Vinyl Chloride in Drinking Water

With recent spills of vinyl chloride in the news, we're getting a lot of questions about the contaminant. Especially "does Atla remove vinyl chloride?"

The short answer is yes. The Atla Water System's ability to remove vinyl chloride from water is excellent.

What is vinyl chloride?

Vinyl chloride is a colorless gas with a mildly sweet odor. It is a chemical compound used primarily in producing polyvinyl chloride (PVC), used in a wide range of products, including pipes, wire coatings, and packaging materials.

Vinyl chloride can enter drinking water supplies through industrial discharge and accidental spills. Vinyl chloride belongs to a group of chemicals known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs). VOCs are organic chemicals with a high vapor pressure at room temperature and can readily evaporate into the air.

VOCs like vinyl chloride can negatively impact human health and the environment. For example, they can contribute to the formation of smog and can have adverse effects on air quality, water quality, and soil quality. Long-term exposure to vinyl chloride can also harm human health, increasing cancer risk, liver damage, and neurological problems.

How to Remove Vinyl Chloride from Water

Vinyl chloride, like other VOCs, is best removed from water by activated carbon filtration. The Atla Water System contains nearly four pounds of activated carbons in three different varieties to tackle even the most severe VOC problem. However, beware of smaller inexpensive water filters with activated carbon, as they typically don't have enough carbon to be effective with VOCs over the filter's life.

VOCs Are No Match for Atla

In 3rd party laboratory testing, the Atla Water System removed >99% of VOCs over the life of the filters while the concentration was at the maximum allowable by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

In Conclusion

Vinyl chloride is a contaminant with adverse health effects you should remove from your drinking water. The Atla Water System will remove vinyl chloride contamination in addition to all other VOCs and many more types of contaminants.