Humm - speaking of water and iodine.
Source -
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11990150" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Tester - Department of Soil, Water, and Environmental Science, University of Arizona, Tucson 85721, USA
The ability to control water-borne diseases is critical for soldiers, hikers, and others who may need to drink directly from an outdoor source. Water-borne protozoan parasites that are specifically of concern are Giardia and Cryptosporidium because of their resistance to halogen disinfection. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of iodine tablets against Giardia and Cryptosporidium under general- and worst-case water conditions that might be found in the field.
Giardia cysts and Cryptosporidium oocysts were exposed to iodine according to manufacturer's instructions (two tablets/L = 13-18 mg/L for 20 minutes). This dose inactivated 3-log10 of Giardia in general-case water and pH 9. In worst-case water, however, only about 35% of cysts were inactivated at pH 5. Fifty minutes were required to achieve a 3-log10 reduction at pH 5. Cryptosporidium oocysts were more difficult to inactivate.
Only 10% were inactivated after a 20-minute exposure to iodine according to manufacturer's instructions; even after 240 minutes of exposure to iodine only 66-81% oocysts were inactivated.
(Money quote)
These data strongly suggest that iodine disinfection is not effective in inactivating Cryptosporidium oocysts in water. Because this organism is common in all surface waters, it is recommended that another method of treatment be used before ingestion.
The good folks at the UofA also published a monograph on the byproducts of different methods of disinfection used for water treatment. A fun read.
http://www.swhydro.arizona.edu/archive/ ... ature3.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Be careful what you buy for a filter
From a lawsuit aginst a filter company by the EPA -
The water filters and purifiers, which come in straws,
canteens and water bottles, were sold by the defendants under the
"Accufilter" tradename. They were advertised for use in outdoor
sports, camping and travel. They include:
þ The Accufilter 5 purifier straw, canteen and sports
bottle containing activated carbon and iodine, said to
be capable of effectively purifying up to 40 gallons of
water contaminated by bacteria, protozoa, viruses and
parasites; making water "safe" to drink.
þ The Accufilter 3 filter straws containing activated
carbon and silver, said to be capable of filtering 50
gallons of water, removing the taste of chlorine, heavy
metals, herbicides, pesticides, organic poisons and
other particulate matter causing bad taste, odor and
color from water. The filter was advertised as making
water "clean" to drink.
According to the complaint, the defendants claimed the
filters and purifiers made untreated water clean and safe to
drink by removing all bacteria, viruses and harmful chemicals.
The complaint further alleges that scientific tests proved that
the claims about the effectiveness of the purifiers were false
and misleading. The EPA believes that while activated carbon in
the filters will
reduce levels of herbicides, pesticides, metals
and chlorine in water,
it does not eliminate them. Moreover,
activated carbon with silver does not eliminate all bacteria in
water and cannot remove protozoa and viruses.
So?
Check your system against the NSF database of 'approved' filters.
It's fun
It's free
Huh? Me? Chlorine dioxide tabs and a filter, you know, just in case - but filter then boil if I have the time.'
Interesting question - what other (sourced) unconventional stuff is out there?