Following the successful first edition of this book on drinking water quality and health, this new edition puts more focus on the importance of minerals in drinking water. It includes new scientific material and presents additional studies on the negative health effects of reverse osmosis water. The various safety organizations working on drinking water all warn about unhealthy constituents, as well as elements that can cause corrosion or scaling on pipes and installations. However, drinking water may also provide a substantial portion of the daily mineral intake, especially for the elderly and children, or those at risk of deficiencies due to unhealthy eating habits or starvation. Thus, a holistic approach to drinking water is presented in this book and the scope is extended from standards for undesirable substances to the basic mineral composition of water, examining 22 nutrient elements and ions and 21 toxic substances. The function of the nutrients in the body, symptomsof deficiency and overload, and advantages of the minerals from drinking water are presented, as well as symptoms of toxic elements from drinking water. The authors also suggest healthy ranges of minerals and mineral ratios for drinking water. The book offers a valuable resource for the health evaluation of drinking waters, for private well owners, public water producers and safety organizations alike.

Autorentext
The book is written by a group of international renowned experts on drinking water quality and health.

Inhalt

1. Background
   1.1 DRINKING WATER GENERAL IMPORTANCE OF SUFFICIENT/OPTIMUM
   INTAKE FOR GOOD HEALTH
   1.2 EARLY AND RECENT DISCOVERIES OF THE INFLUENCE OF MINERALS FROM LOCALLY CULTIVATED CROPS AND DRINKING WATER
   1.3 SHORT HISTORY OF HEALTH RESORTS. WELLS WITH DIFFERENT MINERAL OR GAS CONTENTS, POTENTIAL HEALTH IMPACTS.
   1.4 ELEMENTS IN BEDROCK AND THE INFLUENCE ON WATER
   1.4.1 THE BEDROCK
   1.4.2 WEATHERING
   1.4.3 SELECTED ELEMENTS IN BEDROCK OF IMPORTANCE IN GROUNDWATER
   1.4.3.1 ARSENIC
   1.4.3.2 FLUORIDE
   1.4.3.3 CADMIUM
   1.4.3.4 URANIUM
   1.4.3.5 COPPER, ZINC, LEAD
   1.4.3.6 CHROMIUM
   1.4.3.7 SELENIUM
   1.4.4 WHERE TO FIND DATA?
   1.5 MINERALS AND MINERAL RATIOS IN THE HUMAN BODY
   1.6 OSMOTIC AND PH BALANCE IN THE HUMAN BODY
2. Mineral composition of drinking water and daily uptake2.1 THE CONDUCTIVITY REFLECTS THE IONIC CONTENT, MINERALS AND TOXIC IONS OF WATER
   2.2 DRINKING WATER AS A SOURCE OF MINERALS
   2.3 MINERALS FROM DRINKING WATER -CONTRIBUTION TO THE DAILY INTAKE
3. Macro minerals at optimum concentrations - protection against diseases
   3.1 HARD, ALKALINE WATER AND PROTECTIVE EFFECTS AT OPTIMUM
   CONCENTRATIONS
   3.2. SOME MACRO MINERALS IN HARD, ALKALINE WATER
   3.2.1. INTRODUCTION TO MACRO ELEMENTS
   3.2.2 CALCIUM
   3.2.3 MAGNESIUM
   3.2.4 BICARBONATE
   3.2.5 POTASSIUM
   3.2.6 SODIUM
   3.2.7 SULFATE
4. Micro minerals at optimum concentrations - protection against diseases
   4.1 INTRODUCTION TO TRACE ELEMENTS
   4.2 TRACE ELEMENTS IN ALPHABETIC ORDER
   4.2.1 BORON
   4.2.2 CHLORIDE
   4.2.3.1 CHROMIUM (III)
   4.2.3.2 CHROMIUM (VI)
   4.2.4 COBALT
   4.2.5 COPPER
   4.2.6 FLUORIDE
   4.2.7 IODINE
   4.2.8 IRON
   4.2.9 LITHIUM
   4.2.10 MANGANESE (II)
   4.2.11 MOLYBDENUM
   4.2.12 NICKEL
   4.2.13 PHOSPHATE
   4.2.14 RUBIDIUM
   4.2.15 SELENIUM
   4.2.16 SILICON
   4.2.17 VANADIUM (IV,V)
   4.2.18 ZINC
5. Potentially toxic elements in drinking water -in alphabetic order 5.1 INTRODUCTION TO TOXIC ELEMENTS5.1.1 ALUMINIUM
   5.1.2 AMMONIUM
   5.1.3 ANTIMONY
   5.1.4 ARSENIC
   5.1.5 BARIUM
   5.1.6 BERYLLIUM
   5.1.7 BISMUTH
   5.1.8 BROMATE
   5.1.9 CADMIUM
   5.1.10 CYANIDE
   5.1.11 GERMANIUM
   5.1.12 LEAD
   5.1.13 MERCURY
   5.1.14 NICKEL
   5.1.15 NITRATE
   5.1.16 NITRITE
   5.1.17 RADIOACTIVITY
   5.1.18 SILVER
   5.1.19 STRONTIUM
   5.1.20 TIN
   5.1.21 TITANIUM
   5.1.22 URANIUM
6. Technical and mineral level effects of water treatment, corrosion control
   6.1 CHEMICAL CONDITIONS IN A NON-CORROSIVE WATER, AND HOW TO PRODUCE IT
   6.1.1 INTRODUCTION TO NON-CORROSIVE WATER
   6.1.2 HARDNESS AND ALKALINITY
   6.1.3 SATURATION AND LANGELIER INDEX
   6.1.4 LARSON-SKOLD INDEX
   6.1.5 DIN STANDARDS
   6.1.6 SAR (SODIUM ADSORPTION RATIO)
   6.1.7 OPTIMUM RE-MINERALIZATION LEVEL
   6.1.8 BLENDING WATERS
   6.2 DEMINERALIZATION/DESALINATION
   6.3 SOFTENING
   6.4 OTHER FILTERS
   6.4.1 SAND FILTER
   6.4.2 IRON AND MANGANESE FILTERS
   6.4.3 SOFTENING FILTER
   6.4.4 FILTER WITH CHEMICAL PRECIPITATION
   6.4.5 SUPPLEMENTATION WITH NaOH TO INCREASE pH
   6.4.6 SUPPLEMENTATION WITH Ca(OH)2 TO INCREASE pH
   6.4.7 CARBON FILTER
   6.4.8 MEMBRANE DISTILLATION
   6.4.9 ION EXCHANGE FILTER
   6.4.10 NITRATE FILTER
   6.4.11 FLUORIDE FILTER
   6.5 EXPERIENCES FROM ISRAEL
   6.6 RAIN WATER HARVESTING
   6.7 GENERAL ADVICES ON CHOICE OF TREATMENT PROCESSES TO PRESERVE
   OR IMPROVE THE MINERAL CONTENT/MINERAL BALANCE
7. Health effects of demineralization drinking water
8. The positive effects of drinking water in mineral balance; optimum nutrient ratios and protection against toxic elements by nutrient elements
9. Drinking water regulations today and a view for the future
   9.1 PRESENT REGULATIONS AND THEIR SHORTCOMINGS
   9.2 SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE DRINKING WATER REGULATIONS AND THE NEED FOR DECLARATION OF MINERAL CONTENT/MINERAL BALANCE
   9.3 BOTTLED WATERS