A Close Look at Barium in Staten Island’s Drinking Water
- Published:
- Updated: January 20, 2025
Summary
Staten Island’s drinking water, typically high in quality, can contain barium, a naturally occurring element that enters water sources through industrial discharge and rock weathering. While barium sulfate, its most common form, is low in toxicity, high concentrations of soluble barium can cause serious health issues. The EPA sets a maximum contaminant level of 2 mg/L for barium, and water utilities must regularly test and manage these levels. Treatment options include ion exchange and reverse osmosis. Staten Island’s Department of Environmental Protection ensures water safety through rigorous testing and advanced treatment methods.
Drinking water – which can be kept clean and safe – is one of the most basic things for human beings to do. Although Staten Island’s spigot water is typically thought of as quality, it is impossible to deny that problems are out there. Some of these are a problem of barium, a heavy metal that can seep into our water supply.
Barium: Its Nature and Origin
Barium is an element naturally occurring in the crust of the Earth and minerals. Its salts can leach into water, and its salts are found in wells. Barium is available as a gas in natural deposits, industrial discharge and weathering of rocks and soils, as well as in water.
Barium is a metal and although the form that is most ubiquitous in water is barium sulfate, it’s not a toxic element. Yet different kinds of barium can also be bad for humans and so we come back to barium’s health benefits.
Barium in Water: Health Implications
The health effects of barium in drinking water are different for different types of barium and concentrations. In water with high levels of soluble barium, the blood pressure, heart rhythm and stomach irritation, muscle spasms, nerve-reflex changes, brain and liver swelling, kidney and heart damage can all be caused.
But more important than this is that these effects of harm come at the cost of exposure to much more barium, compared with water from natural sources. Barium has a maximum contaminant concentration (set by the EPA to safeguard against these health effects, which we discuss further in the regulation part).
Barium vs. Other Heavy Metals in Drinking Water
Barium is one of several heavy metals that are in our water. Other names are lead, mercury, cadmium and arsenic. These metals each have different health effects and guidelines on the acceptable limit for drinking water.
For example, lead is poisonous at low concentrations even in young children — with the potential for brain and developmental deficits. Arsenic, on the other hand, is harmful to health in many forms — skin, lung and bladder cancer. In comparison with these metals, barium is generally not that noxious – and typically it comes as a pretty benign contaminant (barium sulfate). But it should be closely monitored in water supplies.
Testing for Barium: Techniques and Technologies
For barium testing in water, certain lab techniques are used. The spectrophotometry is either atomic absorption, inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) or atomic emission spectrophotometry, depending on the degree of precision required and available equipment.
Such techniques allow barium levels to be accurately measured, even down to trace levels. But they do need special machines and staff. if you want to test your own water, there are home test kits out there but they’re not as accurate as the laboratory.
Regulation and Standards for Barium in Drinking Water
As part of the Safe Drinking Water Act, the EPA sets the bar for barium in drinking water. The recommended contaminant concentration is 2 mg/L for now. This tally is supposed to guard against the health risks of barium.
It is the job of water utilities to regularly test their water to make sure that it meets these standards. If the barium exceeds the limit, the utility has to notify customers and work to lower the barium. Those may include tweaking the water treatment process or determining and fixing the cause of the contamination.
Barium Removal from Water: Treatment Options
There are several barium removal treatments for water:
Ion exchange: The exchange of barium ions in the water with another ion (usually sodium) is performed with a special resin.
Reverse osmosis: A membrane that is semi-permeable will filter out barium and other contaminants from the water.
Lime softening: This is where you put lime into the water which precipitates out the barium.
Both of these techniques are not infallible and will either work or won’t work in the particular context based on, for example, the total composition of the water, the barium content and the use to which the water is destined.
Public Perception and Concerns About Barium in Water
Understanding and solving public issues with barium in drinking water are part of the solution. Some common concerns include:
Impacts on the health: There are a lot of people concerned about the health impacts of barium, especially those who have a condition.
Reputation in water utilities: People will wonder if their water company is keeping tabs on barium.
Information: There is a lot that people would like to know about their water, and how to mitigate their exposure to contaminants.
This needs to be communicated, the water test results made available and the public educated about the dangers and realities of barium in water.
Case Study: The Status of Barium in Staten Island's Water
Staten Island’s water is usually far within the EPA’s tolerance for barium. The city’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) tests the water frequently for barium and other chemicals to make sure it’s clean. EPA and the DEP also have strict policies to respond to violations of the EPA’s guidelines.
Then there is the vast water treatment infrastructure on Staten Island, which handles barium and other pollutants. These vary from filtering and disinfection to adding phosphoric acid, which is said to avoid leaching metals like barium from pipes into the water.
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