By Dr. Mercola
Each year, red flags over toxic drinking water are raised across the U.S., with reasons varying from location to location. One major problem is aging water pipes, which have become an increasingly common source of toxic exposure.1 In fact, in a 2013 report,2 the American Society for Civil Engineers warned that most of the drinking water infrastructure across the nation is “nearing the end of its useful life.”
The American Water Works Association estimates it would cost more than $1 trillion to update and replace all the water pipes in the U.S. — money that many water utilities do not have. Water pollution is another grave concern, as water treatment plants cannot filter out all of the toxins now entering the water, from firefighting chemicals3 and agricultural chemicals,4,5 to drugs and microcystins, nerve toxins produced by freshwater cyanobacteria.6
Filtering Your Water Is a Health Priority
While the U.S. has many water quality concerns, it doesn’t really matter where you live anymore, as many dangerous chemicals find their way into the ecosystem, spreading from one continent to another.7 The take-home message is that, if you care about your health, filtering your household water is more a necessity than an option these days.
Ideally, filter the water you use both for drinking and bathing, as immersing yourself in contaminated water may be even more hazardous to your health than drinking it. Chemicals absorbed through your skin go directly into your blood stream, bypassing your digestive- and internal filtration systems. Unfiltered water can also expose you to dangerous chlorine vapors and chloroform gas, which can cause dizziness, fatigue, asthma, airway inflammation and respiratory allergies.
Chlorine can…