Monrovia, CA, June 13, 2002 -- Drinking water contamination is one of the most commonly cited consumer health care concerns across the United States.
According to 2001 statistics from the Federal Division of the Safe Drinking Water Information System, 4,813 water systems reported violating EPA safe water standards or treatment guidelines.
The majority of the violations were committed by small community water systems, where most Americans receive their tap water. Many of these systems, due to cost constraints, cannot afford to regularly test for a variety of water contaminants as mandated by the SDWA.
With the needs of small community water systems in mind, Silver Lake Research, utilizing a proprietary technology called EAP(tm) (Enhanced Affinity Platform), has developed WaterSafe® All-In-One, a test kit that checks for harmful levels of bacteria, lead, pesticides, nitrates, nitrites, chlorine, pH and hardness in drinking water.
The kit includes WaterSafe® Lead, the world's first and only 10-minute, visual readout, rapid immunoassay test that can detect lead even below the EPA action level, and WaterSafe® Pesticide, a test for the common indicator herbicides Atrazine and Simanzine, currently utilized by water systems, regulatory agencies and universities around the country. Both of these tests are also available separately.
Previously testing for these contaminants was available only through analytical laboratories, involving culture and concentration steps that made frequent onsite testing time consuming and cost prohibitive for small water systems.
As an example, lead and pesticide tests conducted by analytical laboratories can cost up to $300. At under $10, the 10-minute WaterSafe tests represent substantial savings for cash-strapped water systems.
Mark Geisberg, Chief Scientific Officer at Silver Lake Research believes immunoassay tests represent a clear step forward in drinking water testing for small systems.
Geisberg said, "The WaterSafe test utilizes new technology that was previously unavailable to this market. WaterSafe is an easy, accurate, and cost-effective onsite alternative to laboratory testing."
WaterSafe is easy to use and comes with simple instructions and separately sealed tests for each contaminant. Each test is lab-accurate and is calibrated to U.S. EPA maximum contaminant level (MCL) standards.
Silver Lake Research Corporation is a biotechnology company located in Monrovia, Calif. Using its proprietary EAP(tm) (Enhanced Affinity Platform) technology that produces rapid immunoassays with unprecedented specificity and sensitivity, Silver Lake Research specializes in developing, manufacturing and marketing do-it-yourself test kits for contaminants in food and water supplies.
These kits combine a simple, one-step process with the accuracy of an analytical laboratory procedure to produce results that are calibrated to EPA standards. The company's WaterSafe product line enables users to monitor the levels of harmful chemical contaminants in drinking water. This line includes the WaterSafe Lead Test, the world's first and only rapid immunoassay that detects single atoms at parts-per-billion levels.
Silver Lake Research also manufactures test kits for food safety applications, used by processors, veterinarians, and livestock producers.
For more information about WaterSafe or Silver Lake Research call 888-438-1942 or visit www.watersafetestkits.com.
