| 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.
Health Effects of Herbicides
A national health and nutrition study conducted by the Center
for Disease Control found levels of the herbicide 2,4-D in
12 percent of samples of 1,000 adults. This common weed killer
contaminates both surface and groundwater and has repeatedly
been linked with non-hodgkin's lymphoma, according to medical
studies conducted in the United States, Canada and Europe.
A common ingredient in many lawn care products, 2,4-D is a
known endocrine disruptor, and can block hormone distribution
and cause glandular breakdown. It is linked to immune system
damage, birth defects and reproductive issues.
The long-term health impact from herbicide and pesticide poisoning
are not yet fully understood. Health experts find it very
difficult to isolate all the potentially harmful contaminants
that a person is exposed to over the long term.
As with the millions of pounds of commercial-grade pesticides
applied every day in this country, these toxic herbicides
will eventually end up in our water supply. But here's the
really scary thing: due to regulatory red tape and general
bureaucracy, many of these dangerous pollutants are classified
as "unregulated contaminants." This means there are no national
legal standards to keep them out of our drinking water. Without
EPA standards, water companies are not legally required to
test for a specific contaminant.
As most herbicides are regulated and measured in micrograms
(parts per billion), these contaminants are so toxic that
even tiny traces could be dangerous to your family's health.
It is impossible to detect even dangerous levels of these
contaminants with our senses of taste, smell or sight.
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