|
 This
is a warning you are used to hearing when you travel abroad,
but now it has hit us at home.
According to the Washington,
D.C. based Environmental Working Group (EWG), manufacturers dumped more
than one billion pounds of toxic chemicals into rivers, lakes and other
bodies of water between 1990 and 1994. EWG also estimates that manufacturers
contributed about 450 million additional pounds via sewage.
In the 1940's, a billion pounds
of synthetic chemicals were produced each year. By the 1980's, production
was up to 500 billion pounds. And 1000 new chemicals are introduced each
year. Yet the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act only addresses 100 contaminants.
Pesticides are another
problem. Two billion pounds of pesticides are used every year. That's
eight pounds for every American. These pesticides enter water systems
via disposal sites, animal waste, runoff, sewage, etc. After reviewing
published (but not publicized) State data and conducting its own tests,
EWG found that a single glass of Midwestern tap water has three or more
pesticides in it.
The following excerpt from
Tap Water Blues, produced by the EWG and Physicians for Social
Responsibility, states: "Every spring, farmers across the Corn Belt apply
150 million pounds of five herbicides--atrazine, cyanazine, simazine,
alacholor and metolachlor to their corn and soybean fields. Every spring,
rains wash a substantial portion of those chemicals into the drinking
water of 11.7 million people in the Midwest and Louisiana. According to
this article, none of these herbicides are removed by the conventional
city municipalities drinking water treatment technologies that are used
by more than 90% of all water utilities in the United States."
As recently as July 1999, a
USA Today article outlined a wide-ranging government report which concludes
that much of the nation's ground water and many of its streams are contaminated
with pesticides and unhealthy levels of fertilizer chemicals. Many of
the streams that are most heavily polluted with insecticides were in metropolitan
areas such as those of Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver, Indianapolis, Las Vegas,
Nev., Portland, Ore., Tallahassee, Fla., and Washington. However, to researchers'
surprise, some of the worst contamination by insecticides was in urban
streams.
Though banned in 1972, DDT
turned up in stream sediment and fish in both urban and rural areas across
the US. So did similar insecticides that were banned years ago. Most of
the test sites had more than one contaminant. No one knows how combinations
of contaminants, at low levels, affect human health or wildlife.
Get
the Lead Out
 Lead
is one of the most insidious dangers present in drinking water. Since it
has no smell and is invisible to the human eye at low levels, it is
impossible to know if water is contaminated with lead without a special
test. Yet, research shows that even small levels of lead are dangerous,
especially for infants and children. Numerous studies have indicated that
lead can cause learning disorders, attention deficit disorder,
hyperactivity, significant drops in IQ levels, and other behavior-related
problems.
Clean air,
contaminated water.
The additive, MTBE, is used
in "reformulated" gasoline required by the Environmental Protection Agency
in all or parts of 17 states. That accounts for about a third of the gasoline
sold in the country. This additive allows gasoline to burn cleaner, but
with terrible consequences.
Federal research shows that
MTBE causes tumors in rats and may do the same in humans. A University
of California study showed that the additive has affected at least 10,000
groundwater sites throughout the state. These discoveries are causing
a national furor since MTBE travels farther and faster in groundwater
and doesn't breakdown naturally.
Who is protecting
our children?
 On
September 23, 2004 California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law
groundbreaking legislation, sponsored by EWG, Environmental Working Group,
to ensure that California's
drinking water standards are strong enough to protect children.
In the last decade,
extensive research has shown that infants and children are far from being
just smaller versions of adults. Not only do children often metabolize
compounds differently than adults, taking significantly longer to clear
toxins out of their bodies, they are more susceptible to long-term damage
since toxins can interfere with proper brain and organ development.
Infants and children are
also exposed daily to greater amounts of drinking water contaminants
because they drink several times more water in proportion to their body
weight. Despite the clear evidence that children need more protective
standards, more than eighty percent of the state's drinking water risk
assessments have used the average body weight of an adult male - about 180
pounds - in their calculations.
"This is a big step
forward in protecting California's children from toxic chemicals in
drinking water," said EWG, a Washington,
D.C. based Environmental Working Group (EWG) Analyst
Renee Sharp, who provided extensive input and testimony on the bill, and
rallied support from more than a dozen environmental and public health
groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics.
EWG tests show that atrazine
contaminates the tap water of almost 10 million people in 800 cities and
towns in the Midwest. In many places, children receive their lifetime
dose of this carcinogen in their first 4 months. Atrazine levels in water
are highest in spring and summer, when farmers are spraying their fields,
and kids get hot and drink a lot of water.
European countries do a much
better job of protecting their children from atrazine. It's banned in
many countries, including Germany, Italy and Sweden. In Switzerland where
Novartis, the manufacturer of atrazine, is based, the drinking water standard
for the substance is 30 times stricter than in the U.S.
Debugging
the clean water myth
In this country, cities purify
drinking water by using sedimentation, filtration, ion exchange and disinfection.
Disinfection uses ozonation, and, particularly, chlorination to kill disease-causing
microbes. Chlorine, once the salvation of the twentieth century, controls
cholera, typhoid fever and other water-borne diseases. Now, scientists
know it combines easily with other chemicals and naturally occurring organic
materials to create organochlorines--potentially carcinogenic substances.
Over 96% of agricultural chemicals contain chlorine.
Incidents in the United States
-such as the outbreak of the microorganism cryptosporidium in Milwaukee's
water supply in 1993 that killed more than one hundred people and sickened
over 400,000, and lead and pesticide contamination-while not affecting
most, threaten the tap water of millions Americans.
Beware. Bottled
water may not be your answer.
Bottled water is regulated,
but not stringently. It's only requirement is that is as safe as tap water.
It may be nothing more than filtered tap water from some municipality.
Point of use, multi-stage filtration is best. If the water is to be stored
for any length of time, glass containers should be used whenever possible.
There's no denying that
bottled water can be convenient when you're on the go, and it's certainly
a healthier option than most soft drinks. But if you're buying bottled
water because you think you're getting better quality for your money, you
may be disappointed. Many brands of bottled water are nothing more than
filtered municipal water, hailing from cities such as Houston, Orlando and
Fresno, CA. Bottled water, considered a food, is regulated by the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration. Tests conducted by the Natural Resources
Defense Council found that while most bottled waters are of good quality,
about a quarter of the bottles tested contained levels of bacteria and
chemicals that exceeded levels allowed by the state of California (which
in some cases has more stringent regulations than the EPA). Considering
that bottled water can cost up to 1,000 times more than tap water, that's
not much of a bargain.
Above
all, in using bottled water, we're still adding to the environmental
impact of all that plastic. According to the Container Recycling
Institute, making enough plastic bottles to supply Americans with bottled
water consumes 1.5 million barrels of oil per year -- enough to either
fuel 100,000 cars or generate electricity for more than 250,000 homes in
the same amount of time. Now there's something that can put a bad taste in
your mouth.
You aren't
even safe in the shower!
As hot water
steams, chemicals evaporate and are inhaled.
The amount of chlorine absorbed
by your body in a 10-minute shower equals about two gallons of tap water
consumption. Taking showers is a health risk, according to research presented
in a meeting of the American Chemical Society. Showers-and to a lesser
extent baths-lead to a greater exposure to toxic chemicals contained in
water supplies than does drinking water. The chemicals evaporate out of
the water and are inhaled. They can also spread through the house and
be inhaled by others.
Thus far the most effective
line of defense against the chemicals that may be absorbed or inhaled
are point of use shower filters.
October 1, 1999
proved
to be a landmark day in the health of your family. A Federal law now requires all city water municipalities disclose a water quality report
to each of its customers.
Even
though the evidence of chlorine's harm is apparent, little has been done
to rectify the problem and there is no remedy in sight. Unfortunately most
municipal water systems can't simply phase out chlorine -- it is one of
the most important aspects of the program. To rectify the problem they
would have to install pre-filters to remove the organic substances that
react with chlorine to form the carcinogenic by-products. And since there
are no federal regulations requiring the systems to pre-filter it is not
likely that this will occur any time soon because of the cost of
installing such modifications.
The following
excerpts pulled from headlines and
periodicals across the country descriptively
explain
the hidden dangers in our
water. . .
Pure, Healthy Water... A
Necessity For Life!
Fitness
Plus Magazine 12/02
The healthiest water doesn't come from your tap, doesn't come in
a bottle, it doesn't come from distillation or reverse osmosis... it comes
from "selective filtration".
All tap water in America contains levels of synthetic chemicals,
heavy metals, parasites and/or chlorination by-products that pose
significant health risks. We can either filter out these poisons prior to
consumption, or we force our body to become the filter.
The old school of thought was that distilled and reverse osmosis water
were the healthiest, also now known to be untrue. Both of these methods
were designed over 40 years ago for industrial purposes as they are
"de-mineralizing" processes. Once you strip the trace minerals
from water, the pH drops and the water becomes aggressive. Water by nature
will always seek to balance its' pH. If we consume de-mineralized water,
it will pull minerals from our body to seek that balance. And neither of
these processes are very effective at removing synthetic organic chemicals
since all SOCs are molecularly smaller and vaporize at lower temperatures
than water.
Can
You Drink It?
Conscious
Choice, September 2003
Chlorine, the most
common disinfectant used by water treatment systems, combines with common
organic compounds in water to create byproducts that scientific studies
have linked to more than 10,000 additional cases of bladder and rectal
cancer cases each year.
Pesticides seep into aquifers, lakes, and rivers that are the source for
much of the water consumed in the United States. In the Midwest alone, 14
million people consume water containing high levels of carcinogenic
pesticides.
Nearly one million people become ill each year from waterborne disease
such as cryptosporidium or giardia.
The drinking water of 30 million or more Americans is contaminated with
high levels of lead.
HIT THE BOTTLE
New Scientist, 9/18/86
Some 36 million Americans drink
water that's contaminated with toxins, microbes or other pollutants, according
to a survey by the Natural Resources Defense Council. And the number of
those imbibing potentially unhealthy water shoots up to 50 million people
- - 1 in 5 Americans - - if you include those whose water is inadequately
treated for contaminants. The study is designed to influence Congress,
which appears set to dilute the Safe Drinking Water Act, up for renewal
later this year.
CHLORINATED WATER - NOT
FIT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION
New Scientist, 9/18/86
Experts agree, MEDICAL COLLEGE
OF WISCONSIN’S Dr. Robert Morris has been the featured health and water
expert on Dateline NBC. Dr. Morris and colleagues at the medical center
have concluded after examination of 10 previous studies of the cancer-causing
problems of chlorinated water, "There is a clear pattern between consumption
of chlorinated water and rectal and bladder cancer." It is projected that
by the year 2015 the combined death rate from bladder, rectal and pancreatic
cancer will exceed the lung cancer death rates due to carcinogens in water
and food.
CHLORINE AND YOUR SHOWER
New Scientist, 9/18/86
"Taking long hot showers
is a health risk, according to research presented last week in Anaheim,
California, at a meeting of the American Chemical Society. Showers--and
to a lesser extent baths--lead to a greater exposure to toxic chemicals
contained in water supplies than does drinking the water. The chemicals
evaporate out of the water and are inhaled. they can also spread through
the house and be inhaled by others. House holders can receive 6 to 100
times more of the chemical by breathing the air around showers and bath
than they would by drinking the water."
NEW SClENTlST 18 September
1986
Ian Anderson
"Studies indicate the suspect
chemicals can also be inhaled and absorbed through the skin during showering
and bathing."
"Ironically, even the Chlorine
widely used to disinfect water produces Carcinogenic traces." "Though
7 out of 10 Americans drink chlorinated water, its safety over the long
term is uncertain. ''Drinking chlorinated water may as much as double
the risk of the Bladder Cancer, which strikes 40,000 people a year.
U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT
- Jul 29 1991
Is Your Water Safe - The Dangerous
State of Your Water! A long, hot shower can be dangerous. The toxic chemicals
are inhaled in high concentrations."
BOTTOM LINE August 1987
Dr. John Andelman, Ph.D..
"On one hand, chlorination
has freed civilization from the constant dangers of waterborne epidemics.
On the other hand in the mid - 70s scientists discovered that chlorination
could create carcinogens in water."
"80% of the population drinks
chlorinated water."
"There was a higher incidence
of cancer of the oesophagus, rectum, breast, and larynx and of Hodgkins
Disease among those drinking chlorinated surface waters."
"Volatile organics can evaporate
from water in a shower or bath."
"Conservative calculations
indicate that inhalation exposures can be as significant as exposure from
drinking the water, that is, one can be exposed to just as much by inhalation
during a shower as by drinking 2 litres of water a day."
"People who shower frequently
could be exposed through ingestion, inhalation and/or dermal absorption."
IS YOUR WATER SAFE TO DRINK?
Consumer Reports Books
"Skin absorption of contaminant
has been underestimated and ingestion may not constitute the sole or even
primary route of exposure."
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC
HEALTH
Dr. Halina Brown
"Showering is suspected as
the primary cause of elevated levels of chloroform in nearly every home
because of the chlorine in the water."
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
Dr. Lance Wallace
"A Professor of Water Chemistry
at the University of Pittsburgh claims that exposure to vaporized chemicals
in the water supplies through showering, bathing, and inhalation is 100
times greater than through drinking the water."
"As chlorine is added to kill
pathogenic micro-organisms, the highly reactive chlorine combines with
fatty acids and carbon fragments to form a variety of toxic compounds,
which comprise about 30% of the chlorination by-products.
"During the mid-1970s monitoring
efforts began to identify widespread toxic contamination of the nation's
drinking water supplies, epidemiological studies began to suggest a link
between ingestion of toxic chemicals in the water and elevated cancer
mortality risks. Since those studies were completed a variety of additional
studies have strengthened the statistical connection between consumption
of toxins in water and elevated cancer risks. Moreover, this basic concern
has been heightened by other research discoveries.
THE NADER REPORT - TROUBLED
WATERS ON TAP
Centre For Study of Responsive Law
"The National Academy of Sciences
estimate that 200 to 1000 people die in the United States each year from
cancers caused by ingesting the contaminants in water. The major health
threat posed by these pollutants is far more likely to be from their inhalation
as air pollutants. The reason that emissions are high is that because
water droplets dispersed by the shower head have a larger surface-too-value
ratio than water streaming into the bath."
SCIENCE NEWS, VOL. 130
Janet Raloff
"The cause of atherosclerosis
and resulting heart attacks and strokes is none other than the ubiquitous
chlorine in our drinking water."
CORONARIES/CHOLESTEROL/CHLORINE
Dr. J.M. Price, M.D
"In the vast majority of cases
where germ-free water is required whether for public supply, or in the
swimming pool, the process of disinfection will involve the use of chlorine
in one form or another."
CHEMISTRY AND CONTROL OF
MODERN CHLORINATION
Dr. A.T. Palin, Ph.D.. (O.B.E.)
"Chlorine gas was despicably
used during WWI. When the war was over, the use of chlorine was diverted
to poisoning germs in our drinking water. All water supplies throughout
the country were chlorinated. The combination of chlorine (when in drinking
water) and animal fats results in atherosclerosis, heart attacks, and
death."
WATER CAN UNDERMINE YOUR
HEALTH
Dr. N.W. Walker, D.S.
"Chlorine is the greatest crippler
and killer of modern times. While it prevented epidemics of one disease,
ill was creating another. Two decades ago, after the start of chlorinating
our drinking water in 1904. The present epidemic of heart trouble, cancer
and senility began."
SAGINAW HOSPlTAL
Dr. J.M. Price, MD.
"Cancer risk among people
drinking chlorinated water is 93% higher than among those whose water
does not contain chlorine."
U.S. COUNCIL OF ENVIRONMENTAL
QUALITY
"Drinking tap water that is
chlorinated is hazardous, if not deadly to your health."
HEALTHY WATER FOR A LONGER
LIFE
Dr. Martin Fox
"Known carcinogens are found
in drinking water as a direct consequence of the practice of chlorination.
A long established public health practice for the disinfection of drinking
water."
MUNICIPAL ENVIRONMENTAL
RESEARCH LABORATORY
Francis T. Mayo, Director
"Chlorine is used almost universally
in the treatment of public drinking water because of its toxic effect
on harmful bacteria and other waterborne, disease-causing organisms. But
there is a growing body of scientific evidence that shows that chlorine
in drinking water may actually pose greater long term dangers than those
for which it was used to eliminate. These effects of chlorine may result
from either ingestion or absorption through the skin. Scientific studies
have linked chlorine and chlorination by-products to cancer of the bladder,
liver, stomach, rectum, and colon, as well as heart disease, atherosclerosis
(hardening of the arteries), anaemia, high blood pressure, and allergic
reactions. There is also evidence that shows that chlorine can destroy
protein in our body and cause adverse effects on skin and hair.
The presence of chlorine in
water may also contribute to the formation of chloramines in the water,
which can cause taste and odour problems.
"Since chlorine is required
by public health regulations to be present in all public drinking water
supplies, it is up to the individual to remove it at the point-of-use
in the home.
KEMYSTS LABORATORY
Dr. Riddle, Ph.D.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. "SHOWERS POSE A RISK TO HEALTH", lan Anderson, New
Scientist, 9/18/86
2. "NON - lNGESTlON
EXPOSURE TO CHEMICALS IN POTABLE WATER" Julian Andelman Working Paper
84-03, University of Pittsburgh, 1984.
3 "THE ROLE OF SKIN
ABSORPTION AS A ROUTE OF EXPOSURE FOR VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS (VOCS)
IN DRINKING WATER", Halina Brown. American Journal of Public Health, Vol
74, 5/84.
4. "TOXIC SHOWERS
AND BATHS", Janet Raloff. Science News, Vol. 130, Page 190.
5. "WATER", John F.
Ashton and Ronald S. Laura. Nature & Health, 1988.
6. "HUMAN EXPOSURE
TO VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS IN HOUSEHOLD TAP WATER: THE INHALATION PATHWAY",
T.E. McKone Environ. SCI, Technology, Vo1.21,No. 12, 1987, PP. 1194-1201.
7. "THE NADER REPORT
- TROUBLED WATERS ON TAP", Duff Conacher and Assc.Centre For Study of
Responsive Law, January 1988.
8. "DID YOU KNOW THAT...
A LONG HOT SHOWER", Bottom Line/Personal, Aug.15, 1987
9 .MADEMOISELLE, Prior
to August 15, 1987.
10. "CORONARIES/CHOLESTEROUCHLORINE",
Joseph M. Price, Jove Book,Alta Enterprises, 1969.
11. "WATER CAN UNDERMINE
YOUR HEALTH", N. W. Walker D.S., Norwalk Press, 1974.
12. "WATER-SAFE TO
DRINK? SAFE TO BATHE IN?", Kurt W. Donsbach D.C., PH., 1989.
13. "PROTEINS IN NATURAL
WATERS AND THEIR RELATION TO THE FORMATION OF CHLORINATED ORGANICS DURING
WATER DISINFECTION", Scully. Environ, SCI.Technol., Vol. 22, No. 5, 1988.537-542.
14. "ORGANIC CHEMICAL
CONTAMINANTS IN DRINKING WATER AND CANCER", A.M. J. Epidemiology, Vol.
110, 1979, P. 420.
15. "CANCER INCIDENCE
AND TRIHALOMETHANE CONCENTRATIONS IN A PUBLIC DRINKING WATER SYSTEM",
George L. Carlo. American Journal of Public health, Vol. 74, No. 5, 1984,
PP. 479-484.
16. "STUDIES OF DIFFUSION
OF WATER THROUGH DEAD HUMAN SKIN: THE EFFECT OF DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTAL
STATES AND OF CHEMICAL ALTERATIONS OF THE EPIDERMIS", G.S. Berenson and
G.E. Burch, AM. J. of Tropical Medicine, 1951, No. 31 PP. 842-853.
17. "REGIONAL VARIATION
IN PERCUTANEOUS PENETRATION IN MAN: PESTICIDES", H.J. Maiback. Arch. Environ.
Health, Vol. 23, Sep. 1971, P. 209.
18. "STUDIES OF EPIDERMAL
WATER BARRIER, PART 2: INVESTIGATION OF THE CHEMICAL NATURE OF THE WATER
BARRIER", A. Mololtsy. J. of Invest. Derm, 1968, No. 50. PP. 19-20.
19. "TEMPORAL VARIATIONS
IN TRIHALOMETHANE CONTENT OF DRINKING WATER", V.L. Smith. Environs. SCI.
& TechNet., Vol. 14 No. 2, 1987, PP. 190-196.
20. "THMS IN DRINKING
WATER", J.A. Court. Environs. SCI & TechNet., Vol. 15, No. 3, 1981, PP.
268-274.
21. "VOLATILE SYNTHETIC
ORGANIC CHEMICALS (VOCS)", K.V. Dyke. Water TechNet. Vol. 13, No. 4, Apr.
1990, P. 38.
22. "IS YOUR WATER
SAFE?" Carpenter, Hedges, Crab, Really and Bounds. U.S. News & World Report,
July 29, 1991, PP, 48-55.
23. "IS YOUR WATER
SAFE TO DRINK?", Raymond Gabber. Consumer Reports Book, 1987.
24. "Is Bottled
Better?" "Trusting the Tap" Keiley, Lynn , Conscious
Choice, September 2003
25. "What's
the Best Water to Drink?" Ephraim, Rebecca , Conscious
Choice, September 2003
26. "Can
You Drink It?" Slama, Jim,
Conscious
Choice, September 2003 
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