|
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.)
For many of us, summer is the time to wield our "green thumbs."
Whether toiling in the yard, garden or flowerbed, we don't have
to look very far to find our familiar nemesis: the weed.
Unfortunately, we usually rely on chemical warfare when battling
these invasive and unwanted plants, grasses and weeds. Our five-gallon
spray bottles of weed killer and 30-pound bags of lawn herbicides
take out more than just dandelions and crab grass--they can poison
our drinking water.
Herbicides may be an effective means to beautify our lawns and
gardens, but the real cost often goes by unnoticed. Even the fertilizers
we apply to our lawns to encourage growth are harmful, and will
run off into streams, lakes and our water supplies. This can increase
the nitrate and phosphorous levels drastically. Close to a billion
pounds of herbicides are dumped in the United States each year--at
a cost of well over $5 billion. Agricultural, industrial, commercial
and governmental application accounts for about 90 percent of all
herbicide use. Individual usage in homes and gardens makes up the
rest. However, homeowners apply three to six times more chemicals
per acre than the average agricultural user.
Health Effects of Herbicides
A national health and nutrition study conducted by the Center for
Disease Control found levels of the herbicide 2,4-D in 12 percent
of a sample of 1,000 adults. This common weed killer contaminates
both surface and groundwater and has repeatedly been linked with
non-hodgkin's lymphoma, according to medical studies conducted in
the United States, Canada and Europe. A common ingredient in many
lawn care products, 2,4-D is a known endocrine disruptor, and can
block hormone distribution and cause glandular breakdown. It is
linked to immune system damage, birth defects and reproductive issues.
The long-term health impact from herbicide and pesticide poisoning
are not yet fully understood. Health experts find it very difficult
to isolate all the potentially harmful contaminants that a person
is exposed to over the long term.
As with the millions of pounds of commercial-grade pesticides applied
every day in this country, these toxic herbicides will eventually
end up in our water supply. But here's the really scary thing: due
to regulatory red tape and general bureaucracy, many of these dangerous
pollutants are classified as "unregulated contaminants."
This means there are no national legal standards to keep them out
of our drinking water. Without EPA standards, water companies are
not legally required to test for a specific contaminant (Click
Here for the EPA's list of unregulated water contaminants).
As most herbicides are regulated in measured in micrograms (parts
per billion), these contaminants are so toxic that even tiny traces
could be dangerous to your family's health. It is impossible to
detect even dangerous levels of these contaminants with our senses
of taste, smell or sight.
| 