Toxins in your Water

[Guest guest]

This is a warning you are used to hearing when you travel abroad, but now

it's hitting 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.

 

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?

 

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 it 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.

 

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 is the ENPROTEC Whole House System.

 

As of October 1,1999 a Federal law was passed to require all city water

municipalities to disclose a water quality report to each of its customers.

 

The following exerpts pulled from headlines and periodicals across the

country descriptively explain the hidden dangers in our water...

 

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 civilisation 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.

 

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, it 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 odor 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.

 

 

 

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