What is Boron?

Boron is an element which occurs naturally in rocks, soil and water. However the majority of the boron in earth is found in seawater.

Boron has negative effects on the reproductive systems in humans.

The NZ drinking water standards have set a maximum acceptable value of 1.4mg/L.

How does boron boron get into my water?

Boron can dissolve in from rocks and minerals and is also more likely to be found where salty water is intruding into aquifers near the sea.

What does boron do?

Findings from human experiments show that boron is a dynamic trace element that can affect the metabolism or utilization of numerous substances involved in life processes including calcium, copper, magnesium, nitrogen, glucose, triglycerides, reactive oxygen, and estrogen.

Boron is known to be toxic to the reproductive system, there is evidence that boron has toxic effects on testes, including atrophy as well as being able to traverse the placenta, possibly having a negative effect on the fetus.

How can I remove boron from my water?

Boron is notoriously difficult to remove, this is because it occurs in 2 forms, boric acid, and borate  Boric acid is harder to remove because it has no charge. Which form boron takes is pH dependant. at Higher pH (>9.0) more borate is present which is easier to remove.

Generally, treatment for boron involves double pass reverse osmosis, with pH correction on the second pass.

This is not often economical for household sized systems and often finding another source is required.