We need a reliable and clean source of water to stay fit and healthy. But, if the water we use for drinking, cooking, and bathing is contaminated with harmful substances this is a significant threat to our health and wellbeing. One of the potentially hazardous substances that we need to be wary of is Lithium. In this article, we will take a closer look at lithium, we will examine the latest threat assessments, and present a reliable water treatment method to remove it from your drinking water.

What is Lithium?

Lithium is the lightest known metal, this element has a number of practical applications and it’s frequently used in aircraft and battery manufacturing. Fewer people know that lithium carbonate is commonly used to treat bipolar disorders. This treatment is used to stabilize mood swings in patients to help them deal with emotional problems.

What are the Dangers of Lithium?

There are naturally occurring sources of lithium in certain areas of the world. Water is an effective solvent and it can add dissolved minerals to its makeup as it passes through them. In these areas, fewer suicides than the national average are reported and this suggests that lithium in small concentrations may have some benefits. But, some recent studies have suggested that lithium exposure during pregnancy may affect the development of the brain in fetuses. Essentially, this would cause prenatal autism if the concentrations of lithium were high enough.

Some other studies have found that long-term exposure to lithium can impair kidney and thyroid function. Exposure has also been linked to cardiac malformations in newborns and an increased risk of miscarriage. So, it would be a prudent choice to avoid the consumption of lithium during pregnancy. More study is required to reveal the potential risks of lithium consumption, but there is an effective way to remove this element from your water supply.

How Can I Remove Lithium?

The most effective water filtration system to remove lithium and a wide variety of other contaminants is a reverse osmosis (RO) filter. These usually have a 4-stage filtration system which is configured as follows:

  1. A Prefilter to remove sediments.
  2. A Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) filter to remove chlorine.
  3. The semi-permeable Reverse Osmosis filter to remove contaminants.
  4. A final GAC filter stage to add some final polish to the water.

At the heart of this system is the RO filter, which has tiny pores that allow water molecules to pass and most contaminants are too large to pass through. The water must be placed under pressure to force the water through these filtration pores. This process takes a little time, the filtered water is stored in a sterile tank for on-demand use. A low cost installation is possible with a point-of-use dedicated faucet at the kitchen sink. Whole-house systems are also available for people that want high quality water delivered to every faucet and plumbing fixture in the home.

If you want to remove lithium and a wide variety of other contaminants from your drinking water, contact your local water treatment specialist.

By EcoWater Systems.
EcoWater Systems of Nebraska is the largest water treatment company in the state and is a member of Water Quality Association.