Drinking Water Safety
Chlorine & Other Dangers In Our Drinking Water
There are 35,000 pesticides containing 600 chemical compounds found in U.S. water supplies; yet, municipal water systems are only required to test for six. Many of these chemicals are known to cause birth defects, nerve damage, sterility and cancer. Yet, pure drinking water is the an essential need of our bodies.
A Harvard University School Of Public Health study found treated drinking water not safe enough and that the elderly are particularly sensitive to waterborne hazards.
Even if the water leaving the municipal water system is relatively clean, many contaminants make it into the water between the plant and your tap. Virtually all municipal water systems add chlorine (bleach) to the water to kill bacteria, germs etc. Chlorine plus it interacts with metal & plastic pipes which forms Trihalomethanes (THMs) & (THCs), toxic compounds.
Unsafe water is not just a third world problem. Countries such as the U.S. have serious drinking water issues caused by industrial and agricultural development.
In the U.S., we have reached a point where every source of our drinking water, including municipal water systems, wells, lakes, and rivers contain some level of contamination.
Contaminants are both naturally-occurring minerals (such as arsenic) to man-made chemicals, fertilizers and other compounds. While many contaminants are found at levels not enough not to cause immediate illness, even low-level exposure to many common contaminants will, over time, cause severe illness including cancer, and other serious ailments.
Chlorine Dangers In Almost Every City In U.S.
The chlorine used to disinfect drinking water reacts with naturally occurring organic matter in water to form chlorinated by-products (CDBPs). Trihalomethanes (THMs) are a major group of CDBPs. Typical water guidelines for THMs are (100 parts per billion); however, a cancer study sponsored by Health Canada have raised concerns that the THMs guideline may not be sufficient to protect against cancer and other health risks.
A study by Canadian Health Agency “DANGERS OF CHLORINATED WATER” indicates that some miscarriages --as well as some serious birth defects --may be caused by the chlorine added by municipal water districts in the U.S. and Canada as a disinfectant to kill harmful bacteria in the water.
The added chlorine reacts with naturally-occurring organic matter in the raw water (chiefly humic and fulvic acids), creating a host of chlorinated chemicals as by-products.
“Health agencies, including the federal EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] simply ignore most of these by-products and know almost nothing about them. Instead, they focus on four by-products, allowing these four to act as surrogates for all the others. The four that EPA pays attention to are chloroform, bromoform, bromodichloromethane, and chlorodibromomethane. Together, these four are called "trihalomethanes" or THMs.
A statewide study in New Jersey found a doubled risk of neural tube defects among those with the highest exposures to THMs in drinking water. This study pointed out that exposure to THMs can also occur through the contamination of indoor air. Flushing toilets, showering, and washing dishes and clothes, can inject THMs into household air, exposing residents.
One study of 75 New Jersey towns by Frank found likelihood of neural tube defects was tripled by exposure to THMs at levels exceeding 80 parts per billion, common in much public drinking water.
Other health experts note that drinking tap water is not the only concern. In a hot shower, chlorine is absorbed through both the skin and inhaled into the lungs. Chlorine enters the cell wall and disrupts critical fatty acids functioning. The effects on the human of these cell changes can result in pre-mature aging, tumors and cancer.
Many European cities, and some Canadian cities, such as Ottawa, have long ago turned away from chlorination, and the inherent risks it poses, in favor of ozonation to disinfect their water.
Conclusions
One thing every health expert would agree to, it is best for human health to drink water free of Chlorine and other dangerous chemical compounds. You certainly wouldn’t drink deadly Chlorine bleach, why would you tolerate it in your drinking water?
Filtering your drinking, cooking, bathing water is the safest, most convenient, most cost effective method to provide you and your family safe, healthy drinking water.
