Things you should know about your drinking water and municipal tap water
Chlorine and Your Drinking Water ~
Here's What The Experts Have To Say:
"The drinking of chlorinated water has finally been officially linked to an increased incidence of colon cancer. An epidemiologist at Oak Ridge Associated Universities completed a study of colon cancer victims and non-cancer patients and concluded that the drinking of chlorinated water for 15 years or more was conducive to a high rate of colon cancer." Health Freedom News, January/February 1987
"Long-term drinking of chlorinated water appears to increase a person's risk of developing bladder cancer as much as 80%," according to a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Some 45,000 Americans are diagnosed every year with bladder cancer. St. Paul Dispatch & Pioneer Press, December 17, 1987
"Although concentrations of these carcinogens are low...it is precisely these low levels which cancer scientists believe are responsible for the majority of human cancers in the United States." Report Issued By The Environmental Defense Fund
"Chlorine itself is not believed to be the problem. Scientists suspect that the actual cause of the bladder cancers is a group of chemicals that form as result of reactions between the chlorine and natural substances and pollutants in the water." (organic matter such as leaves and twigs.) St. Paul Dispatch & Pioneer Press, December 17, 1987
Greenpeace reports have found chlorine-based compounds to be the most common toxic and persistent pollutants in the Great Lakes
Summary and Prevention Strategies
In its proposal for revamping the Clean Water Act, the Environmental Protection Agency has recommended examining chlorine's impact on health and the environment (SN: 1/22/94, p.59). The agency's proposed $2 million, one-year chlorine study would look at the effects of the use of chlorine and chlorine compounds in the manufacture of paper, solvents, and plastics and in disinfecting waste water and drinking water, says EPA' James F. Pendergast.
Contaminants may enter water supplies at many points before reaching the tap. The carcinogens in drinking water at the point of use may result from contamination of source water, arise from the treatment processes, or enter as the water is transported to the consumer. Varied carcinogens may contaminate the source water, but they usually exist in drinking water at low concentrations. However, chemicals that enter drinking water during water treatment are limited in number, but appear in drinking water supplies with greater frequency than most source water contaminants.
Under conditions of average temperature, humidity, and activity, the human body loses and, therefore, must replace about 2.3 liters of water each day. Two-thirds of this consumption is in the form of water or some other beverage. Concerns about the health risks or taste of drinking water may cause those who consume tap water to shift to bottled water, or other beverages. These beverages may include sweetened soft drinks and alcoholic beverages, which can pose health risks greater than those associated with drinking water.
To stop chlorination of drinking water to eliminate the elevated cancer risks from chlorination by-products would be foolhardy. Nonetheless, the data provide strong evidence to support expanded efforts in research and development of alternatives to chlorination for the disinfection of drinking water. Chlorination is particularly effective in preventing recontamination during distribution. Alternatives must provide a similar level of protection. Perhaps the most viable alternative is point of use water treatment units.
The weight of the evidence suggests that chlorination by-products pose substantial cancer risks that should be reduced.
MORE FACTS & SOURCES:
DID YOU KNOW???
"Drinking tap water that is chlorinated is hazardous if not deadly to your health."
HEALTHY WATER FOR LONGER LIFE - DR. MARTIN FOX
"Known carcinogens are found in drinking water as a direct consequence of the practice of
MUNICIPAL ENVIROMENTAL RESEARCH LAB - FRANCIS T. MAYO, DIRECTOR
"Cancer risk among people drinking chlorinated water is 93% higher than among those whose
water does not contain chlorine."
US COUNCIL OF ENVIROMENTAL QUALITY
"Chlorine is the greatest crippler and killer of modern times. While it prevented epidemics of one
disease, it was creating another. Two decades ago, after the start of chlorinating our drinking
water in 1904, the present epidemic of heart trouble, cancer and senility began."
SAGINAW HOSPITAL - DR J.M. PRICE
The National Academy of Sciences estimate that 200-1000 people die in the United States each year from cancers caused by ingesting the contaminants in water."
SCIENCIES NEWS, VOLUME 130 - JANET RALOFF
"The cause of atherosclerosis and resulting heart attacks and strokes is none other than the
ubiquitous chlorine in our drinking water."
CORONARIES/CHOLESTEROL/CHLORINE - DR. JM PRICE
Chlorine gas was used despicably during WWI. When the war was over, the use of chlorine was diverted to poisoning the germs in our drinking water. All water supplies throughout the country were chlorinated. The combination of chlorine and animal fats results in atherosclerosis, heart attacks and death."
WATER CAN UNDERMINE YOUR HEALTH - DR. N.W. WALKER, D.S.
"48-49 states are failing to adequately enforce existing drinking water regulations."
JAMES ELDER - U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
"Florida had 521 excessive contaminants violations and 5,250 monitoring and reporting violations."
NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL - USA TODAY SEPTEMBER 27, 1993
"Scientists discovered that chlorine reacted with organic material in water to produce hundreds of chemical by-products, several of which have proved in animal studies to be carcinogenic."
U.S. NEWS AND WORLD REPORT - JULY 29, 1991
"Drinking chlorinated water may as much as double the risk of bladder cancer."
NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE - KENNETH CANTOR
HERE's WHAT YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW!
GREAT ARTICLE ~ Are you Drinking Enough Water?
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