Silicon
Silicon is found in various types of ores. Much of the Silion becomes the compound Silicon Dioxide or Silica. Safe Home offers a couple kits that provide drinking water testing for silicon in city or well water supplies.
Parameter Type: Drinking Water Testing for Metals
Parameter Name: Silicon
What it is and Where it Comes From:
Silicon is in the Periodic Table with the atomic number of 14 and symbol Si. It is a mineral and used in medicine. Silicon is the eighth most common element in the universe by mass, but very rarely occurs as the pure element in the Earth’s crust. Silicon is a natural element, and when not previously present has a residence time of about 400 years in the world’s oceans. Most silicon is used commercially without being separated, and often with little processing of the natural minerals. Such use includes industrial construction with clays, silica sand, and stone. Silicon is the 7th most abundant element in the universe, and the second most abundant element on earth after oxygen which explains why most water supplies will contain some traces of silica. Drinking water and other fluids provide a significant potential dietary source of silicon, since silicon is primarily present in water as Si(OH)4. Bottled water from artesian aquifers contains silicon obtained from volcanic rock while typical bottled water, an increasingly popular alternative to soft drinks, is purified through reverse osmosis and does not contain significant amounts of any trace minerals. Drinking water testing gives you several benefits like peace of mind, identifying contaminants in your water, and insight into health concerns. Safe Home offers Laboratory drinking water testing kits for silicon, allowing you to collect your water sample and ship it directly to our EPA-Certified Laboratory. This platform of drinking water testing for silicon will give you an accurate level based on the lowest level of a parameter our instruments can detect (Method Detection Level). Safe Home drinking water testing for metals can be used for city and well water supplies. Drinking water testing should be done any time you notice a significant change in your water quality.
Health Effects:
Studies on silicon deprivation suggested a potential role of silicon in bone and connective tissue health, there have been many studies investigating the potential role of dietary silicon in bone health. The main route of entry of silicon to the body is from the gastrointestinal tract. Foods can be a major source of silicon, but in some studies the intake of silicon-rich water from an artesian aquifer significantly increased silicon excretion over what was being excreted from dietary sources. In addition, silicon intake decreases with age, with an average 0.1 ppm less for every additional year of age. Bottled silicon-rich water can be an additional source to improve silicon intake. Further research including studies over several years examining changes in bone density following long-term daily consumption of silicon-rich water obtained from artesian aquifers in women with reduced bone density are needed.
Solutions to Contaminant Levels:
After drinking water testing, how can silicon be removed? Silicon can be removed by ion exchange and reverse osmosis (RO). Ion exchange is ions are charged atoms or molecules. When an ionic substance is dissolved in water, its molecules dissociate into cations (positively charged particles) and anions (negatively charged particles). Reverse osmosis is a process that removes foreign contaminants, solid substances, large molecules, and minerals from water by using pressure to push it through specialized membranes. Here’s how reverse osmosis works. Unlike osmosis, which is a passive process, reverse osmosis requires external force (pressure) to work. Pressure is applied to a highly concentrated solute solution, such as salt water, to pass through a membrane to a lower concentrate solution. The membrane allows water to flow through but blocks out larger molecules, like contaminants. The reverse osmosis process leaves higher concentrations of solute on one side and only the solvent, or freshwater, on the other. Who do I need to contact to find out more information about water quality in my area? Every community water supplier must provide an annual report to its customers, known as a Consumer Confidence Report (CCR). The report provides information on your local drinking water quality, including the water’s source, contaminants found in the water, and how consumers can get involved in protecting drinking water. How often does the local public water system preform drinking water testing? Frequency of drinking water testing depends on the number of people served, the type of water source, and types of contaminants. Certain contaminants are tested more frequently than others, as established by the Safe Drinking Water Act. You can find out about levels of regulated contaminants in your treated water for the previous calendar year in your annual Consumer Confidence Report (CCR).
