Learn the truth about the Safe Drinking Water Drinking water is something that everyone's needs. But if you rely solely on your local treatment facilities, you are risking your health.
EPA standards for drinking water are just not that safe. They think nothing of it. If you visit their website, you will see a list of all eligible contaminants and potential health effects from ingestion of these contaminants. We've listed some for you here, but this is not a complete list.
The byproducts of disinfection
When chlorine is used to disinfect water, it reacts with bacteria that kill and by-products called trihalomethanes triahalomethanes or released. Treatment facilities are allowed to send water with THMs. They do not have much choice. They have to disinfect the water or risk cholera and typhoid. They have been using chlorine to disinfect and provide drinking water to the public since the late 1800s.
Chlorine itself is considered a health threat, but are even more THMs. The potential health effects of THMs are the liver, kidneys and central nervous system problems, and an increased risk of cancer. This is not a kind of propaganda by the manufacturers of water filter. This is directly from the Environmental Protection Agency.
Chlorine
The chlorine, chloramines and chlorine dioxide are used to ensure that the public drinking water. These chemicals kill the bacteria that are immediate threats to health. Potential risks to the health of these disinfectants are largely unknown, but some studies have shown an increased risk of cancer in people who have chlorinated water. The health hazards listed by the EPA include irritation of eyes and nose, upset stomach, anemia in infants and young children and the effects on the nervous system.
Atrazine and lindane
Drinking water is allowed to contain chemicals atrazine and lindane. Atrazine is a herbicide. Its use has been banned in Europe, but he is the killer of plants most commonly used in the United States. There is some controversy surrounding the fact that atrazine has on human beings.
Some studies say it causes cancer. Others say that the results are inconclusive. Thus, the EPA said it is "unlikely" to cause cancer. They list the harmful effects of atrazine in "drinking water", such as cardiovascular and reproductive problems.
Even the EPA has confused the issue when it comes to atrazine. A report they released in 2006 concluded that atrazine and other herbicides pose "no harm would be caused to the general U.S. population, infants, children or other consumers." But how can we when we know it causes heart problems and reproduction? Why is atrazine in drinking water is called safe?
Lindane is a pesticide. Lindane is toxic to the nervous system. There is no question about it. It is banned in 50 countries, including the United States. But it is still used to treat lice and scabies. The biggest problem is that lindane is very slow to decompose in the environment. As the use has decreased, levels in groundwater have also declined, but it is a contaminant that is allowed in drinking water.
Protect yourself
Thousands of other contaminants were found in the so-called drinking water, lead in some areas, drugs and hormones in others. MTBE, a gasoline additive has seeped into the groundwater and ended up in public drinking water. To be sure you have drinking water in your home, you must install a good water filter that blocks chlorine and other chemical contaminants. This is the only way to protect your health and your family.
Posted on February 13, 2010.