How Long Do You Boil Water to Disinfect It?

I was recently at the AAPA Annual Conference in Toronto and came across the Wilderness Medicine Institute of NOLS. I had heard of wilderness medicine before, but wasn't sure exactly what was out there for CMEs and training.... NOLS has some pretty cools stuff to offer. If you are interested in emergency medicine or if you are a frequenter of outdoor adventures - you may want to check this out. They offer regular courses as well as several day excursions with hands-on training. For example, they have a Backpacking Trip coming up in Arizona Sept 25-Oct 2, 2012.

The answer: US Environmental Protection Agency recommends boiling for 1 full minute, or 3 minutes if you are 2000 meters above ground level: http://www.epa.gov/safewater/faq/emerg.html