|
By Richard Mesquita, AquaMD
(AquaMD is the water testing division of the American Water Council,
a nationally respected provider of water education and 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.)
If you are on a public water system -- meaning a utility company
supplies your water -- it's extremely likely it contains chlorine
and disinfection-byproducts.
Water companies have used chlorine as their main disinfecting strategy
for almost a century. In the early years of the 20th century, chlorination
of water was used in Great Britain in an attempt to stop typhoid
fever. Due to some success in Great Britain -- and because chlorine
was so inexpensive -- the chlorination of water began in the United
States in Jersey City, N.J., in 1908, and hasn't stopped since!
Chlorination virtually eliminated waterborne diseases such as cholera,
typhoid, dysentery and hepatitis. Today, utility companies still
use chlorine to prevent and kill bacteria that might otherwise be
present in water supplies. Over the last 30 years, however, a growing
body of research has shown chlorine and its assorted byproducts
are very harmful to your health.
For example, when chlorine interacts with organic matter in water,
it forms disinfection byproducts (DBPs). Two primary DBP categories
are trihalomethanes (TTHMs) and haloacetic acids (HAA5s).
These DBPs have been linked to damaging effects to heart, lung,
kidney and central nervous system as well as cancer. Even worse,
the Environmental Protection Agency recent lowered the level of
TTHMs they will permit in the water supply to 80 ppb (parts per
billion).
All About the Money
As always, cost is one reason -- and probably the sole reason --
water companies prevented this standard from being reduced even
further. Water companies felt it would cost too much to remove a
greater amount of these DBPs from their water, so they pushed for
an elevated standard. Nevertheless, it's telling the EPA sets the
goal for some of these byproducts at 0 because they are so dangerous
(unfortunately the EPA goal is not enforceable).
Water companies do conduct some testing for DBPs in their water
supply and provide the results to their customers. But, for the
sake of your family's health, here's what they aren't telling you:
-
Levels of these DBPs vary depending on where you are located
on their network. Hence some customers are exposed to much higher
levels.
-
Each individual reacts differently to DBPs. Some people are
affected more than others.
-
There are times during the year when levels of DBPs increase
dramatically due to the increase of organic matter in the water
supply. But if the average of all the tests a water company
conducted in a year is below the EPA standard, utilities can
claim their water is safe.
More Distortions
What's more, here are some recent distortions we've discovered
water companies all over the country are telling their customers:
-
One water company in New York actually had TTHM levels of
89 ppb. But because the average level for the year was below
80 ppb, they could legally claim their water meets all safe
drinking water standards.
-
Similarly, a water company in Pennsylvania recorded TTHM levels
of 94 ppb. But because the average was lower than 80 ppb, they
told their customers their water was safe.
-
Another water company in California logged average TTHM levels
of 78 ppb. Since 78 ppb is just below the standard of 80 ppb,
they can legally claim their water is safe.
-
A Florida water company made the same claims because their
TTHM average was 73 ppb.
I'd like to tell you these are isolated examples, but they're not.
They are the norm.
If DBPs are in your water, you will be exposed to them primarily
by inhaling steam vapor when you shower (DBPs easily escape into
the air). If DBPs are in your water, I urge you to have them removed
to protect your family's health.
| 