State of the Industry Update
By Alvin E. Rice, President, Multi-Pure®
Written by Paula I. Rice, Vice President, Administration, Multi-Pure®

March 3, 2003 - As in years past, there is a familiar theme in the industry. The concern over water pollution is rising as is the need for more funding to ensure the safety of America’s water supplies. This is the way it's been for much of Multi-Pure®'s 32 year history, and it appears that it will remain that way.

Over the past few months there have been numerous headlines such as:

“Billions in funding needed to improve water quality”

“Feds pushed to fund solutions to US infrastructure woes.”

“Indiana may need $13.9 Billion to ensure safe water”

In almost every state, millions to billions of dollars in funding is needed to improve water quality. Here are some examples:

• The EPA, in its "Clean Water and Drinking Water Infrastructure Gap Analysis," has documented a water and wastewater infrastructure funding gap of as much as $500 billion.
• In California, experts concluded that $23 billion to $170 billion would be needed over a 20-year period to implement recently adopted stormwater rules.
• Voters in San Francisco approved the largest bond measure, $1.6 billion, in the city’s history to pay for repairs to its aging water system.
• Aurora, Colorado city officials plan to float bond issues totaling $290 million to buy water and build infrastructure.
• Voters in Tarpon Springs, Florida gave the city per- mission to borrow as much as $18 million to pay for badly needed improvements to the city’s water and sewer system.
• The Governor of Maryland pledged more than $90 million to improve drinking water supplies and sewage systems.
• The Bush Administration is seeking a $150 million increase in Superfund hazardous waste site cleanup funding in the EPA’s 2004 budget.

The need for billions of dollars to improve water quality across the United States is a clear sign that the nation’s drinking water is not as clean as Americans are led to believe. The public water utilities publish annual “Consumer Confidence Reports” (CCRs) telling the members of their communities that they can trust their tap water. But, the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Erik Olson says he “detects a ‘schizophrenic element in industry assurances. The water providers say we need hundreds of billions of dollars to fix the system, but when people ask, ‘Is there a public health issue?’ they say, ‘No, no.’ But, clearly there’s a public-health problem,” says Olson.

The nation’s drinking water is more polluted than ever and millions of Americans suffer from the illnesses caused by contaminated water. “Threats to water quality and quantity pose the biggest environmental challenge, in large part because of antiquated and deteriorating water systems,” warned Christine Whitman, head of the U.S. EPA. A study by the Harvard University School of Public Health cited public water infrastructure such as pipes, many of which are more than a century old; waterborne disease; land use, groundwater and surface water contamination; and ineffective government regulations as challenges facing our drinking water supplies in the next century.

The recent requests for funding for water-related projects costing hundreds of billions of dollars have called the public’s attention to water pollution or the potential for pollution.

According to a statewide survey, more than 70% of Californians do not drink straight tap water in their homes. Thirty-two percent (32%) drink filtered water and the remainder drink bottled water. This leads us to believe that Californians don’t think much of the government’s ability to protect the environment.

In North Carolina an environmental group reports that the state’s enforcement of water protection laws suffers from staff shortages, lack of legislative support, and too-friendly relationships with violators.

The first nationwide study of 32 common toxic chemicals shows that for 200 million Americans, the pollutants pose a cancer risk 100 times greater than what the EPA usually considers acceptable. The data released suggest that 200 million Americans (about 75% of the total U.S. population) face an increased risk of developing cancer from these pollutants.

Factories, electric utilities, and hazardous waste management facilities in the U.S. and Canada generated almost 3.4 million metric tons of toxic chemical waste in 1999. The wastes include 269,000 tons of chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive problems. The report, released by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation of North America, includes data on 210 chemical substances. The manufacturing sector’s 25% reduction in releases of toxic substances to air was offset by a 26% increase in releases of toxic substances to lakes, rivers and streams.

More than 76,000 leaking underground storage tanks across the country are polluting the nation’s groundwater, while the U.S. EPA can do little to solve the problem. According to a Congressional watchdog, the leaks of hazardous substances could be eliminated if Congress and the EPA would improve inspections and provide the necessary authority to bring tank owners into compliance with existing regulations.

A government analysis shows the nation’s waterways are awash in traces of chemicals used in beauty aids, medications, cleaners, and foods. Among the substances: caffeine, contraceptives, painkillers, insect repellent, perfumes, and nicotine. Scientists say the problem is that these substances largely escape regulation and defy municipal wastewater treatment. And the long-term effects of exposure are unclear, they say.

Nearly 30 percent of the nation's largest industrial, municipal, and federal facilities were in violation of the Clean Water Act at least once during a recent 15-month period, according to a report released by U.S. PIRG. "Permit to Pollute: How the Government’s Lax Enforcement of the Clean Water Act is Poisoning our Waters” claims that there are shortcomings in the monitoring of water pollution and efforts to deter polluters, at a time when the EPA's budget for enforcement faces slashing.

Although the EPA forced polluters to spend $3.9 billion on new controls and cleanups last year, that amount was 11 percent less than in 2001. Legal actions by the EPA that resulted in civil penalties paid by polluters dropped by almost half, to $55.5 million. Criminal penalties dropped by a third, to $62.2 million. However, penalties from EPA administrative actions rose 8 percent to $25.7 million.

The EPA reported that Superfund cleanups from companies responsible for polluting sites fell by nearly two-thirds, to $627 million, compared with $1.7 billion the previous year, the agency said.

Federal investigators say there’s a disturbing trend of fake tests of water supplies, part of a wider problem of false environmental tests by private companies on petroleum products, underground storage tanks and soil. “Several current lab fraud investigations involve severe manipulation of data used to evaluate the compliance of public water supplies and federal drinking water standards,” reported the EPA’s inspector general, Nikki Tinsley. Faked test results mislead regulators and the public into thinking they are being protected by laws when, in fact they are not.

The public is not made aware of contaminants that linger in the environment for many, many years. And it takes many more years to clean up the pollution after it is found. Here are some recent reports of long-term pollution problems:

Michigan: State officials planned to test drinking water at 12 municipal water plants over concerns that contaminants up to 40 years old might have spread downstream from a dredging site in the St. Clair River. Sediments in the river contain a range of chemicals dumped there over the years by a Dow Chemical Company plant. About 6 million people in southeast Michigan get their drinking water from water treatment plants along the river and lake.

California: The San Lorenzo River will be cleaned up, 40 years after hazardous chemicals seeped from a dry-cleaning business into the river. The dry-cleaning business closed 40 years ago, but the solvent, PCE, which has contaminated soil and groundwater, wasn’t discovered until 1985 by the Santa Cruz, CA Water Department. Santa Cruz uses San Lorenzo water to supply 90,000 customers.

California: State water officials first learned, more than three years ago, that wells in Sebastopol were contaminated with dangerous chemicals. A lack of funding prevented earlier investigation. For now, the source of the contamination and how long it has been in the groundwater is a mystery. Tests have so far detected chemicals PCE (tetrachloroethylene) and TCE (trichloroethylene) in at least 13 wells in the area.

Oregon: In Beaverton some of the most TCE-contaminated water was found at a now-shuttered plant.

Indiana: In Martinsville, city officials shut down a well and began planning expensive options to clean up the drinking water supply when PCE was found to be leaking into the water system. State environmental officials are looking for the source of the PCE. They said the problem could be the legacy of chemicals dumped or buried decades ago.

Anywhere, USA: The US EPA released new information that says trichloroethylene (TCE) is more dangerous than previously thought -- two to 40 times more toxic when ingested. TCE is suspected of causing an increased risk of illnesses from nerve damage to cancer.

California: A public interest group said more than 70 billion gallons of California groundwater is undrinkable because of contamination by MTBE and other contaminants. The polluted water is enough to supply 400,000 families for a year.

Indiana: Kids drank MTBE-laced water at their elementary school for at least two years. The children could have been drinking the tainted water for a longer period because the school only began testing for MTBE in 2000. A service station was found to be the primary source of the methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), a possible human carcinogen.

California: In a landmark case, a San Francisco jury has found that gasoline with the additive MTBE is a defective product and that two oil companies were aware of the chemical’s dangers but withheld the information when they put it on the market.

Maine: The Richmond Utilities District told its customers about the presence of elevated lead levels in the water of two out of ten homes. The town had not failed a lead test until last fall, and notices were sent to customers with their bills in January. Lead may cause nervous system disorders and brain and kidney damage. It is very harmful to unborn children and children under 3 years old.

Maryland: More than a decade after the discovery of excess levels of lead, school officials shut off water fountains in the district. The City Health Commissioner said most of the fountains were shut down by 1993, but many were somehow reactivated.

Anytown, USA: The common dentist office practice of flushing old mercury-containing fillings down the drain makes dentists the largest discharger of the toxic metal into the nation’s wastewater treatment plants, according to a national study by a Boston-based public health group. Most of the mercury is eventually discharged into bodies of water.

New York: Tests of wells near areas where there has been high pesticide use continue to show contamination in the groundwater. From April 2000 to March 2001, pesticides were found in about half the private wells tested in the Suffolk area. There were 323 wells that had more than one pesticide compound; 131 contained five or more. The tests detected 52 pesticides and compounds created by the breakdown of pesticides. For 37 of the new compounds there is no specific drinking water standard. It is unclear what cumulative effect, if any, combinations of the different compounds have.

Anywhere, USA: The US EPA is considering an increase in the amount of atrazine allowed to be contained in drinking water – from three parts per billion (3 ppb) to as high as 12 ppb. Atrazine is the second most common pesticide found in private and community water wells and has been a popular, affordable chemical among farmers since the 1960s. A couple of years ago, EPA upgraded its assessment of atrazine from a “possible” to a “likely” carcinogen, but it has been working to provide a more concrete assessment. Some have maintained the herbicide is less harmful than suspected; while in Europe, the substance is largely banned. The EPA concluded that atrazine may continue to be used, provided all the precautions and some new specific measures are implemented to reduce risks to drinking water.

Illinois: An herbicide that has the potential to cause liver damage was found in samples of water taken at a school in the St. Charles suburb of Chicago. A consulting firm was hired for an environmental analysis of the school water in the wake of teacher health complaints over the last 27 years. Officials decided to turn off the water to the school until a charcoal filter that will remove the herbicide is installed.

Oregon: Unsafe levels of the toxin PCB recently discovered in freshwater clams and crawfish were caused by electrical debris dumped in the Columbia River according to a report released by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The debris was discovered in 2000 at a site where household waste and project debris were dumped until 1982.

Alabama: Residents of Anniston have learned that for nearly 40 years, while producing the now-banned industrial coolants known as PCBs at a local factory, Monsanto Company routinely discharged toxic waste into a creek and dumped millions of pounds of PCBs into open-pit landfills.

Florida: Toxic wood-treating chemicals, including Benzene, have leached from a federally designated hazardous waste site, to within 35 feet of the Floridian Aquifer and could threaten the city of Gainesville’s drinking water supply.

Maryland: Maryland’s tap water may be putting women at risk of having pregnancies end in miscarriage or having children with birth defects, according to a report by two environmental groups. 14 communities in Maryland had a relatively high proportion of people projected to be at risk from using their local drinking water, which is contaminated by trihalomethanes, one of the principal byproducts of chlorination.

Virginia: Nearly 200 women in Chesapeake sued their water system, claiming that miscarriages they suffered in the 1980s and 1990s are traceable to trihalomethanes.

Texas: Bonham residents and businesses received written notice that their drinking water is contaminated with trihalomethanes. However, public works officials and Texas experts say the water is safe. The city of Bonham has been instructed to make adjustments to the disinfecting process to reduce the level of trihalomethanes.

There are many other reports of contamination incidents, surveys and studies that produce frightening results, and Americans everywhere are shocked and disappointed by the failure of public agencies to protect the health of residents in the communities they serve.

Consumer awareness of water contamination problems combined with the desire for a better quality of life are factors contributing to the robust growth of the drinking water treatment industry. Last year, Multi-Pure® produced more carbon block filters than ever. Demand for high-quality drinking water treatment devices is at an all-time high and growing. And, we anticipate that in the not too distant future, every home will have a drinking water treatment device.

The Business Communications Company, Inc., a market research group, recently reported that the market for consumer water treatment systems and products is estimated at $1.5 billion. According to the study, the combination of water-quality awareness and growing regulatory scrutiny will continue to drive the growth of the market at an average annual rate of 8.5%, to more than $2.2 billion by 2006.

Multi-Pure® Independent Distributors can offer to the members of their community the most effective drinking water treatment device available on the market. Testing and certification by NSF International confirm the outstanding performance of Multi-Pure® Drinking Water Systems. Here is how the NSF listings break down:

Of the thousands of drinking water treatment devices available on the marketplace, most only provide minimal protection. It is more important than ever for consumers to carefully look at the certification of a product to confirm that it will provide the performance they need and are seeking.

The distinctive competitive advantages of Multi-Pure® Drinking Water Systems are clearly confirmed by testing and certification.

Although the performance of Multi-Pure®’s solid carbon block filters are the best in the world, we continuously strive to develop an even better filter. Currently Multi-Pure® has several research and development projects in process, including testing for the removal of Arsenic V. A new ANSI/NSF standard for testing Arsenic V was released in June, 2002. Internal testing against that standard has produced very encouraging results. We are optimistic that we’ll have more to say about Arsenic V later this year.

Also, we are in the very early stages of testing for Arsenic III, which is more difficult to remove than Arsenic V, as well as Perchlorate, a rocket fuel component that recently was found in water supplies in many western states. There are no standards for Arsenic III or Perchlorate, so we anticipate that it will take several years for these projects to be completed.

We continuously look for materials that would be effective in meeting the Fluoride standard. Unfortunately, we have nothing encouraging to report about the Fluoride research at this time.

Although research and development requires a significant commitment of resources, we are confident that our efforts will produce an even better drinking water treatment device in the future.

Multi-Pure®’s solid carbon block filters were the:

• FIRST to be certified to reduce lead
• FIRST to be certified to reduce asbestos
• FIRST to be certified to reduce Cyst
• FIRST to be registered by the State of California, Department of Health Services
• FIRST to be certified to reduce Chloramine
• FIRST to be certified to reduce Toxaphene
• FIRST to be certified to reduce Chlordane
• FIRST to be certified to reduce PCBs

And will be the:

• FIRST to meet new standards in the future.

Distributors are encouraged to be even more diligent in helping their friends, family, neighbors, and others who are or will be looking to buy an effective drinking water system for protection against contaminants that may be in their tap water.

People in California, North Carolina, and elsewhere, have lost confidence in their tap water, and many of them are spending large sums of money for bottled water, the quality of which is questionable. Multi-Pure® Drinking Water System are a cost-effective option that will provide customers with the highest quality water possible. Multi-Pure® also provides a business opportunity that will not only pay for their own unit, but also start down the path towards financial freedom.

There are 200 million Americans who, today, face an increased risk of developing cancer from common toxic chemicals. They live in almost every community and they need our distributor's help.

Although the EPA thinks it can do little to solve the problem of leaking underground storage tanks polluting the nation’s groundwater, Multi-Pure® distributors can do something – talk about Multi-Pure®’s effectiveness in reducing contaminants such as MTBE, benzene, etc.

The public water utilities may report that they are not able to do anything about the contraceptives, painkillers, insect repellents, perfumes, and nicotine that are found in the nation’s waterways. Although there are no standards for testing for the presence of the pharmaceutical and personal care pollutants (PPCPs), according to Christian Daughton of the Environmental Protection Agency, carbon filters and RO systems will remove them. So, our distributors can do something – they can offer their neighbors a Multi-Pure® Drinking Water System that will give them peace of mind.

People in any town where chemicals, herbicides, and pesticides have been found in drinking water supplies can be provided with a drinking water system that will protect them and their families.

Multi-Pure® distributors can offer those people around the country, where toxic heavy metals are found in water sources, an effective drinking water filter for protection against these insidious contaminants.

Residents in Oregon and Alabama where PCBs have been found in their drinking water need our distributor's help. There are only nineteen (19) devices certified to reduce PCBs; six (6) are Multi-Pure® Drinking Water Systems.

87% of Americans are drinking water disinfected with chlorine or chloramine. Disinfecting public water supplies is essential to assuring the microbiological safety of our drinking water; however it often leads to harmful byproducts such as trihalomethanes that have been linked to many human cancers and put pregnant women at a higher risk for miscarriages. Only a few drinking water treatment devices are certified to reduce trihalomethanes and other disinfection byproducts. Multi-Pure® Drinking Water Systems are among those few.

It would be inappropriate to state that Multi-Pure® units will reduce any and all contaminants, including those that could be introduced by terrorists. However the effectiveness of Multi-Pure® Drinking Water Systems to reduce one of the widest range of contaminants of health concern make it the best choice for anybody concerned about the safety of their water.

To paraphrase famed newscaster Paul Harvey: There really is a drinking water problem in America. There really is a fabulous solution to the drinking water quality problem in your community. The Multi-Pure® Drinking Water System really is a product that can make a difference in the lives of the people you know.

Multi-Pure® customers and distributors have the peace of mind that comes from knowing that every day they are using the most effective drinking water treatment device available. Our distributors can appropriately and ethically share their knowledge and experience with the people in their community. On April 22nd, Earth Day, it will be a great opportunity to talk to neighbors and friends about how they can live healthier lives. Again in May, during National Drinking Water Week, many communities will focus on water quality issues. This is a perfect opportunity to tell people about Multi-Pure® Drinking Water Systems. Every day distributors can seize the opportunities to tell others that there really is a fabulous solution to the drinking water quality problem in their community. The Multi-Pure® Drinking Water System really is a product that can make a difference for everybody.