The Berkey will reduce 99.99% of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC's) to below lab detectable limits. While vinyl chloride is a surrogate of chloride and thus it should remove it according to water filter industry standards, we do not have exact testing for vinyl chloride at this point in time.

What is Vinyl Chloride?

Vinyl chloride is a carcinogenic volatile organic compound (VOC) used to manufacture vinyl products such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a polymer commonly used in everyday products, including PVC pipes used in plumbing supplying water to homes across the country. While PVC in its solid state is considered harmless, vinyl chloride can pollute air in and around factories that manufacture PVC products, posing a risk to workers and local communities. There is also a risk that it can pollute water sources that serve as drinking water supplies. If that scares you, it should. But the good news is that a Berkey water filter system fitted with Black Berkey elements can volotile organic compunds to below detectable levels.

What are the Properties of Vinyl Chloride?

Vinyl chloride is a volatile organic compound that is found in a gaseous state at room temperature, but at low temperatures or at high pressure it is converted into a liquid. Vinyl chloride is extremely unstable when exposed to high temperatures and burns readily. It can be detected in the surrounding air by its mildly sweet aroma when present at at levels of around 3,000 parts per million. If water supplying a house is contaminated with vinyl chloride, it can be released into the air within the home when water is used for bathing or showering, laundry, or cooking.

What are he Health Effects Associated with Vinyl Chloride?

Vinyl chloride is a known carcinogen that can cause various forms of cancer with prolonged exposure. According to the National Cancer Institute, vinyl chloride is associated with an increased risk of leukemia, lymphoma, brain cancer, lung cancer, and liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma), including a rare form of liver cancer (hepatic angiosarcoma).

Short-term exposure to high levels of vinyl chloride can cause a person to feel dizzy, drowsy, or disorientated. Other symptoms of exposure include headaches, burning eyes or skin, breathing difficulties, and nausea. If you experience any of these symptoms it's advisable to seek medical attention.

How does Vinyl Chloride Contaminate Drinking Water?

Chemicals used to manufacture products need to be transported from where they are manufactured to suppliers and to the factories that use them to manufacture their products. Things can and often do go awry, resulting in hazardous chemical spills, such as the spill that occurred near the town of East Palestine, Ohio, in February 2023 when a train transporting vinyl chloride derailed, spilling huge amounts of toxic chemicals, resulting in contamination of the Ohio river that killed more than 3,500 fish.

While inhalation of vinyl chloride typically poses the biggest health concern, following incidents such as this spill, the chemical can pollute waterways and leach into groundwater that serve as drinking water sources, eventually making its way household tap water. Vinyl chloride can also leach into groundwater from landfills when trichloroethylene, tetrachloroethylene, and 1,1,1-trichloroethane break down in the environment.

How Does the Berkey Remove Vinyl Chloride from Drinking Water?

The Black Berkey filters unique design incorporates innovative filtration technologies that remove unwanted contaminants using a three-step approach: 1) microfiltration; 2) absorption/adsorption; and 3) ionic exchange. The materials used in the construction of the Black Berkey elements, together with their texture, shape and ionic charge, work together to trap contaminants, letting only purified water pass through.

A Berkey water filter system fitted with Black Berkey filters can remove over 200 common drinking water contaminants, including toxic chemicals such as VOC's and pesticides, as well as bacteria, chlorine, chloramines, heavy metals, pharmaceuticals and more. Berkey water filters come in a wide range of sizes to suit every budget - browse our extensive product range to find the best solution for your families needs.