Laboratory analyses indicate that the Black Berkey® purification elements reduce arsenic, fluoride, and heavy metals by up to 99.9% (full test results). All filters using activated carbon to reduce arsenic begin to lose their efficiency quite quickly. This is also true for Black Berkey® elements, which lose their effectiveness in removing arsenic, fluoride, and heavy metals likely well before their estimated lifespan of 11,300 liters.

Many filters on the market use carbonized charcoal and claim fluoride reduction, without informing their customers that the fluoride removal capacity of their filters is quickly reduced. This is because a very large amount of media is required to remove small amounts of fluoride. As a result, these filters do not contain enough media to effectively remove fluoride in the long term.

For example, we conducted tests on a competitor's three-filter system that uses activated carbon for fluoride removal. As expected, these elements deplete quickly. Tests show that their efficiency drops from 100% to 81.4% after filtering only 170 liters, a loss of nearly 20% for an equivalent use of less than 60 liters per filter! The efficiency of these filters decreases dramatically.

This is why a more durable solution for the reduction of arsenic, fluoride, and heavy metals was developed with the creation of interchangeable reduction elements Berkey® PF-2™. The media contained in a pair of Berkey® PF-2™ elements can reliably remove these contaminants up to 3,800 liters, which is still less than the 11,300-liter lifespan of the Black Berkey®. For this reason, they were designed to be replaceable. This allows users to reliably remove arsenic, fluoride, and heavy metals from their water, while fully benefiting from the 11,300-liter lifespan of their Black Berkey® filters.

The role of the Black Berkey® purification elements is to remove a wide variety of potential contaminants, while the role of the Berkey® PF-2™ filter is to remove fluoride, arsenic, and heavy metal contaminants that the Black Berkey® filter elements can no longer address after prolonged use.

The actual reduction capacity depends on the presence of other competing contaminants in the water to be treated. High levels of fluoride, arsenic, and heavy metals can reduce the capacity and efficiency of these elements.