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article discusses the severe impact contaminated water may
have on your child. Water testing is the only way to determine
if your water is contaminated.
What's probably the easiest way a parent puts their child's
health at risk? By allowing them to drink and bathe in water
that is unsafe. In fact, children are more susceptible to
the effects of contaminated drinking water. How can that be?
Pound-for-pound, infants drink more than twice as much water
as the average American adult. For example, a 155-pound adult
male would have to drink 35 12-ounce glasses of water to match
the water intake of one infant living solely on formula.
And you may not know that young children need 60 percent more
water every day than adults.
Infants and children differ from adults not only in size,
but internally, meaning since their organs are not fully developed,
they are more vulnerable to water and environmental contaminants.
Exposures to contaminants like lead are known to cause permanent
damages to a child's nervous system. Exposure through the
ingestion of chemicals in water may interfere with physiological
processes of the child, including the immune, respiratory
and neurological systems.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets standards for
maximum contaminant levels or MCLs in our drinking water.
But the fact that your water meets the EPA standards doesn't
always mean it's safe either. Lower levels of toxins in water
have a greater impact on children. And many times, it is the
chemicals companies use to treat their water that actually
makes it harmful for you.
What can you do? First, find out what is in your water. If
a specific problem is found, you can remove it with the appropriate
water treatment system (unfortunately, no system exists that
treats every problem).
Just don't fall into the trap of thinking your water is safe
because it looks, tastes or smells good. Time and again, we
find dangerously contaminated water typically looks, tastes
and smells fine. That's because dangerous levels of harmful
contaminants are measured in parts per million or billion.
They simply cannot be detected by the human senses.
So take the time to find out what's in your water in order
to protect your child's health.
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