Malkin, Robert2018-09-092018-09-092006http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12091/237In the hospital setting it is crucial to have pure water. In many cases, the success of the laboratory depends on the quality of the water available. In the intensive care, much of the medicine delivered to patients may be mixed with water or water and salt before delivery. Even the washing of patients and the preparation of food may require water which has been purified at the hospital to some level in the developing world. Purification is a general term used to describe the process of removing impurities from water. It can range from simple filtration to complicated multistage processing, the complexity depending on the source of the water and its eventual use. The impurities to be removed can range from parasites, bacteria, and viruses to organic compounds and ions, roughly in order of the size and difficulty of the problem. As varied as are the uses of water in a hospital, so are the requirements for the purity of water needed. Requirements can range from essentially zero tolerable contamination (for parasites) to relative indifference (for ions). Likewise, the cost of purification can range from just a few pennies a gallon to far more.en-USWater PurifierBook chapter