What are the estrogenic compounds?

Estrogenic compounds are part of a larger class of chemicals called endocrine disruptors, chemicals capable of altering the hormonal and homeostatic system that allows an organism - such as a human or other animal - to communicate with and respond to its environment.

What types of estrogens are found in drinking water?

The main types of estrogens in our water supply include estrone, estradiol, estriol, and especially synthetic ethinyl estradiol (EE) from drugs such as the birth control pill. Ethinyl estradiol, or ethinyl estradiol, is the most widely used orally active estrogen in the world... But most other chemicals in wastewater effluent have an estrogenic effect on our bodies. Such as dihydrofolliculin, octylphenol, nonylphenol, polyethoxylates, trihalomethanes and bisphenol A.

Berkey® Filter Efficiency

Generally speaking, activated carbon filters can remove a wide range of different endocrine disruptors, including steroidal estrogens and many estrogenic substances such as trihalomethanes (or THMs, a group of chemicals that can contaminate drinking water, formed when the chlorine used to disinfect water reacts with natural organic matter in the water: vegetation, dead leaves, etc.). Black Berkey® purification elements have been successfully tested for the reduction of progesterone, octylphenol, nonylphenol, THMs and BPA  (see test results). And, although estrogen was not specifically tested, we can estimate that this pollutant is also removed from the water, based on reduction tests conducted on similar endocrine disruptors.