Contaminated Water

[Guest guest]

Study: Millions of Americans Drink Contaminated Water

 

By JOHN HEILPRIN

..c The Associated Press

 

WASHINGTON (Jan. 8) - Millions of Americans have been drinking tap

water contaminated with chemical byproducts from chlorine that are

far more than what studies suggest may be safe for pregnant women,

two environmental groups say in a new study.

 

Chlorine is commonly used to disinfect drinking water. When it is

added to water that contains organic matter such as runoff from farms

or lawns, however, it can form compounds such as chloroform that can

cause illness.

 

The study released Tuesday by the Environmental Working Group and

Public Interest Research Groups identified areas that may have

increased health risks including miscarriage, neural tube defects and

reduced fetal growth from women drinking chlorination byproducts.

 

``By failing to clean up rivers and reservoirs that provide drinking

water for hundreds of millions of Americans, EPA and the Congress

have forced water utilities to chlorinate water that is contaminated

with animal waste, sewage, fertilizer, algae and sediment,'' the

report says.

 

Jane Houlihan, EWG's research director, said the report also shows

how that cleanup failure has ``a direct impact on human health.''

Pregnant women need to drink plenty of water, she said, but they can

reduce their exposure to potential risks through simple measures such

as home filters and purchasing bottled water.

 

One expert on environmental health cautioned that the link between

the byproducts and pregnancy risks is suggestive, not conclusive.

 

Still, if the pregnancy studies are proved, millions could be at

risk, said Dr. Robert Morris, an environmental epidemiologist at

Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston.

 

``That body of literature isn't necessarily conclusive but people

ought to be aware of it,'' Morris said. ``It's pretty clear that some

of these compounds can be pretty bad actors. The fact that these

levels are as high as they are is certainly something to be concerned

about.''

 

The environmental groups combed water quality records in 29 states

and the District of Columbia and matched them with various research

into birth defects and miscarriages conducted by state and federal

agencies and universities.

 

The groups said the places statistically most at risk due to

chlorination byproducts were those that are populous, lacked buffers

from urban sprawl and were downstream from agricultural sites. But

women in small towns generally face twice the risk from drinking high

levels of the byproducts, Houlihan said.

 

Matching high rates doesn't prove the environmental risk caused the

health problems, however. Also, the results are limited because,

among other reasons, such health records do not exist in some states.

 

The Environmental Protection Agency already has decided that some

chlorination byproducts pose health risks and instituted stricter

standards on Jan. 1 for seven of them: five haloacetic acids, bromate

and chlorite. The agency also began requiring a reduction by one-

fifth of the allowable level for trihalomethanes, another chemical

produced by adding chlorine to dirty water.

 

EPA studies showed that reducing the level of trihalomethanes might

mean 2,332 fewer cases of bladder cancer per year, down from its

estimate of up to 9,300 annual cases caused by trihalomethanes.

 

While the environmental groups said the majority of water suppliers

were meeting the current and future drinking water health standards,

they also found that since 1995 more than 11 million people in 1,044

communities were being served water contaminated with chlorination

byproducts for 12 months in a row at levels above the new legal

limit.

 

To reduce the risks, the groups said, the federal government should

provide billions of dollars more for cleaning up sources of

contaminated water and providing more buffer areas that can filter

potential contaminants from farmland and urban areas.

 

AP-NY-01-08-02 1601EST

 

Copyright 2001 The Associated Press. The information contained in the

AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or

otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The

Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

[Guest guest]

My local paper in Point Pleasant, NJ just ran a headline " Disturbing

level of contaminants in water. " and this was just after the whole

area received a mailing claiming all was fine with the drinking water

supply! So how is the township handling the situation? Chloramine.

Chlorine plus Ammonia! When chlorine no longer works on certain

bacteria they go for the stronger stuff. Personally, I use an

energizer/distiller to clean up my tap water before I use it to soak

beans, make coffee etc. I immediately began supplying my mom, who is

fighting breast cancer, with home purified tap water. People should

do the best they can to get an accurate assessment of their tap

water. No two homes are identical, and purity measurement changes

from day to day and hour to hour even if measurements are taken from

the same source. I've done my own total dissolved solids tests and

have watched it change weekly. Although solids tests don't measure

chlorine, I'm using it as an example of " Stuff " in the drinking

water, I'd rather not drink. Anyone who would like to discuss this

matter can email me at rovneyko as to not divert this

message boards focus....although clean water is important to all

recipes.

[Guest guest]

Rovneyko wrote [[.. Point Pleasant, NJ .. " Disturbing level of

contaminants in water. " ]]

** It is becoming more common in the United States. I lived in

Germany for seven years. During that time, I traveled extensively

throughout Europe. The folk in Spain, Italy, Germany, England,

Wales, Ireland, Switzerland & Austria (for example) do NOT drink

their tap water. They purchase bottled water at 'drink markets'.

 

[[so how is the township handling the situation?]]

** I live just outside of Atlanta, GA. Here, the city just went

from " toilet to tap " . Yes .. that is what the CITY calls it ..

reclaimed water.

 

[[i immediately began supplying my mom, who is fighting breast

cancer, with home purified tap water.]]

** Then I hope you have a water filter on her SHOWER as well. Its

not just what we drink, but what we bath with as well. The skin is,

afterall, the bodies largest organ.

 

[[Anyone who would like to discuss this matter can email me .. to not

divert this message boards focus .. although clean water is important

to all recipes.]]

** Though not the list owner, I see this matter as being on topic.

 

Om Shanti ...

Lalita Shakti

[Guest guest]

yogini_shakti wrote ** Then I hope you have a water filter on her

SHOWER as well. Its not just what we drink, but what we bath with as

well. The skin is, afterall, the bodies largest organ.

 

Excellent point! I am currently working on an inexpensive activated

carbon filled filter to try at home. What does anyone know about a

good inexpensive, filter for the shower and what would be the best

defense against chlorine? I'm guessing activated carbon.