Is Drinking Water Safe? Only Playing Russian Roulette Is Perhaps Safer
Posted: Monday, October 05, 2009
by David Cassell
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Is drinking water safe? Well, the answer to this question is relative. Compared to some poor countries, the water supplies of the United States and Canada may be safe.
But a combination of environmental factors has led to contaminated water running through our taps. And as you are about to find out, there is a difference between drinkable tap water and safe tap water.
First off, it is not practical for municipal water authorities to remove all drinking water contaminants. So no amount of legislation is going to make it possible for all water supplies to be contaminant free.
The EPA sets maximum levels for certain contaminants; meaning that if more than that level is detected in tap water, the public should be notified and steps taken to reduce the contaminant. Obviously this means particular contaminants will be allowed to remain in your water supply below the maximum level. So, is this safe?
Well, the EPA and other experts will tell you that most contaminants exist in only trace amounts and have no effects on human health.
But other experts say that even trace amounts of contaminants consumed over a number of years, every time you have a glass of water, will have a cumulatively adverse effect on your health.
This is the same principle that applies if you consume a large amount of poison. Your body could reject it and you'll live. But if you consume a little poison over an extended period of time, your body could seriously suffer.
It is better to err on the side of caution and get rid of as many drinking water contaminants as possible than to risk illness.
What About Municipal Water Treatment
Chlorination has its pluses, but it isn't perfect. Yes, when chlorine is added to tap water, it kills bacteria, waterborne parasites and other pathogens. But in this day and age of the " super bug", you find that many pathogens are chlorine resistant, so chlorine is less effective.
Cryptosporodium and giardia are two examples of super bugs that research has shown is increasingly present in our tap water. These contaminants can kill and kill fast. This was the case in Milwaukee in 1993 where a cryptosporodium contaminated water killed 100 and got 40,000 people sick.
Drugs In Drinking Water
Did you hear about the findings of the recent study by the Associated Press. They found pharmaceutical drugs like sex hormones and cancer drugs in the drinking water of 24 large metropolitan cities across the U.S, around 40 million people.
They also found that some water authorities kept this contamination quiet, in an effort not to alarm the public. This doesn't exactly inspire total confidence in our water safety standards does it?
What To Do
Is drinking water safe? It is really up to you to decide. One man's meat is another man's poison.
But when you hear one of America's foremost authorities on water contamination Dr. David Ozonoff of the Boston University Of Public Health, say, "The risk of disease associated with public drinking water has passed from the theoretical to the real," you have to take note.
Or when you hear the Natural Resources Defense Council say, "Drinking water plants are old and out of date and water supplies are increasingly threatened and contaminated by chemicals and microorganisms", it is time to take action.
By getting a quality home water treatment system, you can significantly remove drinking water contaminants and also improve the appearance and taste of tap water. Now how do you know what is a quality filtration unit?
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If you're scared to death of the drugs found in drinking water , we compare the various water filter systems at http://www.best-water-filter-guide.com and show you which ones have been scientifically proven to remove the highest amounts of contaminants
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