Do Shower Filters Remove Arsenic?
Got the following question via email the other day:
Will a shower head filter with the KDF-55 remove all of the arsenic we have or only part of it? We have .014 or 14 PPB arsenic. Does the arsenic also give off a gas in the shower that will also be taken care of?
First off, at 14 PPB, your arsenic is above the level recommended for drinking, so don't drink that water without removing the arsenic.
The need to remove arsenic from drinking water is undisputed.
Bathing and showering in water with that level of arsenic is another question.
You don't have to worry about inhaling arsenic vapors unless your shower temperature approaches the boiling point of arsenic, which is 1,137°F. No concern there. :o)
Arsenic absorption through the skin when bathing is estimated to be about 1% in a paper published by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
The above paper sites others that conclude absorption of arsenic from water via bathing is "unlikely to be of health concern" with the caveat that more research should be done.
One percent of 14 PPB seems like a very small amount, but because there is little research and no established standards for exposure to arsenic in the shower or bath, you'll have to make your own decision.
Back to shower filters. KDF does reduce arsenic, the question is how effective a shower filter would be at arsenic reduction. Shower filters are designed and tested to filter chlorine.
I am not aware of any shower filter that has published test results for arsenic reduction. Fortunately, arsenic does not appear to be much of a concern in the shower.