In a world concerned with the spreading of virus and disease, silver is increasingly being tapped for its bactericidal properties and used in treatments for conditions ranging from severe burns to Legionnaires disease.

Silver is important to health
In a world concerned with the spreading of virus and disease, silver is increasingly being tapped for its bactericidal properties and used in treatments for conditions ranging from severe burns to Legionnaires disease.

While silver's importance as a bactericide has been documented only since the late 1800s, its use in purification has been known throughout the ages. Early records indicate that the Phoenicians, for example, used silver vessels to keep water, wine and vinegar pure during their long voyages. In America, pioneers moving west put silver and copper coins in their water barrels to keep it clean.

Helping to Stop Legionnaire’s Disease
In response to major outbreaks of Legionnaire's Disease in the UK during the 1980s, the British government has undertaken studies on the use of silver in water purification. The disease is named after Legionella pneumophilia, an aquatic organism which is widespread in small quantities within natural water sources. The bacteria presents few problems in naturally-flowing water, but man-made environments such as cooling towers and hot and cold water services provide conditions for it to multiply and spread. Infection is caused by inhaling airborne droplets of particles containing viable legionella, small enough to travel deep into the lungs and be deposited in the alveoli.

Recent research compared silver-copper ionization with the use of high temperatures to destroy bacteria. Contaminated cold water re infected the hot water system even when temperatures in hot water heaters reached as high as 60ºC. But experiments showed that even at lower water temperatures, ionization of soft water with silver and copper ions was effective against the bacteria.

Importance in Burn Therapy
Silver has had a significant impact on the treatment of burns. Twenty years ago it was common for the wounds of severely burned patients to become infected, which delayed healing and sometimes led to death. Today silver sulfadiazine is used by hospitals worldwide to kill bacteria allowing the body time to restore the area naturally. Sulfadiazine is a know antibacterial agent. Combined with silver, studies show it is at least 50 times more active than other antibacterial agents. Silvadene now is the most widely used topical treatment for burn therapy. Other silver compounds also are being developed for use wherever silver sulfadiazine proves ineffective.

Keeping Plastic Clean
Widespread concerns that viruses can survive in body fluids deposited on plastic consumer products such as telephones prompted the Institute for microbial diseases in Osaka, Japan to develop a new silver complex that can be applied for lasting sanitary protection. The product is marketed under the name Amenitop, and has been shown to reduce the infection of certain viruses which have been linked to AIDS. The system consists of silica gel microspheres containing a silver thiosulfate complex. The silica gel coatings allows a gradual release of the. silver compound onto the surface, providing long lasting bactericidal action.

Promoting Skin Growth
Silver also has been successfully used to grow new skin on accident victims, including the restoration of fingertips with the original fingerprint. individuals whose wounds are so severe they lose tissue below the skin often never fully recover, left with only a thin layer of skin without the original nerve structure. This inferior skin layer results in abnormal sensations and intolerance to cold. Skin grafts cover the wounds but do not restore the functions of the area. In a treatment developed by Mountain Medical Specialties of Lakemont. GA. a silver-coated fabric is used to cover the wound. A miniature battery is connected to the fabric to begin a flow of silver ions to encourage normal skin growth and eliminate bacteria which generally prevents complete regeneration of the skin and nerve function. This method has actually restored the natural skin patterns and sensations in the palms of hands.

Purifying Water
Silver-based water purification units for the home have been in use in Europe for more than 50 years. Royal Doulton ceramic candles combine silver within the ceramic during manufacturing to take advantage of the outstanding bacterial disinfecting properties of silver. These units meet the National Sanitation Foundation Standards covering bacteriostatic efficacy, the reduction of lead, copper and particulates and the reduction of taste and odor. They also have the approval of the US Environmental Protection Agency as a bactericidal unit.

Keeping Oxygen Handling Safe
In hospitals throughout the world, silver makes the handling of pure oxygen safer. Oxygen at high pressure in liquid form is very hazardous because some materials ignite or begin harmful chain reactions when they come in contact with it.Limiting sparks during oxygen production is of critical importance. Because silver will not ignite, even at its melting point, the oxygen compressor design code issued by the Industrial Gas Council in Brussels, requires that wherever contact between metals occurs, one of the facing metals must be silver and the other a high-nickel alloy. This combination provides the lowest probability of sparking during high-speed compressor operation. The seals in compressor and pumping equipment are also silver to minimize any possibility of friction which could ignite a fire. Oxygen pump seals must be manufactured to extremely close tolerances, and the silver also allows fine machining,

Eliminating Harmful Bacteria
Tests by researchers at the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences show that silver and copper ions added to oyster tanks destroy harmful bacteria in the water without affecting the oysters. Once oysters are harvested from the ocean. they are cleaned in "depuration° tanks which are prone to bacteria infiltration. Silver ions added to the water destroy bacteria and copper ions kill fungus, making an inexpensive and environmentally friendly combination for keeping oyster tanks clean. "Silver and copper ionization is the perfect solution," ,says Richard Ganim, president of Superior Aqua Enterprises in Sarasota, Florida.

Currently ionization is used by chicken farmers to reduce bacteria and fungus without affecting the health of the chickens. This system can also work for citrus growers' who routinely spray their trees with chemicals.

Protecting Eyes
One out of every seven pairs d prescription glasses sold in the United States incorporates silver to protect patients eyes from sunlight. Silver halide crystals, melted into glass for sunglasses, change clear glass from 85% visible Iight transmission to 22% transmission in less than 60 seconds, a change that is endlessly reversible.

Helping People With Allergies
For individuals who are allergic to detergents, reusable laundry disks are providing a solution to their problem. the disks are made of “activated” ceramic material with metallic elements - silver and copper -inside. When the disks are placed in the washing machine along with the clothes and water, the silver and copper releases electrons which in turn produce ionized oxygen he]ping to break up dirt and organic compounds. The disks are sold under the name “Clean Power Plus'“ and are used three at a time for about 300 loads.

Silver Water Purification Systems Offer Reliable Alternative to Chlorine
systems offer the most reliable and cost effective alternative to chlorine, a chemical that is increasingly coming under fire for the carcinogenic by products it leaves in water, according to David Eaton, secretary of The Institute of Water Ionization Technologies in the UK and technical director of Roseland Hydronics PLC. Speaking at the annual meeting of The Gold & Silver Institutes in Laguna, Niguel, CA. this week Eaton said progressively restrictive legislation is confronting the use of chemicals, especially chlorine, which for nearly a century. has been the primary medium for water disinfection.

With increasing pollution, utilities are forced to put far more chlorine into the supply chain, Eaton explained. The chemical reaction that oxidizes impurities when chlorine is added, also forms carcinogenic byproducts. "Of course these same byproducts have been generated by chlorination for a long time but never in the quantities that are now being seen," he said.

Silver offers a healthy alternative. The metal has long been known for its biocidal properties, Eaton noted. The Ancient Phoenicians. who stored wine in silver urns to preserve it, provide one of the earliest recorded examples of the metal’s use for water purification.

Applying modern technology to this old fashioned principle, The Institute of Water Ionization Technologies has developed silver ion generators for municipal water supplies. The market for silver ionized swimming pool systems has expanded significantly in the US and overseas, Eaton said.

But in Britain, silver ionization is being developed for mainstream water systems. Machines used to clean primary water must be much larger and more powerful than small swimming pool units, and require accurate control mechanisms to ensure that levels of silver are maintained and kept within drinking water standards.

Eaton discussed a recent project funded by the UK Department of the Environment to study the control of Legionnaires disease by using silver ions. The disease is named after Legionella pneumophilia, an organism that is widespread in small quantities within natural water sources. The bacteria becomes lethal at a water temperature of 95ºFand can be killed at temperatures between 135ºF and 140ºF.

Of three tests, silver/copper ions in soft water produced the best results. The copper ion disrupted the enzyme structures of the cell allowing the silver ion to penetrate inside where it rapidly killed the cell's life support system. US regulations allow a silver level of 100 ppb in drinking water, but a silver level of only 20 ppb kills Legionella.

A new European Union Drinking Water Standard in draft form has removed any upper limit for silver in drinking water following the WHO's Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality which States, "It is unnecessary to recommend any health-based guideline for silver as it is not hazardous to human heath.

Eaton said silver ion generators currently are being used in intensive care and heart transplant units of hospitals, and for poultry processing, engineering, brewing, cooling towers and swimming pools.

The sale of silver based ionizers is beginning to take off in the UK and there are promising growth markets in the Scandinavia, Germany, and the Far East. We calculate that requirements for silver globally will increase to about two million ounces annually within five years.