FOG HORNCamelBak All Clear - Microbiological UV Water
Purification.By: Sal Palma Roughly 75% of the earths surface is
covered by water, yet clean and clear sources of potable water are
increasingly scarce. Its not redundant to emphasize the importance
of water to ecosystems and to terrestrial life forms, or at least
those based on the eukaryotic model, namely human. Availability of
clean potable water dictates fate and fortune for us all. To accent
the importance of water its valuable to understand how water is
dispersed throughout our bodies. First, and by far the largest is
Intracellular fluid; these are the fluids used by the cell to
support all of its functions including mitosis, and in the case of
a haploid cell, meiosis. Water is critical to cellular function;
without it cells die. Intracellular fluid accounts for
approximately 25 liters of water. Next, and second highest, is
extracellular fluid. This is the fluid surrounding the cell acting
as a solvent for nutrients and other compounds needed by the cell
for nutrition and regulation (osmotic gradient just being one
example). Extracellular fluid accounts for roughly 15 liters of
water. Finally, plasma the fluid upon which our blood is built
accounts for 15 liters of water.
2012Twobirds Flying Publication
In total, our bodies are composed of roughly 40 liters of water.
Converting liters to gallons, we have 10.6 gallons of water in our
bodies, and given a weight 8.3 pounds per gallon, the average
person carries 88 lbs. of water or roughly 52% (up to 66%) for an
average male (160 pound and 510 tall). Its fair to say, subject to
certain caveats like obesity, that greater than 50% of your body
weight is water. Digressing for a moment, how many times have you
heard people say I just want to lose some water weight, if youre
like me, too many to count. So, to lose that water weight, they
will go without water potentially dehydrating -a recipe for
disaster. Its also natures way of saying this individual is too
stupid to be your friend. So, how essential is water to our
species? The average person can live without water for 3 to 5 days
depending on level of activity yet they can go without food for
several weeks given adequate hydration. But, you need not fear 75%
of the earth is covered in water right? Lets just take a look at
that 75%.
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CamelBak All Clear - Microbiological UV Water Purification
2012
standards and the quality of ground water and surface water will
be poor at best. Water quality revolves around the absence or
presence of two contaminants; they are pathogenicity followed by
chemical contaminants. Pathogenicity in fresh water is
overwhelmingly attributed to the oral-fecal route. The presence of
pathogens in fresh water is a key indicator of the presence of
human excrement. A healthy human will ingest the pathogen (oral)
and excrete the pathogen in solid waste (fecal); therefor the
oral-fecal route. Pathogens can take two forms bacterial (I include
in that protozoans) or viral. A virus is not considered living; it
is a proteinaceous chain that exhibits specificity to a host cell
or host cell receptor. However, viruses can and do mutate. To treat
a virus, you must also attack the host cell. Bacteria on the other
hand will replicate and mutate. Pathogens that you can expect to
encounter as fresh water contaminates, in underdeveloped nations,
include but are not limited to: E. coli, typhoid fever, bacillary
dysentery, paratyphoid fever, and other heterogeneous bacteria
(aerobic and anaerobic) that cause diarrheal diseases. Protozoans
like Entamoeba histolytica, which causes amoebic dysentery are also
sources of pathogenicity. Chemical contaminants can take the form
of industrial waste, agricultural waste or in combat zones
intentional contamination.
Of the 75% of earths surface thats covered with water, 97% is
salt water and just 3% is fresh water. The fresh water available
breaks down to 68.7% icecaps and glaciers, 30.1% ground water, 0.3%
surface water and 0.9% other (principally in the form of water
vapor in the atmosphere). The principal sources of surface water
can be broken down to 87% from lakes, 11% from swamps and 2% from
rivers. My review assumes that we have access to any source of
fresh water albeit with varying degrees of difficulty. Icecaps and
glaciers we have to melt, ground water we have to dig for; leaving
surface water as the sole source of readily available water. The
question that we must ask ourselves at this point is what
percentage of earths fresh water is potable (i.e. drinkable)? The
answer is less than 1%. Water standards are set and reviewed by the
WHO (World Health Organization) internationally, and by the EPA
(Environmental Protection Agency) in the United States. Although
these standard setting organizations are proactively working to
preserve water quality, many of the countries that you, as a
traveler or service member, will be working in have no
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Chemical contaminants are insidious in that they are hard to
eliminate; however, their presence can usually be detected by
simply paying attention to the behavior of indigenous populations,
and to fauna and flora in proximity to the water source. One
indicator of chemical contamination is eutrophication.
CamelBak All Clear - Microbiological UV Water Purification
2012
Turbidity1 is a measure of the clarity of water. It is the
combined effects of microbial matter, silt, plant matter and other
contaminants suspended in water. Ceteris paribus turbidity is not
necessarily dangerous; however, turbid water provides a friendlier
environment for pathogens. The most effective way to deal with
turbidity is filtration. The filter needs to be fine enough to trap
the particle matter in suspension. In the absence of mechanical
filters, your best option is to use a cloth filter, for example
your cotton T-shirt. In order for it to be effective, youll need a
minimum of 4 layers of material- preferably 8; even better than
your T-shirt is burlap. Again, youll need a minimum of 4 layers of
burlap but 8 layers yield best results. Filtration increases the
amount of time it takes to collect water. Once youve addressed
turbidity youre ready for purification, and that gets me into my
review.
Eutrophication occurs as a result of agricultural and industrial
processes, or untreated sewage. Eutrophication is almost always the
result of human activity but it can also occur naturally. For
example, in agriculture soils are fertilized. During irrigation or
rainfall the nitrates and phosphates in fertilizers enter the
surface water supply creating the conditions necessary for a
planktonic bloom. The resultant explosion in surface phytoplankton
depletes the water of oxygen and sunlight; in turn killing aquatic
plants and fish. Eutrophic sources of water will exhibit higher
turbidity.
An EPA standard for turbidity is less than 1 NTU (Nephelometric
Turbidity Units); however, anything less than 5 NTU is considered
safe. An acceptable level of turbidity is represented by the
leftmost beaker.Copyright 2012, Twobirds Flying Publication, All
Rights Reserved
1
CamelBak All Clear - Microbiological UV Water
PurificationCamelBaks ALL Clear water purification system is quite
a clever piece of technology consisting of three components.
2012
First, you have the bottle, which holds 750 ml of water. The
water bottle is also nicely stenciled with instructions on how to
operate the system.
Third, the optional Pre-Filter; I would remove the word optional
from my mind and replace it with integral to the overall system
solution. The Pre-Filter is a bottle top incorporating a fine mesh
screen. Its role is to remove larger debris from the water.
However, it will not have a measurable effect on turbidity - for
that youll need a much finer filter.
Second, is the UV head; the heart of the operation. It is a
processor controlled UV lamp that runs off a rechargeable lithium
ion battery. With a full charge, the battery provides up to 80
cycles and can be recharged using a built in USB port.
Having identified all of it components, Id like to jump into the
next logical step, which is water source selection. CamelBak
suggests that you use clear water; however, collecting clear water
in the outdoors is limiting, and frankly unlikely. The more
probable scenario is thatCopyright 2012, Twobirds Flying
Publication, All Rights Reserved
CamelBak All Clear - Microbiological UV Water
Purificationwhatever water you collect will have a degree of
turbidity exceeding the standard for potability as established by
the EPA.
2012
Heres how it works 1. Install the pre-filter on the supplied
bottle. 2. Fill the bottle to the 750 ml mark. 3. Remove the
pre-filter. 4. Install the UV head making sure that you snug it
down on the water bottle. 5. Press and hold the on/off switch for
two seconds. Youll see the UV light come on and a countdown timer
will tick off 60 seconds. 6. While the counter is ticking down
slowly rotate the water bottle headover heel; continuing that
process until the UV light goes out. 7. If the water exhibits
turbidity, meaning if it was not completely clear when you
collected it, repeat steps 5 and 6 for a second cycle. 8. Remove
the UV head and wipe off the mouth of the water bottle before you
drink from it. 9. In cases where you had a significant amount of
turbidity, I suggest that you add 2 or 3 drops of Clorox to the
water prior to drinking it. Heres what I keep in my kit along with
a similar bottle of distilled ammonia 2.
So, here is the thought process that I recommend. Start by
observing what the indigenous population does. Where are they
getting their water: well, stream, river or a lake then use the
same source. In the absence of that population, avoid stagnate
water. Avoid water sources with a putrid aroma or water that
appears to have a soapy slime on its surface. Look for signs of
discoloration that would indicate the presence of heavy metals.
Water is the core of an ecosystem, if you see an absence of wild
life or a disruption in the food chain, meaning an absence of
predators and prey chances are that water quality is poor. Reliable
sources of good quality water are flowing waters such as rivers and
rapids, large deep lakes, runoff from heavy rains, or water
collected directly from rainfall - snow and ice accumulations are
also reliable sources of water. A poncho is probably one of the
best ways to collect rain water keep one in your kit. They weigh
next to nothing and make handy shelters too. Irrespective of what
water source you decide on, follow the purification steps. You can
get away with out of spec. turbidity but you want to address the
pathogenicity side of the water equation. It is, by far, the more
serious concern.2
CamelBaks All Clear system makes that a snap.
The ammonia is effective against venoms (insect or other).
Venoms are proteins and ammonia denatures proteins. Think of a
zipper. Ammonia attacks the venom and destroys the proteins
conformation (so its like unzipping the protein) neutralizing it.
Red ants, for example, secret formic acid, a protein, when they
bite; ammonia applied to the bit will destroy its effect.Copyright
2012, Twobirds Flying Publication, All Rights Reserved
CamelBak All Clear - Microbiological UV Water Purification
2012
This article contains embedded video demonstrating the use of
CamelBaks All Clear System. To view the video, you first need to
download the article. Reading the article online will not allow you
to view the video. This is a limitation of the hosting site.
Depending on your connection speed, it will take a couple of
minutes for the download to complete. You can safely open the
downloaded PDF file and watch the video.Article Download Sites:
I keep 2 in my kit (one for Clorox and one for Ammonia)
ConclusionIn this article, Ive dimensioned just how scare
potable water is. The days of walking into a brook or meandering
stream, filling a canteen and drinking are gone; even in North
America. All water, regardless of its source, other than bottled or
purified, represents a potentially serious health hazard. This is
specifically true when traveling abroad whether in the EU,
SubSaharan Africa or Asia. CamelBaks All Clear System is an
absolute must have for bikers, hikers, backpackers, campers,
hunters and deployed personnel. Whether traveling for fun or
business, you need an All Clear UV purification system with you.
CamelBaks All Clear Microbiological UV Water Purifier makes pure
and reliable water available to you at a nominal price of $99
M.S.R.P. It is money well spent when you consider the alternative.
Theres also the added bonus that you wont need to carry a 6-pack of
Avian in your gear.
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Manufacturers Specifications Treats 0.75L of water with each
cycle Two rechargeable Lithium Ion batteries built into the cap
deliver 80+ cycles per full charge Cap weighs 7oz System includes:
UV Cap, 0.75L Bottle, USB Charging cable, Protective Carrying Case,
Classic Cap
Note to Readers:Copyright 2012, Twobirds Flying Publication, All
Rights Reserved
CamelBak All Clear - Microbiological UV Water Purification
2012
Copyright 2012, Twobirds Flying Publication, All Rights
Reserved