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By Brian Cronin, Director of AquaMD
(AquaMD
is the water testing division of the American Water Council, a
nationally respected provider of water education & testing
services. AquaMD has teamed with Dr. Mercola to provide you both
the free home water evaluation and the Dr. Mercola water testing
packages at http://www.aquamd.com/mercola/labtests.cfm.)
Tap water all over the country is showing up with toxic levels
of lead contamination ... and it’s not going to go away on
its own--or anytime soon. Here are a few stories reported in early
2004:
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SEATTLE, WA: In February, the city of Seattle began
replacing the pipes in a number of its public schools. When
parents had complained about orange-colored water coming out
of school taps, testing was conducted and dangerous levels of
lead and even cadmium were found in the drinking water.
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WASHINGTON D.C.: According to a February article in
the Washington Post, about 23,000 of Washington D.C.’s
service lines contain dangerous levels of lead. Samples taken
at more than 4,000 homes since 2002 have found levels well above
the safe range of 15 parts per billion. In fact, 150 homes in
the area had lead levels in their tap water in excess of 300
parts per billion.
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MAUI, HAWAII: Even in beautiful Maui, high levels of
lead were found in the water during testing. The state health
department ordered the Maui water company to fix the problem,
which they attempted to do by adding the chemicals zinc orthophosphate
and phosphoric acid. Today, hundreds of skin rash complaints,
which are believed to be linked to the water system, are being
received by the health department.
These are just a few of the problems we know about. Lead and other
metals commonly found in plumbing systems are a very real and dangerous
problem that we face at work, at school and in the safety of our
own homes.
Most lead contamination occurs within a home’s own water pipes.
The older the home, the older the pipes. The older the pipes, the
greater the chance that the metals found in pipe systems--namely
lead, copper, zinc and iron--can leach into your water supply.
In homes built before 1930, water pipes were often made of lead.
Homes built up until the mid-1990s may have plumbing systems connected
with lead welding compound. The manufacture of lead-based materials
was banned back in 1986, but could have been used for years after
that, until the inventory ran out.
Your tap water’s pH can contribute to tap water contamination.
The pH determines the acidity of your water. The optimum pH level
is between 6.5 and 8.5. Tap water with a low pH indicates acidic
water, which can result in corrosion and leaching of pipe material.
How to Protect Yourself Against Lead & Other Metal Poisoning
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Flush Your Tap: Always run your tap water for a minute
or two, until it is colder to the touch. This flushes out the
water that is sitting in the pipes within your home.
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Use Only Cold Water for Cooking & Drinking: Hot
water dissolves lead faster than cold. Use only cold water to
drink, cook, brush teeth, mix juices, wash food, and to make
baby bottles, coffee or tea. If you need hot water, start with
cold water and either boil it or heat it on the stove.
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Test Your Tap Water Regularly: You are unable to detect
even dangerous levels of lead and other metals in your tap water
without testing. Relying on your sense of taste, smell and sight
is like playing Russian roulette with your health. Conduct at
least a basic test of your tap water at least one a year.
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