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[at-l] Bleach for water purification

Lamar Powell wrote:

> I recall that back in the 1950s when the Cold War was just coming into
> vogue, the Civil Defense folks recommended that we should have 10
> gallons of water in our "fallout shelter" and that one drop of clorox
> should be added to each gallon. Personally, I would trust the Maine
> trail keepers over the C.D. guys.

It sounds like the Civil Defense recommendation is for the long-term
storage of already clean water. If kept in a cool and dark place,
water so treated should stay drinkable for years.

The amount of bleach used by the MATC guys is greater since the goal
there is to kill the bugs in water considered suspect. The number of
drops they use is fine for relatively clear water. I'd add an extra
drop if the water was at all cloudy. In crystal-clear "mountain spring
water," you could probably get away with two drops per quart instead
of three.

You don't need Clorox; any *unscented* bleach containing 5.25% Sodium
Hypochlorite should work just fine and will be cheaper. You still
need to wait at least 30 minutes before drinking. It is a good
alternative to iodine for people who are allergic to it.

Lack of simple, inexpensive bleach kills thousands in third world
refugee camps every year. Every home should have a gallon of bleach,
an eye dropper, and some five gallon jugs or carboys on hand, if
for no other reason than to avoid having to wait in line at the
National Guard tanker truck.

>                                    Not only did they tell us to put one
> drop of clorex in a gallon of water but they also told us the world
> could survive an atomic war!

Surviving a nuclear war isn't *that* difficult, nor expensive. The
key is to not be near one when it goes off (natch) and wait out
the fallout with a lot of mass between you and the outside. The
survivalist types who invest five or six digit sums in shelter and
supplies just want to ride it out in style.

Even if you survive the nuclear exchange and its aftermath, you may
still drop dead from cancer ten or fifteen years before your time.
But hey, no one ever said we wouldn't get our hair mussed.

-- 
mfuller@somtel.com, Northern Franklin County, Maine
The Constitution is the white man's ghost shirt. }>:-/> --->
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