore, the following sections of this summary deal mainly with the assessment of river runoff, its spatial-temporal dynamics on the global scale, and an analysis of its use for different economic needs, now and in the future. |
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Surface water will contain much of the pollutants mentioned above and should ideally not be considered as a suitable source of raw water for treatment into bottled drinking water. The processing requirements for such polluted raw water necessitates compromises that would yield a water that would be difficult to meet the quality and standards of WHO and SAQ health considerations
Ideally, only surface water that has been filtered through multiple layers of natural organic rock formations reaching aquifers should be utilized a raw water source. In this way, at least most of the toxic chemicals and metals have undergone natural pre-filtering. What is left in the aquifer water can now be potentially utilized as the source of raw water for SAQ proprietary processing to yield SAQ quality health water.
No compromise is acceptable when it comes to human health; that is my personal belief. Thus I have researched almost all published literature in existence on water filters and have in consultation with several water scientists, engineers and technicians worldwide customized and designed SAQ proprietary polishing and organic filters. Only non-toxic natural media of the finest quality has been utilized in the processing of the water. Unfortunately due to patency issues, I am restricted in the amount of information I can reveal. Specialized organic carbon compound, proprietary processed zeolite mineral and nanotechnology ceramic filters were just some of the natural organic filters utilized.
We have also utilized a proprietary combination of natural organic mineral agents to chelate toxic metals from the water. Chelation is a process whereby an agent or substance is utilized to bind to specific way metals and remove these from the raw water.
SAQ have designed these chelation filters such that they can be regenerated and be revitalized. This environmental friendly system is entrenched deep in my modus operanti. Everyone and every company should attempt to contribute to the betterment of our environment.
The result is arguably the best tasting water bottled at the aquifer source. It is naturally sweet and this is because SAQ has achieved arguably the lowest levels of toxic metal residual via our proprietary chelation processing. Most of the levels of toxic metals tested are below the limit of resolution (LOR) of the laboratory equipment. This is the only result I am willing to accept personally.
The next time you drink SAQ water, carry out this sample taste testing. Take a gulp of SAQ water and swish it round your mouth and rinse your tongue thoroughly and swallow this most enjoyable quality health water. Now purchase any and I mean ANY bottled drinking water and carry out the above tasting test. Your taste buds are the best judge as they can detect minute amounts of heavy metals and chemicals. You will notice that there is a flat and lingering bitter taste in your tongue. This is because SAQ water is arguably the purest water you can purchase – truly an affordable luxury you have to try at least once. Thereafter, why try anything else!
Try another taste test and this is for the connoisseur. Get out the best brandy (special XO) or whisky you may have in your bar and use SAQ water as the mix. Smell the aroma and savour the taste of your spirit. Now try this with any other bottled water. Frankly, it would be a waste of a good drop but do it if you must to satisfy your curiosity but be prepared to taste the bitterness of this combination and somewhat lack lustre aroma of your precious spirit.
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