Aqua Pure Filters

SOC's

Source of SOC's

Over 1000 SOC's (Synthetic Organic Chemicals) have been detected in drinking water at one time or another. Most are of no concern, but some are potentially a health risk to consumers. Below is a list of synthetic organic chemicals along with the proposed MCL (maximum contamination level) in mg/i as determined by the US EPA Primary Drinking Water Regulations.

Synthetic Organic Chemicals (Proposed MCL, mg/l)

Acrylamide (0.0005)
Alachlor (0.002)
Aldicarb (0.01)
Aldicarb sulfoxide (0.01)
Aldicarb sulfone (0.04)
Atrazine (0.002)
Carbofuran (0.04)
Chlordane (0.02)
Dichloroethylene (0.07)
DBCP (0.0002)
Dichioropropane (0.005)
Dichlorobenzene (0.6)
D (0.1)
EDB (0.00005)
Epichlorohydrin (0.002)
Ethylbenzene (0.7)
Heptachlor (0.0004)
Heptachlor epoxide (0.0002)
Lindane (0.0002)
Methoxychlor (0.4)
Monochlorobenzene (0.1)
Polychlorinated biphenyls (0.0005)
Pentachlorophenol (0.2)
Styrene (0.005)
Tetrachloroethylene (0.005)
Toluene (2.0)
TP (0.05)
Toxaphene (0.005)
Dichloroethylene (0.1)
Xylene (10.0)

Treatment of SOC's

Activated carbon is generally used to remove organics. Flow rates should be restricted to 2 gpm per square foot of the filter bed. Reverse osmosis will remove 98 to 99% of the organics in the water. Ultrafiltration (U7F) and nanofiltration (NF) both will remove organics. Anion exchange resin also retains organics, but periodically needs cleaning.