Seagull Water Purifier Test Results
The General Ecology, Inc. water purification systems have been in use for over 30 years and have been tested by safety authorities, laboratories and, most importantly, users. The results of a number of tests are available:
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General Ecology® Purifiers Certified to Remove Viruses - independent test conducted by University of Arizona (PDF file 372kB)
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Seagull® IV X1, X2 and X6 Performance Data Sheet (PDF file 109kB)
Water Purification Without Chemicals
The Wilderness and Environmental Medicine Journal published the article "Microbiological water purification without the use of chemical disinfection" by Charles P. Gerba, PhD; Jaime E. Naranjo, BS from the Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ. in Vol 11, No. 1, pp. 12-16 (2000).
In summary:
Objectives - Point-of-use (POU) water treatment systems are self-contained units that can be used by recreational enthusiasts who normally obtain drinking water from untreated sources (ie, rivers, lakes, etc). Microbiological water purifier units are capable of removing all waterborne pathogens. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a new technology (Structured Matrix) capable of micro-biologically purifying the water without the use of chemical disinfectants or an external power requirement.
Methods - Each of 3 identical portable water filtration units were evaluated for their ability to remove Klebsiella lerrigena, poliovirus type 1, rotavirus SA-11, and Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts. Units were operated according to the manufacturer's instructions to process 378 L of water. Each unit was challenged with test organisms after 0, 94, 190, 227, 284, 340, and 378 L had passed through it. For the 227-L and 284-L challenges, a "worst-case" water quality (4°C, pH 9, and turbidity 30 NTU) was used thai contained 1500 mg/L dissolved solids and 10 mg/L humid acid. At 340-L and 378-L challenges, worst-case water quality was adjusted to pH 5.0. Units were tested after stagnation for 48 hours following passage of 190, 340, and 378 L of water.
Results - The geometric average removal exceeded 99.9999% for bacteria, 99.99% for viruses, and 99.9% for Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts.
Conclusion - These units comply with the criteria guidelines for microbial removal under the United States Environmental Protection Agency's "Guide Standard and Protocol for Testing Microbiological Water Purifiers."
The full article is a PDF file and is 2.9MB in size.
The General Ecology®, Inc Seagull® IV X-1 water purifier has been submitted to the Australian Water Quality Centre (AWQC) for testing.
SEAGULL® IV Pathogen Removal Test Results
The table below summarises the AWQC test results for the Seagull IV water purifier for the removal of pathogens.
Pathogen
Count Before Count After Purification
Coliforms77,000 / 100 ml0 / 100 ml
E. Coli
6,500 / 100 ml
0 / 100 ml
What this shows is that of a water sample with 77,000 colifirms and 6,500 E.Coli per 100 mls of water, none were in the purified water.
The original report is available here as a PDF file (size 674kB).
SEAGULL® IV Dissolved Copper Test Results
The table below summarises the AWQC test results for the Seagull IV water purifier for the removal of dissolved copper.
Before After Purification
Copper - Total TIC-003 W09-023
0.0178 mg/L0.0010 mg/L
Before purification the water contained 0.0178 mg (thousandths of a gram) of dissolved copper per litre of water. After purification there was 0.0010 mg per litre - i.e., there was 17.8 times more copper in the unpurified water.
The overall product safety and effectiveness has been verified by the following bodies:
Australian Water Board Sydney,Australia
Department of Public Health London,United Kingdom
Food & Hygiene Association Tokyo,Japan
Hungarian Health Ministry Budapest,Hungary
Institut Pasteur Paris,France
Italian Ministry of Health Rome,Italy
National Defense Headquarters Ottawa,Canada
Tokyo Food Sanitation Association Tokyo,Japan
TÜV German Technical Institute,Germany
Analytical Consulting Service, Inc. Kensington,MD USA
Betz, Converse, Murdoch, Inc. Plymouth Meeting,PA USA
Colorado State University Fort Collins,CO USA
Field Epidemiology Survey Team Miami,FL USA
Food Quality Lab/Pacific Pure Water, Inc. Honolulu,HI USA
Food Research Institute Madison,WI USA
General Ecology Water Research Lab Exton,PA USA
Marine Testing Institute Mamaroneck,NY USA
Marist College Research Institute Poughkeepsie,NY USA
National Testing Laboratories, Inc. Cleveland,OH USA
Rockaway Township Health Department Rockaway,NJ USA
Roy Weston Laboratories West Chester,PA USA
Spectrum Labs Fort Lauderdale,FL USA
State of Massachusetts,MA USA
State of Wisconsin Madison,WI USA
Suffolk County NY Health Department Hauppauge,NY USA
Tighe & Bond Easthampton,MA USA
United States Army Biomedical R&D Lab Fort Detrick, Frederick,MD USA
United States Testing Company, Inc. Tulsa Division,OK USA
Villanova University Villanova,PA USA
See also the X1, X2 and X6 Performance Data Sheet for more information.
The following table compares the contaminant removal capabilities for different types of water filtration and water purification systems.
? = Comparisons are from general information. Performance varies widely within each category.
+ = Usually not effective against organic contaminants ordinarily found in drinking water.
Check manufacturer's claims and test results for specific information.
The Structured Matrix technology as used in the Seagull IV and First Need products effectively removes all contaminants.
For more information, please refer to the Seagull X1, X2 and X6 Product Data Sheet (PDF file 109kB).
