Toxic Drinking Water In Paradise
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When you hear the words Maui, Hawaii, what comes to mind? Likely you think “paradise”!
No one thinks “toxic water” when they hear those words. But the fact is that if you go to that island for a vacation, and you use their public drinking water, you will be exposing yourself to pesticides in that water.
Water testing conducted on drinking water supplies in Maui found that their water contains the toxins DBCP (Dibromochloropropane), EDB (Ethylene dibromide), and TCP (1,2,3trichloropropane).
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Water
Quality
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| Can
I tell the quality of my water by the way it looks, tastes, or smells?
Answer: Only in very extreme conditions! Typically your
water can be contaminated with harmful pollutants, but looks, tastes and
smells perfectly fine. Why? Because dangerous levels of contaminants are
measured in parts per million and billion, these levels just cannot be
detected by the human senses of taste, smell and sight. Only sophisticated
water testing equipment can determine the quality of your water.
How am I exposed bad quality water?
Answer: You can be exposed to toxins in
your water when:
1. Drinking
2. Showering
3. Bathing
4. Using food/ beverage containers and utensils washed in contaminated
water
5. Washing your hands
6. Washing laundry
7. Cleaning food and beverage utensils
8. Cooking
9. Etc.
How does my body absorb contaminants
found in my water?
Answer: Your body absorbs toxins in your
water:
1. When you drink contaminated water and,
it is directly ingested into your system.
2. When you shower in contaminated water and toxins are inhaled from the
steam
vapor or absorbed by your skin.
3. When you wash your hands, bathe, washing laundry, or wash eating and
drinking utensils, contaminants can be absorbed
thru your skin.
4. When you eat or drink from containers and utensils washed in contaminated
water, the residue of those contaminants can be
ingested directly into your
system.
5. Etc.
Should I worry about water quality?
I drink only filtered water. If my filtered water safe?
Answer: Here is something the filter industry
doesn't want you to know. No water filter exists that removes every contaminant.
Your filter is better at removing certain contaminants and worse at removing
others. And many filters are only good at improving the taste and smell
of your water.
The first thing you need to do is have your
water quality tested to find out what contaminants are found in your water.
Once you know what's in your water, you can purchase the appropriate water
filter to remove the contaminants in your water.
Remember you are still using unfiltered
water to:
1. Shower
2. Bathe
3. Wash your hands
4. Wash laundry
5. Clean food and beverage utensils
6. Cook
7. Etc.
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Gasoline
Additive (MTBE) Found In Elementary School Drinking Water Supplies |
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| An
elementary school in Hartford County Maryland reported shockingly high
levels of the gasoline additive MTBE, in the school’s tap water.
The problem first came to
light last Spring when the school reported levels of MTBE in their drinking
water of 13.6 ppb (parts per billion) in one well and 4.6 ppb in another
well.
Now, new tests have shown
the gasoline additive has spiked to 66 ppb in one well and 101 ppb in
another well. The EPA has yet to agree on the amount of MTBE they feel
can be in drinking water for it to still be considered safe, but the push
is to set the level at 20 ppb.
The levels in these water
wells are many times higher than even that high safe drinking water standard.
What Is MTBE And How Does
It Get Into Your Tap Water?
MTBE is a gasoline additive
that is used as an octane enhancer to reduce carbon monoxide caused by
auto emissions. It has replaced lead as an additive in gasoline since
1979.
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| Arsenic The Hidden Poison In Your Drinking Water |
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This
article discusses arsenic in water. Water testing is the only sure way to
find out if arsenic is in your water. Once water testing tells you the level
of arsenic in your water, you can install the right water filter to remove
it.
A one-time oral dose of 60,000 ppb of arsenic will kill you. That's no more
than 1/50 the weight of a penny, which shows how dangerous arsenic really
is.
It's unlikely you won't be exposed to that much arsenic at one time. However,
there's a very good chance you will be exposed to much higher levels over
just a few years, merely through the water you drink, food you eat and air
you breathe. Why? Unfortunately, the arsenic to which you are exposed is
typically colorless, odorless and tasteless. So if arsenic is in your water,
you won't notice it by sight, smell or taste. Click Here to view full article.
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| Back-Flow Contamination: Your Water Company’s Dirty Little
Secret |
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| Most of us want to believe that our public water distribution system
is safe, sanitized and sealed. The truth is that it may not be the secure,
self-contained system that your water provider wants you to believe.
In fact, as I was doing some research on water system vulnerability, I
had the chance to talk to some water utility executives. When I brought
up the subject of back-flow contamination, I was strongly urged not to
talk about it publicly. That only made me dig deeper, and my findings
were startling.
The
"Back-Flow" Hazard
"Pressurized" tap water is transported to your home through
the underground network of mains and pipes. But, when the water pressure
drops, the water naturally starts to flow backward, creating a "back-siphon"
that can suck dangerous contaminants back into your water supply.
This problem is a regular occurrence in public water systems. It happens
in a section of the system whenever large amounts of water are drawn out
of some part of the system, such as when water is used to fight a fire,
when a water main breaks, when large companies put heavy demands on the
system, or during periods of heavy residential usage.
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| Barium: The Poison In Water No One Talks About |
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| Have you ever heard of the metal barium? If you haven't, you're not
alone. Barium in water supplies just hasn't gotten the media coverage
that lead, arsenic and mercury have received in recent years. Nevertheless,
barium is just as dangerous to your health as those other metals and shows
up regularly in public water supplies.
Where Does Barium In Water Come From?
Barium was first identified in 1774 by Carl Scheele and first extracted
by Sir Humphrey Davy of England in 1808. Since then, different forms of
barium have been widely used in the manufacture of countless products:
• Paint
• Tile
• Glass
• Rubber
• Textiles
• Electronics
• Paper
• Soap
• Cosmetics
• Pharmaceuticals
• Spark plugs
• Vacuum tubes
• Fireworks
• Fluorescent lamps
• Rat poison
Because barium is used often in so many manufacturing operations, a lot
of waste is produced that needs to be removed from the environment. How
much? In 2002, the Environmental Protection Agency reported more than
222 million pounds of barium and barium compounds were legally released
into the air, landfills, and waterways such as water wells, lakes, and
rivers.
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| Beryllium: The Hidden Toxin in Your Water |
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| When I sit down to write an article on potable water, first I review
a few public water laboratory results that cross my desk each week. Why?
Because I get a first-hand look at just how bad some public water supplies
really are.
For example, the lab results of water utilities in
the state of New York included at least 10 harmful contaminants:
• Carbon tetrachloride
• Dichlordifuoromethane
• Tetrachloroethylene
• 1,2,4-trichloroethene, dalapon
• 1,2 dibromo-3-chloropropane
• MTBE
• Phenanthrene
• Beryllium
• TTHM
• HAA5
And yet those water companies, like so many others, were able to claim
their water meets "all state and federal drinking water standards," so
customers should feel confident about its safety.
I don't believe water companies intentionally added these types of chemicals
to their water (like they do with chlorine and fluoride), but they hurt
their customers by telling them everything is OK, when it's not. My guess
is they do so because they don't want to deal with the legal consequences
or invest money in the necessary equipment to clean up their water supply.
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| Beware of Lead in Your Tap Water |
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| Lead is a hazardous contaminant found in water. This
article discusses where it comes from and how only water testing can tell
you if lead is in your water. Once water testing tells you the level of
lead in your water, you can install the right water filter to remove it.
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:
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
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Bottled Water Is No Better Than Tap Water
70% of your
body and 83% of your blood is made up of water.
The average person would
not survive more than 4 days without water.
Finding good quality water
has always been a challenge. That’s why so many people have switched
to drinking bottled water.
Advertisers have done a
fantastic job of convincing people that drinking bottled water is healthy
and so much better for you than tap water.
But is bottled water
as safe and as pure as the bottled water companies want you to
believe?
A study conducted by the
National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) shows the answer is No. And
in many cases, bottled water is worse than water you
can draw out of your own tap.
The Facts About Bottled Water
At the time of the study
there were roughly 700 brands of bottled water being sold in the United
States.
The NRDC tested more than
1,000 bottles from 103 different bottled water brands.
Here are some of
the findings:
• 22%
of the bottled water tested contained contaminants at levels that
violated safe drinking water health standards
for the state in which they
were purchased.
• 17%
of bottled water tested did not meet sanitary guidelines for
microbiological purity.
• 33%
of bottled water tested did not meet the state’s safety standard
for
bacterial contamination, chemical contamination,
or both.
• 8%
of the bottled water tested contained arsenic, a known
carcinogen.
• 16%
of the bottled water tested contained some level of synthetic
chemicals. Some of these synthetic
chemicals include:
o
Toluene: Which is linked to nervous system disorders
such as
fatigue, nausea, weakness, and confusion. Spasms
and tremors.
Impairment of speech, hearing, vision, memory
and coordination.
Liver and kidney damage.
o
Xylene: Which is linked to liver, kidney, nervous
system damage,
reproductive difficulties and an increased risk
of cancer.
o
Phthalate: Which is linked to cancer. It is also
known to produce
liver damage, male reproductive system damage, and produce
birth defects in laboratory animals.
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| Cadmium Being Found in More and More Americans. Is Drinking
Water To Blame? |
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| Is cadmium in your water supply? Only water testing can detect it.
And depending on the level found, you can install the right water filter
to remove it.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) just published its third "National
Report On Human Exposure To Environmental Chemicals." Their study tested
the blood and urine samples of about 2,400 people for 148 different chemicals.
The final report showed that most people are a walking chemistry lab.
And the 475-page report goes out of its way to highlight the amount of
cadmium showing up in many more Americans.
What is Cadmium?
Cadmium is a soft metal that is typically used in the manufacture of paints,
coatings, platings and plastics. Additionally, when companies mine and
processes metals such as zinc, lead and copper, a lot of cadmium is produced
as a byproduct.
Coal and mineral fertilizers also contain cadmium. And if you have a cellular
phone, chances are it has a nickel-cadmium battery.
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| Can Washing Dishes Really Harm Your Health? |
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| What
contaminants are you exposed to when you wash dishes? This article may
surprise you. In the end only water testing services and water filters
can make sure your water is safe.
In case you missed it, a study by the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and
State University showed that washing dishes by hand and using an antibacterial
dishwashing liquid soap, has unintended consequences. Specifically, the
chemical triclosan contained in the soap was found to interact with chlorinated
water to produce significant amounts of chloroform.
Chloroform is part of a family of four disinfection byproducts known as
Trihalomethanes (TTHMs). When water companies add chlorine to water --
to kill or prevent bacteria from growing in it -- TTHMs interact with
organic matter in their distribution system to cause disinfection byproducts.
Typically, TTHMs enter your body thru inhalation. So if you are washing
dishes by hand, you are naturally inhaling water vapors that carry TTHMs.
This study found the amount of chloroform in water increased significantly
when it came in contact with antibacterial soap containing Triclosan.
And, if that wasn't enough of a problem, it turns out triclosan has its
own concerns.
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| Flooding and Well Water: A Dangerous Mix |
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| As is common this time of year, many parts of North America have
experienced severe flooding as a result of the record rainfalls and spring
thawing.
Many rivers, lakes and streams become swollen and flood hundreds of square
miles in the central U.S. during this time. The resulting flood waters
pose a health danger for anyone with a private well. The Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
and the Health Department all strongly urge well owners within these flooded
areas to test their drinking water immediately.
People living in these flooded areas should take precautions to determine
if their wells have been contaminated. Flooding will literally wash the
land surface of many harmful contaminants, and will transport these pollutants
across many miles. As the underground aquifers that feed all private wells
are recharged by surface water, flooding poses a tremendous risk to ground
water quality.
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| Heavy Metals & Your Tap Water |
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| Heavy metals are found in well water and city water.
This article discusses where they come from and how water testing can
detect them. Once water testing tells you the level of heavy metals in
your water, you can install the right water filter to remove it.
For some, the term "heavy metal" conjures up images of wailing guitars,
thunderous drums and stacks of amplifiers. Although those power chords
can hurt your ears at high volume, the heavy metals found in our nation's
tap water are far more harmful.
Heavy metals are inorganic chemical elements with relatively high density
and are toxic even at low concentrations. Some examples include mercury,
arsenic, chromium, cadmium, nickel and lead. These metallic elements occur
naturally in the Earth's crust as geologic formations, and cannot be degraded
or destroyed.
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| Herbicides: Bad News for Weeds ... And Drinking Water |
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| Pesticides and Herbicides are actually found in well
water and city water. This article discusses where they come from and
how water testing can detect them. Once water testing tells you the level
of pesticides and herbicides in your water, you can install the right
water filter to remove them.
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.
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| How to Find Out if Your Water is Really Safe |
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| Water
testing is the only way to find our if your water is safe. And water filters
are the only practical way to keep your water safe.
In the spring of 1993, a microscopic, single-cell organism brought the
city of Milwaukee to its knees. For 403,000 residents, it began with a
widespread outbreak of nausea vomiting, abdominal cramps, fever and acute
diarrhea, resulting in the hospitalization of 4,400 victims. For over
one hundred of their friends, family members, co-workers and neighbors,
it ended in death.
What happened? The Greater Milwaukee Area was served by a municipal water
supply system that filtered and treated its drinking water much like any
other city. So, how is it possible that a public water utility transported
harmful, contaminated water to the homes, schools and businesses within
the community?
Investigators determined that the problem began in Lake Michigan, the
source of Milwaukee’s public water supply. Experts believe that
lake was contaminated with excessive quantities of human sewage or run-off
from nearby cattle farms and slaughterhouses. A chain of events was unleashed
that resulted in a massive Cryptosporidium infection of the city and surrounding
suburbs of the Wisconsin town.
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| How to Get Clean Water for Good Health |
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| Have
water testing conducted on your water at least once a year. Then install
the appropriate water filter.
We’ve all heard how drinking plenty of clean, potable water is one
of the few smart, healthy habits we all need to pick up. But every once
in a while, some "expert" tries to challenge this fact, saying
that eight glasses a day is unnecessary or overkill. But what’s
the point?
No one can really dispute the fact that we all need water to maintain
our health, so why split hairs over whether six glasses a day is the "right"
number (or is it seven)?
The important thing is to consume lots of water, as most of us likely
don’t drink enough daily. And unless you are under doctor’s
orders to monitor your water intake--drink all you want. Your body will
usually let you know when to slow down ... and your frequent bathroom
trips should be a dead give-away.
The
Common Denominator
One thing all the experts can agree on is our need to consume plenty of
clean, safe water--with the key words being "clean" and "safe."
Overall, American tap water is not in terrible shape. However, between
our growing, "sprawling" population and ever-increasing pollution,
our nation’s water quality continues to decline in many areas. Experts
in the fields of science, medicine and ecology all agree that unsafe water
is a genuine health threat. The millions who die around the world each
year from water-related illnesses are all the proof you need.
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| How Water Companies Harm Your Water--and You--in the Name
of "Treating"It |
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| Water
companies add and create dangerous contaminants when treating your water.
Water testing identifies the contaminants so you can install the right
filter to remove them.
Most people know that clean water plays a pivotal role in maintaining
good health. But do you know what water companies do to the water that
comes out of your tap and enters your system when you shower, cook, clean
and brush your teeth?
Most water companies pump your water from lakes, rivers and wells. The
larger ones attempt to treat the water or strip out the environmental
contamination that occurs every day. They often make decisions knowing
that certain treatment processes may pose health risks.
The ABCs of Water Treatment
Water providers use a variety of treatment processes to remove or neutralize
unwanted contaminants commonly found in the water supply. The most common
of these processes are filtration, flocculation and disinfection.
Filtration
Though many water treatment facilities use filtration to remove remaining
particles from the water supply, these ‘filters’ are not what
you might think. The process in most public systems involves millions
of gallons of water passing through pits containing layers of gravel,
sand and charcoal, similar to the way in which a private well relies on
rock and soil to screen out some larger organic material and other potentially
harmful contaminants. It is a fact that some organic material, natural
particles and bacteria do get through the filtration process.
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| How Your City Adds Chloramines to Your Tap Water |
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| Water utilities add chloramines to your water in order to disinfect
it. But chloramines have significant health effects. Water testing can
detect chloramines in your water and the appropriate water filter can
remove them.
Recently, two unrelated children ages 2 and 4, living in Greenville, N.C.,
were found to have extremely high levels of lead in their blood. One child
had lead levels in his blood that were 200 percent higher than the medical
safety standard. And the other child's lead level was about 150 percent
higher than the so-called safe limit.
What were these children exposed to that caused them to absorb so much
lead into their bodies? All signs point to the public water supply!
It turns out the water company's water was leaching lead from lead solder
used to connect water pipes in the homes' plumbing systems.
In fact, the tap water tested at the home of one of these children contained
lead levels of 400 parts per billion (ppb). To put that number in perspective,
even the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says lead levels in water
exceeding 15 ppb are very dangerous and must be acted upon.
The local water company's own water tests also showed 25 percent of all
samples collected at various homes in their coverage area were contaminated
with lead at levels starting at 15 ppb, if not more. No doubt, many more
water samples showed levels of lead that were also dangerous, but since
they were below the EPA's action level, the water utility did not have
to report them.
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| Hurricanes Will Hammer Your Water Quality |
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| Hurricanes
cause flooding. Flooding can wash dangerous contaminants into your well
water supply. Water testing can detect what is in your well water so you
can select the proper water filter to treat the problem.
Just over the past six weeks, 2004 has quickly become known as the "Year
of the Hurricane." You'd have to be living in a cave not to have
heard about all the turmoil that Charley, Francis and Ivan have caused
so far in the United States alone. With the end of the hurricane season
coming soon, let's hope all the rest will take it easy on us.
As most of us have seen on the news -- and some of us have experienced
first hand -- hurricanes can devastate property and the surrounding environment.
But what you don't see on CNN or the Weather Channel is the impact a powerful
storm can have on water supplies in hard-hit areas.
When accompanied by flooding or tidal surges, hurricanes can contaminate
a town's water supply. As we know, consuming contaminated water can cause
serious illness, so you should never assume that the water in the hurricane-impacted
area is safe to drink.
Another thing to consider is that in areas affected by a hurricane, even
the water treatment facilities may not be operating properly. Moreover,
the chemicals used to treat everyday water quality may be completely inadequate
to handle a drastic increase in contamination. And, even if the water
companies are prepared, flooding, tidal surges, storm damage and the resulting
debris can contaminate water mains and service lines.
One more obvious hazard: Overflowing sewage systems, which can result
in dangerous levels of bacteriological pollution. When in doubt, keep
an ear out for public announcements about the safety of the municipal
water supply.
For people connected to private wells in areas affected by hurricanes,
the scenario is even more urgent. No matter how deep your well is, assume
the water is no longer safe to drink. Even if your well has not been flooded,
another nearby well that taps into the very same aquifer may have been
impacted.
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| Is Your Water Filter Really Working? |
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| Begin
by identifying what is in your water by using our water testing services.
Once you know, you can install the right water filter to remove the contaminants
that are found.
Water filter companies have done an excellent job hammering home the fact
that a lot of water is contaminated. We regularly find city and well water
contaminated with hazardous toxins in cities and towns across the United
States.
However, there's one thing water filter companies don't mention. Even
if their filter removes contaminants from the water you drink, you're
still exposed to contaminated water when you:
• Inhale steam from a shower
• Bathe
• Wash your hands
• Wear laundry washed in contaminated water
• Eat and drink from plates, glasses and utensils washed in contaminated
water
That's why it's so important to make sure your water supply is safe.
Relying on the way your water looks, tastes or smells is a mistake. Dangerous
levels of contaminants that damage your health are measured in parts per
million or billion, something that the human senses of taste, smell and
sight cannot detect. A case in point: In some states, the FDA recently
reported the widespread tainting of milk and lettuce with rocket fuel.
But the contaminated milk and lettuce regulators examined looks, tastes
and smells perfectly fine.
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| |
| Protect Your Drinking Water From Herbicides |
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| Herbicides are actually found in well water and city water. This
article discusses where they come from and how water testing can detect
them. Once water testing tells you the level of herbicides in your water,
you can install the right water filter to remove them.
It's estimated that more than 600 million pounds of herbicides and pesticides
are applied in the United States each year for commercial and residential
use. These are chemicals used to control weeds and pests. Unfortunately,
these chemicals are also leaching into public water supplies. In fact,
atrazine, possibly the most heavily used herbicide in this country, is
found in many public water supplies.
Atrazine is thought to cause many health problems. For example, several
recent studies have found exposure to atrazine increases the risk of prostate
cancer. And this pesticide is linked to congestion of the heart, lung
and kidneys, as well as low blood pressure, muscle spasm, weight loss
and damage to the adrenal glands.
Due to atrazine's risks, several European countries have already banned
the chemical, and the European Union has announced it will ban it entirely
by early 2005.
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| Road Salt may be Contaminating Your Drinking Water |
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| Road
salt seeps into well water supplies. Only water testing by a reliable
lab can tell you if harmful road salt has contaminated your water. Once
you know what is in your water, you can install the right water filter
system to remove salt from your water.
Those of us living in areas hit by bad winter weather are quite familiar
with the large plows and salt spreaders that help keep our roads safe
for travel. Unfortunately, there are some serious downsides to the heavy
use of road salts and de-icing chemicals in the winter months.
In addition to contributing to weakening the road asphalt by forming cracks
and potholes AND causing our vehicles to rust prematurely, the heavy use
of road salts during the winter months are also harming the surrounding
environment.
Damage to the nearby soil, vegetation, birds and to other wildlife is
well documented. Even worse, the chemicals in road salts are finding their
way into our water sources.
Road salt compounds can contaminate lakes, ponds, rivers, streams and
water reservoirs by direct runoff or by moving through the soil and into
groundwater. As sodium and chloride levels increase in the winter months,
they can affect quality of roadside water sources and render the water
undrinkable.
Other substances in road salts and de-icers include chemicals such as
ferrocyanide, chloride and other metals that are measured in parts-per-billion.
Medical studies also suggest that increased sodium intake due to high
levels in food and drinking water may contribute to hypertension in humans.
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| Selenium: Too Much in Your Water Can be Worse Than Having
a Deficiency |
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| Selenium is quite common in well water and city water supplies. This
article discusses where it comes from and how water testing can detect
it. Once water testing tells you the level of selenium in your water,
you can install the right water filter to remove it.
A new Web site was recently
launched by a non-profit organization of researchers and engineers who
are concerned about the growing evidence of adverse health and environmental
effects from products containing selenium.
In fact, Congress was so concerned about the significantly increasing
levels of selenium in the environment that they directed the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) to conduct a study of selenium's "potentially
injurious effects to the environment and human health." I commend their
efforts because selenium is just one more element I find in more and more
public water supplies.
It's important to note, however, your body needs low levels of selenium
to maintain good health. Still, exposure to high levels of selenium can
cause adverse health effects.
You typically get enough selenium from the food you eat or from a daily
vitamin supplement. There is no need for selenium to be in your water
supply, because it has been classified as a bioaccumulative toxin, right
up there with mercury, lead, PCBs and dioxins. Selenium is also part of
the EPA's toxic release inventory.
What is Selenium and How is it Used?
Selenium is a solid black, gray or reddish element found in rocks and
soil (and present in coal and oil). You may be surprised about the variety
of products that use it:
• TVs and computers
• Glass
• Pharmaceuticals
• Farm feed additive
• Paints, plastics, inks and rubber (for color)
• Pesticides
• Fungicides
• Anti-dandruff shampoos
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Teflon In Drinking Water Contamination Update
Teflon has been found in well water and city water supplies. This
article discusses where it come from and how water testing has detected
it. If Teflon is in your water, you should install the right water filter
to remove it.
Hard to believe, it's been almost 70 years since Teflon was first introduced.
Since its creation in 1938 by the DuPont Company, it has been added to
countless household and personal care products under the sun besides non-stick
cookware.
To name a few:
• Clothing (Gore-Tex jackets and other apparel)
• Carpets
• Upholstery
• Nail polish removers
• Eyeglasses
• Pizza boxes
Because it was first introduced so many years ago, Teflon gained wide
distribution before scientists could determine its impact on our health.
Teflon in Drinking Water
Dupont manufactured Teflon one time or another at various chemical plants
in the United States. And, while it was clear to everyone that a component
of Teflon known as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) was found in drinking
water supplies near their chemical plant in West Virginia, no one seemed
to know about any contamination to public water supplies surrounding their
Ohio chemical plant.
In fact, Ohio's state Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) publicly announced
that PFOA was not found in drinking water supplies surrounding the Dupont
Ohio chemical plant. Yet, amazingly, just one day after their announcement,
federal EPA officials said they had indeed found PFOA in that same drinking
water.
Even worse, a federal EPA official involved with the discovery of that
PFOA-contaminated water said she was just not confident the feds would
get all the information they needed to pursue the matter completely. And,
to top it all off, despite all the warnings, Ohio's EPA continues to tell
residents they should not be concerned with the PFOA that is in their
water.
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| The Danger Lurking in Your Shower Water |
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| Research
has been conducted on the effect manganese in water supplies can have
on your health. Water testing can tell you if manganese is in your water.
Once found, you can install the right water filter type system to remove
it.
A new study from the Wake Forest University School of Medicine claims
that you risk permanent nervous system (brain) damage if you regularly
inhale water vapor when showering, which contains manganese.
What is Manganese and how does it get into your water?
Manganese is one of the most abundant metals in the earth and is used
extensively in making steel, welding rods, paints, fireworks, fertilizers,
varnish, livestock supplements and so forth. It's also added to gasoline
to reduce engine knocking.
Manganese is likely found so extensively in water supplies because it
is highly abundant in the earth and because of its use in gasoline.
Most everyone is exposed to small levels of manganese from the food they
eat or mineral supplements they take. Low levels of manganese are essential
for good health, but high levels of manganese are toxic.
What Researchers Found Regarding Water & Manganese
The analysis was conducted by Dr. John Spangler, M.D. and Dr. Robert Elsner,
Ph.D.
They analyzed the levels of manganese that caused central nervous system
damage in rodents by accumulating inside their brains. They then reviewed
medical literature and animal studies to determine how much manganese
people would absorb by using water to shower a mere 10 minutes a day.
They found that by using tap water to take brief, daily showers over the
course of 10 years, children would be exposed to three times the level
of manganese that the rodents were exposed to and adults would be exposed
to 50 times more.
This also indicates that adults using tap water to take "brief showers"
for only one year would still be exposed to five times more manganese
than those rodents who suffered brain damage.
The doctors felt that even though all individuals could be at risk from
manganese toxicity as a result of their water supply, children, pregnant
women, the elderly and those being treated for liver disease are at the
highest risk, even when exposed to low doses of manganese when showering.
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| The Deadly Reach of Environmental Toxins In Drinking Water
Across Generations |
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| Water
testing can tell you what harmful environmental toxins are in your water
supply. Then you can install the appropriate water filter system to remove
them.
Did you catch the recent findings coming out of Washington State University
and published in Science magazine? It showed how exposure to environmental
toxins such as thru air, drinking water, and food affects your health
more than anyone ever imagined. Researchers found exposure to toxins in
the environment by your parents or grandparents may have caused you to
inherit some of your ailments.
And, if you are exposed to environmental contaminants found in air, drinking
water, and food, you could pass on your exposure to generation after generation
of your offspring.
For 60 years, scientists have known parents pass on genes to their children
and grandchildren. Science has known, if parents passed on bad genes,
their children and grandchildren would be more likely to suffer from diseases
like cancer, diabetes and heart disease.
Now, scientists have found that disease may be caused not only because
of your parents or grandparents passing on bad genes, but also because
they were exposed to toxins 70 years earlier, whether they were exposed
to those toxins in air, water or food they came into contact with. And
even though their cells weren't affected by that exposure, yours are.
In fact, Dr. Michael Skinner, one of the researchers involved with the
study at Washington State University, said toxins may even chemically
modify the person's DNA!
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| The Dirty Little Secret Behind the Chlorine in Your Water |
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| Water testing can tell you if chlorine and disinfection by-products
are in your water supply. Then you can install the appropriate water filter
systems to remove them.
If you are on a public water system -- meaning a utility company supplies
your water -- it's extremely likely it contains chlorine and disinfection
by-products.
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 by-products (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 that the EPA sets the goal for some of these by-products
at 0 because they are so dangerous (unfortunately the EPA goal is not
enforceable).
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| The Mercury's Rising ... in Our Drinking Water Supplies |
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| Water testing can tell you if mercury is in your water supply. Then
you can install the appropriate water filter system to remove it.
Before the days of digital thermometers, many of us grew up being poked
and prodded with mercury-filled glass tubes whenever we came down with
a sniffle. Nowadays, the mercury thermometer has all but gone the way
of the horse and buggy with good reason: Mercury is highly toxic.
While mercury occurs naturally in the earth's crust, the vast majority
of contamination occurs via human activity. What are the major sources
of mercury pollution?
• Coal-burning power plants
• The incineration of hazardous waste
• Chlorine production
• Cement manufacturing
• Municipal landfills
• Metal refining
• Sewage
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| Warning! That Glass of Drinking Water Is Recycled |
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| Every
drop of water on earth today is recycled. It is critical to find out if
your water is pure by having water testing performed on it. If contamination
is found, then you can install the proper water filter to treat your problem.
Let’s travel back in time about 150 million years ago. A dinosaur
rumbles through the mud during a rainstorm. As the water in its footprints
begins to evaporate in the hot, tropical air, a microscopic water molecule
rises up towards the sky.
Traveling a few thousand feet in the air, the water molecule bonds with
millions of others to form a droplet. Gliding along the wind currents,
the droplet enters a rain cloud and falls back to Earth as rain.
Flash forward to 65,000 BC: Our water molecule is now inside a snowflake.
As the snow melts, the molecule is washed into a freshwater marsh. A Wooly
Mammoth visits the marsh and gulps down our molecule. The Pleistocene
giant eventually passes the water molecule as waste while marking his
territory in an ancient forest.
The molecule then seeps through the soil and is absorbed by the root system
of a tree. It is transported up through the vessels within the tree to
a leaf, where it evaporates into vapor. Drifting along in the cold air,
the water molecule re-freezes and descends onto a glacier, where it will
remain for thousands of years.
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| Water Quality is Only as Good as the Pipes it Flows Through |
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| Have
you ever considered the contaminants that can be picked up by your water
supply when it passes thru water company water mains on the way to your
home? Water testing can tell you what is in your water. And if contamination
is found, it will help you find the appropriate water filter to treat
your problem.
Taking our drinking water quality for granted is a mistake most of us
make every day. If our tap water tastes, smells and looks clean, we simply
assume it's safe for drinking, brushing teeth and bathing. But, considering
the vital role water plays in maintaining good health, this approach just
isn't smart.
There
are too many factors beyond our control that can drastically impact our
tap water quality. Pollution in the form of chemical spills, leaking fuel
tanks, pesticides, cleaning fluids, weed killers and fertilizers is just
the tip of the water-contamination iceberg. Ironically, even the very
chemicals that water companies add to our water to "protect"
us--like fluoride, chlorine and other disinfectants--can lead to health
risks.
However, one of the most overlooked sources of water contamination is
right under our noses, streets, lawns and floors: water pipes. This past
February the EPA reported that even safe, potable water often becomes
contaminated after it leaves the municipal treatment plant.
The EPA said that sediment, such as scales and microbial material (or
"biofilm"), builds up inside pipe walls and leaches into the
drinking water as it passes through on the way to your home [see photo
right]. If the water's pH is low, the acidity can result in materials
like iron, copper, lead, zinc, arsenic and manganese showing up at levels
well beyond state and federal drinking water standards.
Water
with pH below 6.5 can also corrode copper pipes, which not only can lead
to high levels
of copper in the water, but also result in pitting, or "pinhole"
leaks, which can allow other contaminants into the pipe and the water
inside [see photo left].
Even PVC piping is not compl |
Water Filters 
