Troubled Waters: Removing Estrogen from Our Water Supply



Luke Dery

The Massachusetts Academy of Math and Science

Abstract

Estrogen contamination from products such as birth control and estrogen therapy has led to possible health concerns when consumed from drinking water sources. It is unhealthy for the human body, animals, and the environment, causing feminization in humans and the birth of more females. In order to make the removal of estrogen more practical, multiple filtration methods where tested to determine which method was the most efficient and practical to use. From gathered research, graphitized carbon was hypothesized to be the most efficient and practical method of estrogen removal from water. It is both inexpensive and made of fine material. After three rounds of experimentation with the filters, GCB (Graphitized Carbon Black) was found to be the most effective filtration material for estrogen removal. Although it was not more effective than some of the filter that are specially designed to purify water (the Oasis products), it was the most effective and practical material that was used, removing 98-100 percent of the estrogen compounds on each of the tests. Therefore, GCB was found to be the most efficient and practical filtration material overall.

Introduction

Over the past decade, a new contaminant has found its way into water supplies around the world: pharmaceutical products that contain estrogen. Estrogen comes from multiple sources, both natural and synthetic-made. It has been found to have negative effects on males and females alike when it is consumed daily in public drinking water. Not much has been done to stop this problem. Most water treatment plants have not implemented any processes to remove estrogen, and little research has been done to find the best way to solve the problem. The goal of this research project is to test practical estrogen purification methods to find the most efficient one and to then apply it to a device that can be used to purify water at a home level.

Read Complete Article