| 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.
How did Lead Leach Into the Water Supply?
The water company started treating the public water supply
with chloramines. Chloramines are formed by combining chlorine
and small amounts of ammonia. That combination yields three
known varieties:
• Monochloramine
• Dichloramine
• Trichloramine
Chloramines eat away at the lead contained in the solder used
to connect pipes, as well as actual lead service lines, and
deposits lead into the water supply. So why did this North
Carolina water company start adding chloramines to the public
water supply in the first place?
Believe it or not, they did it to reduce the levels of harmful trihalomethanes
(TTHMs) they were finding in their water. As you may recall,
TTHMs are types of disinfection byproducts that have been
linked to liver, kidney and central nervous system damage
as well as cancer. They are very widespread in public water
supplies.
The water company could have selected another water treatment
option that would have reduced TTHMs in the water supply and
kept it bacteria-free, but adding chloramines to the water
was the low-cost option.
Adding chloramines to the public water supply isn't limited
to this North Carolina water company either. More and more,
water companies across the United States have switched to
chloramines in an attempt to keep bacteria from growing in
their water. In fact, 25 percent of water companies now use
them as their primary disinfection chemical of choice.
Just so you know, reports of high lead levels in public water
supplies aren't limited to North Carolina. Within the past
year, the water company serving the Washington, D.C. area
switched to chloramines and soon found lead levels 3,200 times
greater than the EPA's action level. Things were so bad, according
to the Washington Post, the water company withheld reporting
some of their water test results and simply told their customers
their water was fine.
That same newspaper reported, "Cities across the country are
manipulating the results of tests used to detect lead in water,
violating federal law, and putting millions of Americans at
risk."
Health Effects of Chloramines
The lead that is leached into the water supply by chloramines
has been linked to kidney damage, miscarriages, nervous system
damage, anemia, high blood pressure, brain damage and reproductive
difficulties, as well as learning and behavioral problems
in children. Plus, chloramines leach copper into public water
supplies. And long-term exposure to high levels of copper
can cause liver damage, kidney damage, headaches, stomach
problems and dizziness, among others.
In addition, scientists have discovered chloramines can create
their own disinfection byproducts, such as N-nitrosodimethylamine.
And this specific disinfection byproduct is a human carcinogen.
Some research links chloramines to bladder cancer. It's also
believed the ammonia used to create chloramines in water can
cause nitrate levels to rise and hurt young children.
Can Chloramines be Removed From the Water?
Chloramines are very difficult to remove from water by using
reverse-osmosis systems or water softeners. Distilling water
also won't remove them. But they can typically be removed
with the right granular-activated carbon filter.
The problem: Public water supplies typically also contain
other toxic substances that may not be removed by granular-activated
carbon. No water filter exists that treats all problems.
That's why you should find out which toxins are in your water,
then install the right treatment system to deal with your
specific problem.
I also encourage you to meet with your health practitioner
to reverse any damage these contaminants may have done to
your health.
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