Chemicals, Stench, Pathogens. Is Your Drinking Water and Air Clean?

Photo by Antoine GIRET on Unsplash

The following post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga.

Water and air pollution remain a global concern. In the U.S., millions of people are exposed to unsafe drinking water every year because of chemical spills. From 1982 to 2015, nearly 21 million people got their drinking water from sources violating the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards.

Drinking water or inhaling air that is contaminated by chemicals can pose serious public health concerns. For instance, studies suggest that per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) may have an effect on women's chances of getting pregnant and have a possible link to liver problems (bilirubin and cholesterol), immunological effects (asthma and reduced vaccination response), and cancer.

Imagine waking up one morning to find an unpleasant smell in the entire neighborhood. That was the reality for people staying in some parts of Watsonville, California. Residents of the city complained of a mysterious, awful smell that had engulfed the city for several weeks.

One resident was at a loss for words to describe the stench while talking to a KSBW Action News reporter and simply said it smelled like a “rotten something.” Another resident told the reporter she had been keeping her windows closed because the terrible smell was giving her a headache.

While companies such as Hydro International PLC HYD, H2O Innovation Inc. HEO, and Abtech Holdings Inc. ABHD are making efforts to mitigate water pollution, none of them has a focus on eliminating PFAS — which have been listed as one of the top environmental issues by the Biden administration. However, BioLargo Inc. BLGO is one example of a company that has reportedly endeavored to create effective solutions for a wide array of air and water contaminants, including PFAS. 

BioLargo is an environmental engineering company with a goal of investing in and developing technologies to solve challenging environmental problems like PFAS contamination, air pollution by volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and energy-efficient water and wastewater treatment. The company seeks to tackle each of the areas through its purpose-suited subsidiaries: BioLargo Water, BioLargo Engineering, and ONM Environmental.

The company claims its patented Advanced Oxidation System (AOS) is a water treatment solution that can provide the highest level of disinfection against deadly pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, and protozoa while using way less electricity than other technologies. According to BioLargo, the AOS can also remove micropollutants like pharmaceuticals and antibiotics from water, reducing their environmental damage.

BioLargo Engineering also reports a modern technological solution called the Aqueous Electrostatic Concentrator (AEC) that was specifically designed to eliminate PFAS from water at low cost. The company says the AEC removes more than 99% of PFAS at a cost of 30 cents per 1,000 gallons. The company also claims the AEC produces less than 1/1000 the amount of waste product from water treatment compared to the most common treatment solution, carbon filtration.

ONM Environmental is a subsidiary with a focus on eliminating odor-causing compounds and VOCs from air using nontoxic essential nutrients. The company says its CupriDyne solution is the number one performing odor eliminator for all industries, from sewage, landfills, and lift stations to compost and oil and gas. CupriDyne® has even been proven successful in eliminating hydrogen sulfide, a leading cause of workplace deaths from substance inhalation. Recently the company even announced its odor control technology was making the transition to a consumer product.

BioLargo is emerging from a long R&D cycle with a menu of high-value products with intent to do some serious clean-up. 

The preceding post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga. Although the piece is not and should not be construed as editorial content, the sponsored content team works to ensure that any and all information contained within is true and accurate to the best of their knowledge and research. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice.