Wat op Kraan is en Wat u over Drinkwater moet weten
Door Leigh Erin Connealy, M.D. | De nationale Raad van de Defensie van Middelen (NRDC), een milieuactieorganisatie, voerde onlangs een diepgaande studie in de kwaliteit van drinkwater over de Verenigde Staten uit. Het herzien van de gegevens van de leidingwaterkwaliteit voor de 19 belangrijke V.S. steden, met inbegrip van Los Angeles, compileerden zij hun bevindingen en stelden hen ter beschikking van het publiek in Juni 2003. 11 verontreinigende stoffen werden geëtiketteerdk om van „hoog belang“ of „één of ander belang“ voor de watervoorziening van het gebied van La te zijn. Sinds veel van Los Angeles en Oranje Provincie drinkwater komt uit de zelfde twee bronnen, de Rivier van Colorado en Noordelijk Californië, zou deze informatie moeten van nota aan die zijn die in het Oranje gebied van de Provincie leven.
Vijf verontreinigende stoffen vielen onder de „hoge zorg“ categorie, met inbegrip van Lood, Perchloraat, Radon, Zuren Haloacetic (HAAs) en Totale Trihalomethanes (TTHMs).
Lood
Het lood is een zwaar metaal dat over het algemeen de het drinken levering toe te schrijven aan de corrosie van pijpen, loodgieterswerk of tapkranen ingaat. Vaak, de loodniveaus van water bij uw huis zijn veel hoger dan de niveaus uit de bron van het water. Dit is gewoonlijk het resultaat van verontreiniging dat bij uw huis kan voorkomen, wegens oude of aangetaste pijpen. De nationale norm (NS) voor lood, zoals langs bepaald EPA, is ppb 15.
Gevolgen voor de gezondheid: Zuigelingen, jonge kinderen en zwangere vrouwen zijn bijzonder vatbaar voor de ongunstige gevolgen van lood. In ernstige gevallen, kan het vergiftigen permanente hersenenschade en, in minder strenge gevallen veroorzaken, kan kinderen ertoe bewegen om aan verminderde intelligentie en problemen met de groei, ontwikkeling en gedrag te lijden. In volwassenen, kan het lood bloeddruk, de functie van de kwaadnier verhogen, ongunstig het zenuwstelsel beïnvloeden en rode bloedcellen beschadigen.
Perchloraat
Het perchloraat in het water komt gewoonlijk uit de morserijen van de raketbrandstof of lekt bij militaire faciliteiten. Bovendien, perchloraat wordt gebruikt in een verscheidenheid van producten en toepassingen, met inbegrip van elektronische buizen, voertuigluchtkussens, leer het looien en vuurwerk. NS is ppb 4, nochtans is geen niveau bepaald veilig om te zijn.
Gevolgen voor de gezondheid: Het perchloraat onderbreekt schildklier functioneer en is verdacht carcinogeen. De veranderingen in de niveaus van het schildklierhormoon kunnen in schildkliertumors resulteren. In children, thyroid disruption can adversely affect proper development and in adults it can interfere with metabolism regulation. Disruption of the thyroid in pregnant women may impact the fetus and result in delayed development and decreased learning ability.
Radon
Radon is a radioactive gas that results from the natural breakdown of uranium in the ground. The NS is an average of 300 pCi/L.
Health Effects: Radon is known to cause lung cancer. No level is considered to be safe and a single particle of radon can cause cancer. The EPA estimates that radon in drinking water causes approximately 168 deaths from lung and stomach cancer each year (89% from lung cancer caused by breathing radon released to the indoor air from water, 11% from stomach cancer caused by consuming water that contains radon). Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S., after smoking.
Haloacetic Acids (HAAs)/Total Trihalomethanes (TTHMs)
HAAs and TTHMs are volatile organic contaminates often referred to as disinfection by-products or organochlorines and result when chlorine used to disinfect drinking water interacts with organic matter in the water. The EPA has classified some TTHMs as probable human carcinogens. The NS for HAAs is an average of 60 ppb and for TTHMs, an average of 80 ppb.
Health Effects: Disinfection by-products have been linked to cancers of the bladder, pancreas, colon, rectum, brain, and childhood leukemia.
The following six contaminants fall under the category of “some concern”:
Cryptosporidium
Cryptosporidium is a waterborne parasite that lives and reproduces by the millions in both animal and human intestines until it is shed in the feces. The NS is 0.
Health Effects: Cryptosporidium can cause severe diarrhea, nausea, abdominal cramping and fever for up to 2 weeks. Currently there is no antibiotic that can kill the parasite. It poses a significant health risk to children and those with weakened immune systems.
Total Coliform Bacteria (TCM)
TCM is a broad class of bacteria, many of which live in the intestines of humans and animals. Most coliform bacteria are harmless, however their presence indicates that the water may contain harmful bacteria such as E. coli. The NS for TCM is 0.
Arsenic
Arsenic found in drinking supplies comes from mining, industrial processes, past use of arsenic containing pesticides, and natural leaching erosion from rock. Currently the NS for arsenic is 50 ppb but will be lowered to 10 ppb in 2006.
Health Effects: Arsenic is toxic to humans and a known carcinogen. The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has determined that arsenic in drinking water is known to cause cancer of the bladder, skin and lungs. An NAS report published in 2001 stated that a person who drinks 2 liters of water a day (containing 10 ppb arsenic) has a lifetime total fatal cancer risk greater than 1 in 333.
Chromium
Chromium is a naturally occurring metal used in industrial processes, including metal plating for chrome bumpers and making stainless steel, paint, rubber and wood preservatives. The NS for chromium is 100 ppb.
Health Effects: Chromium ingestion can cause a host of health problems, ranging form skin irritation to damage to kidney, liver and nerve tissue.
Gross Alpha Radiation (GAR)/Gross Beta Radiation (GBR)
GAR and GBR generally result from the decay of radioactive minerals in underground rocks and are sometimes by-products of the mining and nuclear industries. The NS for GAR is an average of 15 pCi/L and for GBR, an average of 50 pCi/L.
Health Effects: No level of exposure to GAR or GBR is considered safe as they are both radioactive and can cause cancer.
Uranium
Uranium is released from minerals in the ground, often as the result of mining or as a by-product of the nuclear industry. The NS for uranium is 30 micrograms/L.
Health Effects: Uranium is radioactive and known to cause cancer when ingested. The EPA has determined that it causes serious kidney damage at levels above 300 mcg/L.
While Orange County has strict regulations on the quality of drinking water, you should still be aware of what is coming out of your tap. The EPA established national standards are determined to be the highest level of contaminants allowed in the water. The NRDC however, maintains that no level of any of these contaminants is safe.
So what can you do? First, contact the EPA for a list of state-certified labs that can test the water at your home. Finding out what is in your tap water can help you to determine what kind of filtration system is right for you. Your water standards should be higher than the EPA’s to ensure the safety of your family.
When choosing a water filtration system, I recommend a unit that also regulates the pH level of your water like Jupiter Melody by Ion Life available through perfectlyhealthy at (www.perfectlyhealthy.net) . Proper pH levels can further protect you from any contaminants that you might come in contact with and also ward off disease and infection. You want to drink water that reaches a pH level of approximately 9.0 while trying to maintain a blood pH level of 7.43.
For a list of state-certified labs, call the EPA’s hotline at 800-426-4791 or go online at (www.epa.gov/safewater/privatewells/labs.html) . To review the entire report by the NRDC, visit their website at (www.nrdc.org) . I recommend the Jupiter Melody Ionizer available through perfectlyhealthy, it excludes contaminants from your drinking water as well as providing a pH level of approximately 9.0. Visit (www.perfectlyhealthy.net) for more information.
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This entry was posted on Thursday, August 14th, 2008 at 10:38 pm and is filed under Contributions & Guests . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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