Over 267 Toxins Found in Public Tap Water by Dr. Mercola
Over 267 Toxins Found in Public Tap Water
August 08, 2017 • 15,122views
Story at-a-glance
The
Environmental Working Group (EWG) analyzed tests from nearly 50,000 U.S.
water utilities in 50 states and tested for 500 different contaminants;
267 were detected
Nearly
19,000 public water systems detected lead at levels above 3.8 parts per
billion, which would put a formula-fed baby at risk
The
immediate solution to protect your drinking water is to install a water
filter on your tap, but on a broader scale the solution is to stop the
source of the pollution, such as industrialized agriculture
EWG’s Tap Water Database, which allows you to enter your ZIP code to reveal what’s really in your tap water, is featured
By Dr. Mercola
Many people drink water straight from their tap, assuming it to be
safe. Unfortunately, just because it’s clear and tastes normal does not
mean it’s pure. Far from it, research conducted by the Environmental
Working Group (EWG) revealed hundreds of contaminants coming out of the
average U.S. faucet, many at levels above what may cause health risks
but below the threshold of legal action.
While the Safe Drinking Water Act was put into place in 1974 to
presumably keep Americans’ tap water safe, not one chemical has been
added to the list of regulated chemicals in drinking water since 1996.
Nneka Leiba, director of EWG’s Healthy Living Science Program, told USA
Today:
“The list of regulated chemicals has not kept up with our use of
chemicals as a country … "Legal doesn’t necessarily mean safe when it
comes to drinking water … What we are concerned about is long-term
exposure, eight glasses a day, over a lifetime.”1
Hundreds of Chemicals Are Likely in Your Tap Water
EWG analyzed data from U.S. agencies and the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) on drinking water tests conducted from 2010 to
2015. The tests came from nearly 50,000 water utilities in 50 states and
tested for 500 different contaminants. In all, 267 were detected,
including:2
93 linked to an increased risk of cancer
78 associated with brain and nervous system damage
63 connected to developmental harm to children or fetuses
38 that may cause fertility problems
45 linked to hormonal disruption
EWG’s analysis revealed many alarming trends, like the fact that nearly 19,000 public water systems detected lead
at levels above 3.8 parts per billion, which would put a formula-fed
baby at risk of elevated blood lead levels. Other chemicals of concern
include chromium-6, an industrial chemical that’s not regulated under
the Safe Drinking Water Act but is found in drinking water supplies in
all 50 states at levels above those that may pose a cancer risk.
The industrial solvent 1,4-dioxane was also widely detected at levels
above what the EPA says could pose a cancer risk, as were nitrates,
stemming from industrial agriculture, also at levels above that which
might pose a cancer risk. According to EWG:3
“The vast majority of the nation's drinking water supplies get a
passing grade from federal and state regulatory agencies. However, many
of the 250-plus contaminants detected through water sampling and testing
are at levels that are perfectly legal under the Safe Drinking Water
Act or state regulations, but well above levels authoritative scientific
studies have found to pose health risks.
What's more, the Environmental Protection Agency has not added a
new contaminant to the list of regulated drinking water pollutants in
more than 20 years. This inexcusable failure of the federal government’s
responsibility to protect public health means there are no legal limits
for the more than 160 unregulated contaminants the tests detected in
the nation’s tap water.”
Industrial Farming Fuels Algae Growth That in Turn Taints Drinking Water
There are a number of ways industrial agriculture proves disastrous
to drinking water. Among the environmental assaults already being seen
include increased nitrate contamination in drinking water,
which is the result of fertilizer pollution. Park Rapids, Minnesota,
spent $3 million to dig deeper wells due to nitrate contamination.
It's estimated that 10 percent of private drinking wells in the area
may have nitrate levels that pose dangers to pregnant women and infants.4 In Iowa, meanwhile, Des Moines' water utility spent $900,000 on nitrate filtering in 2013 and $1.5 million in 2015,5 and even sued three neighboring counties (Sac, Buena Vista and Calhoun counties) over the fertilizer runoff tainting these rivers.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates that removing
nitrate from U.S. drinking water costs nearly $5 billion a year,6 which the industrial agriculture industry has been largely shielded from. Phosphorus and nitrogen run-off from industrial farming
not only taint drinking water directly but also contribute to the algae
growth that depletes oxygen in the marine environment, leading to
disastrous dead zones.
In drinking water, increased algae levels require the increased use
of disinfectants by water utilities, which in turn increase the
formation of toxic disinfection byproducts like trihalomethanes (THMs).
THMs are Cancer Group B carcinogens, meaning they've been shown to cause
cancer in laboratory animals.
Changes in Farming Strategies Necessary to Reduce Agriculture-Driven Water Pollution
The immediate solution to protect your drinking water is to install a
water filter on your tap, but on a broader scale the solution is to
stop the source of the pollution. Even small changes, like the use of
cover crops, can help to prevent soil erosion while absorbing excess
fertilizer. Iowa has a voluntary program in place — the Iowa Nutrient
Reduction Strategy — to help control fertilizer runoff, but it's still
in its beginning stages even though it started four years ago. Many have
questioned whether voluntary programs go far enough.
Iowa has long faced problems with elevated levels of nitrates in
drinking water and has been identified as a top contributor to pollution
(nitrates and phosphorus) causing the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico. Fertilizer runoff has also been blamed for toxic algae
taking over Florida coastlines. A report released by the Iowa
Environmental Council (IEC) has attempted to summarize the related
health risks of such nitrates in drinking water.7
Researchers reviewed over 100 studies on the health effects of
nitrates in drinking water and found multiple studies linked them to
birth defects, bladder cancer and thyroid cancer.
While many of the health problems were found with nitrate levels higher
than the drinking water standard of 10 mg/L, some studies suggested
nitrate levels lower than the drinking water standard may still pose
health risks. About 15 percent of private wells in Iowa may have nitrate
levels that exceed federal standards.8
From Cookware Chemicals to Pharmaceuticals: What Else Is in Your Drinking Water?
With every sip of water you take, you could be ingesting a mix of
chemicals that boggles the mind, including even prescription and
over-the-counter medications. Pharmaceutical drugs make their way into
waterways when they’re flushed down the drain (or down the toilet after
being excreted). Most water treatment plants can't filter out
medications properly. Researchers evaluating the water from Puget Sound
in Washington state found 81 different drugs and chemicals which were
not removed by wastewater treatment.9
Depending on the method used, anywhere from 10 percent to more than
80 percent of the drugs in the water fail to be removed during
treatment.10
And that’s just the beginning. According to a Harvard study, 16.5
million Americans have detectable levels of at least one kind of
polyfluoroalkyl or perfluoroalkyl chemical (PFASs) in their drinking
water.
PFASs are used to create nonstick, stain-resistant and
water-repellant surfaces such as in nonstick cookware. About 6 million
Americans are drinking water that contains PFAS at or above the EPA
safety level.11
More than 18 million Americans also receive drinking water from water treatment facilities that have violated federal drinking water rules for lead.12
And, in 9 out of 10 cases, the EPA has taken no enforcement action
against the violators. Disturbingly, many water treatment facilities are
actually using incorrect testing methods to avoid detecting high levels
of lead, which means the number of Americans drinking lead-contaminated
water is likely even higher than that.
An estimated 16 million also have perchlorate — a chemical used in explosives and rocket fuel — in their drinking water.13
Further, the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) put out a report
that showed widespread atrazine contamination in drinking water, posing
a "dangerous problem" that was not communicated to the people most at
risk.14 Atrazine
is the most commonly detected pesticide in U.S. waters, and it’s known
to cause reproductive harm to mammals, fish and birds, so I recommend
filtering your tap water — both for drinking and bathing — with a filter
certified to remove it.
Just how severe water contamination may be remains an open question,
as the Safe Drinking Water Act regulates only 91 contaminants.
Meanwhile, more than 80,000 chemicals are used in the U.S.15
There's really no telling how many of these chemicals, and in what
amounts or to what consequences, end up in our drinking water.
EWG’s Tap Water Database: What Contaminants Are in Your Water?
If you want to know what’s lurking in your water, you can get the
results of your local drinking water analysis from your water utility.
It’s your right to view the annual water quality report from your area,
which should highlight contaminants of concern (although there could be
others that are legally ‘safe’ but still pose a long-term health risk).
You can also use EWG’s Tap Water Database, which allows you to enter
your ZIP code to reveal what’s really in your tap water.
You’ll find out not only whether contaminants have been detected
above health guidelines but also other detected contaminants, the
primary pollution sources and what to do to filter the contaminants out.
It takes only a moment, but the results are truly eye-opening. Please
don’t assume your tap water is pure. In all likelihood, it’s far from
it.
Filtering Your Water Is an Investment in Your Health
As long as your water tastes and looks pure, it’s easy to go on
assuming it is such. But finding out what’s really in your water, and
taking steps to remedy it, is one of the most important health moves you
can make. Take it from Laura Sarcone, communications specialist at the
Des Moines Water Works. She witnessed the plant’s nitrate-removal
facility run for 177 days straight — when it was built to only run for a
few days a year, signaling just how much nitrate pollution was in the
area’s water. She told Civil Eats:16
“I think nationally we, the industry, feel water is an
undervalued resource … People are willing to pay hundreds for cellphone
minutes and unlimited data, or for their cable TV … but rarely do they
tend to put the same value on clean drinking water.”
Unfortunately, it's best to assume your water is less than pure and
use a high-quality water filtration system (unless you can verify the
purity of your water). If you have well water, it would be prudent to
have your water tested for nitrates and other contaminants. If you have
public water, you can get local drinking water quality reports from the
EPA.
To be certain you're getting the purest water you can, filter the
water both at the point of entry and at the point of use. This means
filtering all the water that comes into the house, and then filtering
again at the kitchen sink and shower.
Unfiltered water can also expose you to dangerous chlorine vapors and
chloroform gas. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other
U.S. government agencies report that most homes in the U.S. have
measurable levels of chloroform gas, courtesy of chlorinated tap water.
Unless you have a whole house water filter,
chlorine will vaporize from every toilet bowl in your home and every
time you wash your clothes, dishes or take a shower or bath.
Chloroform gas, chlorine vapors and the associated DBPs may increase
your risk of asthma, airway inflammation and respiratory allergies.
Chloroform gas alone can cause dizziness, nausea and general fatigue. If
you get your water from a municipal water supply and don't have a whole
house filter, it really is important to open up windows on opposing
sides of your home so you get cross ventilation. Keep the windows open
for five to 10 minutes a day to remove these gases. Ideally, use a whole
house filtration system.
One of the best I've found so far is the Pure & Clear Whole House
Water Filtration System, which uses a three-stage filtration process — a
micron sediment prefilter, a KDF water filter and a high-grade carbon
water filter — to filter out chlorine, disinfection byproducts (DBPs)
and other contaminants. You can find more information about water
filters in my video below. EWG also has a handy water filter guide that lets you search by filter type, technology and/or contaminant to help you decide on the best type of filter for your home.17
No comments:
Post a Comment