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This article discusses barium in
water, both well water and city water. It discusses water testing, well
water testing, and filters. Water contaminants are linked to many
ailments. Well water and city water that looks, tastes, or smells fine may
be contaminated. A well water test or a city water test will find what is
in your water. Only then can you install the right water filter to fix
your problem.
Barium: The Poison No One Talks
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Have you ever heard of the metal barium? If you
haven't, you're not alone. Barium 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 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, wells,
lakes, rivers and landfills.
Ten states account for about half of
all legal barium released in this country:
1. Texas (17.1 million
pounds)
2. North Dakota (15.7 million pounds)
3. Illinois (11
million pounds)
4. Alabama (10.2 million pounds)
5. Michigan (10.1
million pounds)
6. Colorado (10.1 million pounds)
7. Minnesota (8.8
million pounds)
8. Ohio (8.2 million pounds)
9. Montana (7.9 million
pounds)
10. Indiana (7.8 million pounds)
And 26 additional
states released anywhere from 1 -- 7 million pounds of barium apiece into
the environment. Of course, none of these statistics take into
consideration the illegal, unreported dumping of barium metals into the
environment.
How Barium Poisons Our Water
Supply
In light of the millions of pounds of barium
released into the environment each year, it was only a matter of time
until this toxic metal made it into our public water supply. Even worse,
some forms of barium dissolve very easily in water, meaning, once it
enters the water supply, it can spread quickly over great
distances.
In fact, this has already occurred. Public water
supplies contaminated with barium are everywhere. The magnitude of the
problem grows worse with each passing day.
Looking at lab tests
conducted on public water supplies that crossed my desk over a week's
time, I found the vast majority showed some level of barium contamination.
Some of the lab tests I reviewed were conducted on water from six states:
Virginia, New York, California, Texas, Massachusetts and
Oregon.
Again, these were only lab results that crossed my desk in
one week. But that also illustrates how widespread the problem really
is.
How Barium Affects Your Health
Exposure
to small amounts of barium, dissolved in water, may cause a person to
experience these problems:
1. Breathing difficulties
2.
Increased blood pressure
3. Heart rhythm changes
4. Stomach
irritation
5. Muscle weakness
6. Alterations in nerve reflexes
7.
Damage to your brain, liver, kidney and heart
To date, barium has
not been shown to cause cancer and has not been linked to infertility or
birth defects. Not yet, anyway...
I urge you to find out if barium
and other harmful contaminants are in your water supply. If they are, for
the sake of you and your family's health, you may want to consider a water
purification system that treats those specific problems. Please be aware,
however, no single system treats every problem.
Then, see your
health practitioner about removing the contaminants that may have
accumulated in your body.
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