Water Filtration

Threats to our drinking water are increasing due to our aging water system infrastructure and increased pollutants invading our water sources. Because the source of our drinking water varies, the treatment it receives before coming to our tap also varies. For these reasons, we can no longer take the safety of our drinking water for granted.

Some of the more common natural sources of pollution include:

microorganisms; underlying rock; nitrates and nitrites; heavy metals found in underground rock that contains arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, and selenium; and fluoride. Human Activities causing pollution include: bacteria and nitrates from human and animal wastes, septic tanks and large farms; heavy metals from mining construction, and older fruit orchards; fertilizers and pesticides; industrial products and wastes from local factories, industrial plants, gas stations, dry cleaners, leaking underground storage tanks, landfills and waste dumps; household wastes such as cleaning solvents, used motor oil, paint, paint thinner, pharmaceuticals (discarded medications flushed down the toilet); lead and copper; hormones passed into the system through waste.

Most of us are familiar with problems caused by ecoli in the water or problems caused by lead poisoning, but not much is heard about problems from hormones or medications that make their way back into our drinking water. In truth, little is known about the long term effects of pharmaceutical contamination.

Hormones fed through the system can create a variety of problems. A study done in the UK found that high concentrations of female hormones (from women using contraceptive pills) were changing the sex of approximately half of all male fish and possibly affected male fertility. Other studies have shown antidepressants can trigger premature spawning in shellfish while drugs designed to treat heart ailments block the ability of fish to repair damaged fins.

If a water supplier determines that drinking water has been contaminated, they are required to inform their customers of any violations within 24 hours. It should be noted that in 2001, one out of every four community water systems did not conduct testing or report the results of testing which could lead to problems that are undetected.

The EPA uses a generalized standard for measuring contamination of our water which can put some groups in jeopardy. Children and infants, the frail and elderly, and pregnant women and their unborn babies can face a greater risk to infection. Others who are undergoing chemotherapy, living with HIV/AIDS, and transplant patients also faced an increased risk.

One contaminate that concerns me the most is nitrate. Nitrate is generally found in fertilizer and puts infants at immediate risk when it exceeds the national standard levels. An excess of nitrate in an infants system can cause “blue baby syndrome” which can be fatal without immediate medical attention. It has been recommended that infants, young children, nursing mothers, pregnant women and certain elderly people use extreme caution.

Families using well water as their primary water source are not subject to regulation by the EPA and therefore face a considerably greater risk. Although a water filtration system can be helpful, many serious problems can only be found by testing and go unnoticed.

What can you do about it? Using a home water filtration system can help, but you will need to do your homework. There are many different types of filtration systems available and each has it’s advantages and disadvantages. In June of 1998, CNN published an article referencing a study done by The Center for Environmental Health which used 16 different brands of water filtration systems which showed that six brands produced water that exceeded the limit for lead, with two (one made by Franke Inc. of Pennsylvania and Omni Corporation of Indiana) generated water with readings substantially higher than the limit.

If you are considering purchasing a water filtration system, do your homework first. One of the best sources besides blogs like this one is the EPA ( www.EPA.gov ).  

An Ezine Article

Lead is one of the most dangerous toxins a person can be exposed to in his lifetime. Besides damage from radioactive or nuclear chemicals, significant exposure to lead can cause some of the most severe and even fatal health effects possible.

It seems to be fairly common knowledge that lead is dangerous and that one should avoid exposure to lead whenever possible. Fewer and fewer paints are lead-based
and leaded gasoline has been almost entirely phased out. People all over the world are now making concerted efforts to protect themselves from this dangerous metal.

Without doubt, most, if not all, parents would agree that they would like to protect their children from the damaging effects of lead exposure and ingestion. Most parents would also agree that they are doing an adequate job of protecting their children from lead exposure. Still, these same parents (unknowingly) may be exposing and even encouraging their children to take lead into their bodies each and every day.

So, where does this lead come from and why does nobody seem to know about it? The answer to these questions lies in the water we take into our bodies each day. The seemingly safe tap water of most homes in the United States contains lead. When we drink this water untreated, we are consistently allowing lead to poison the inner workings of our bodies.

In most homes built before 1978, lead from lead-soldered pipes in the plumbing system corrodes into drinking water as that water passes through pipes on its way to faucets. From the pipes to the faucet, lead infiltrates our drinking water and makes its way into our bodies and our children’s bodies. Municipal water treatment plants cannot control for this contaminant in water; therefore, lead continues to make its way into our water, with little or no regulation. In order to remove this dangerous contaminant from drinking water, it is absolutely vital to employ a point- of-use water filter.

Clearly, we all know that lead is dangerous and that we should make efforts to avoid it, but what exactly is so very dangerous about lead? It is only a naturally occurring metal, after all, and iron–another naturally occurring metal–is supposed to be good for the body. Lead, however, while dangerous for all people, leads to particularly damaging health and mental problems in babies and young children.

Let’s first examine the general damaging health effects of lead ingestion and then focus specifically on the results of lead poisoning for babies and small children.

General Health Effects of Lead

Short-term exposure to large amounts of lead has been known to cause severe vomiting, cramping, convulsions, coma, and even death. While such exposure is increasingly unlikely in today’s world, even relatively low-level exposure to lead can cause some significant health problems. Lead is a leading cause of anemia, a syndrome that affects more than 3.5 million people in the United States. Continued exposure to lead can also affect nervous system functioning, resulting in
impairment of mental functioning, difficulty in memory and concentration, and inability to sleep. A lifetime of exposure to lead can adversely affect kidney functioning. Lead poisoning is also a leading cause of high blood pressure, one of the current deadliest conditions for individuals in the United States. Consistently rising numbers of high blood pressure and anemia cases–syndromes that have not traditionally been connected to lead poisoning–should certainly be considered when discussing the role of lead ingestion on the body.

Effects of Lead Poisoning on Babies and Young Children

Lead is especially damaging to babies and small children, due to the relative ease at which their bodies absorb the contaminant and the sensitive nature of their developing brains. Concerning the impact of lead poisoning on children, the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency recently stated, “Childhood lead poisoning remains a major environmental health problem in the U.S..” According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately one out of every 22 children has high levels of lead in his blood.

Lead poisoning gives rise to several damaging health conditions in young children’s developing bodies. The younger the child is, the more damaging lead poisoning can be. The long-term effects of exposure to lead for young children include learning disabilities, hyperactivity, depressed growth, hearing impairments, and even brain damage.

For pregnant women, ingestion of lead can result in a host of birth defects and developmental problems for their growing babies. Ingestion of lead is particularly harmful to babies during the critical third trimester of pregnancy. Lead can pass into a baby’s body through breast-feeding, as well.

Diagnoses of hyperactivity and learning disabilities are growing by leaps and bounds in public schools, perhaps because of so much unknowing exposure to lead and increasing cases of lead poisoning.

What You Can Do

Knowing what we do about lead and its effects on our children and ourselves, what can we do to prevent exposure to this dangerous metal? There are several approaches–all of them important–that you can take now to protect yourself and your family. Firstly, it is important to keep your home clean and dust-free because much of your child’s exposure to lead comes from dirt and dust on the floor. It is also incredibly important to have your child tested for lead poisoning if you suspect or notice any of the symptoms. With early treatment, many of these problems can be quickly alleviated.

It is also absolutely vital to begin, or continue using, a home water filtration system. Untreated tap water is likely the culprit of the majority of you and your child’s exposure to lead. A simple home water filter can remove lead quickly and easily to ensure that you and your family are protected from the volatile, dangerous nature of this metal.

Every parent wants to give her children every opportunity possible to succeed; taking a few minutes to provide clean, healthy water to drink is one of the best and easiest ways to accomplish this goal.

An Ezine Article

We continue to hear about problems with substances found in water systems. Water companies remove most of the harmful substances but unfortunately, too many harmful things remain in our drinking water. Home water filters are being installed in more and more homes across the country. As far back as 1995, up to forty-five million Americans were receiving drinking water that was not up to health standards. This included water that was contaminated by bacteria, high lead content and herbicide contamination.

There are many possible sources of contamination in drinking water. However, remember there is something we can do. Home water filters will remove ninety-nine percent of all contaminants that are found in municipal water systems. We owe it to our families to do something about this major health issue sweeping the country. You will feel better knowing you are doing your part to protect your family.

Let us get back to the many possible ways that drinking water becomes contaminated. Farm run off such as fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides are a major culprit. These leech into the water table and eventually find their way into our drinking water. Fluoride has been added to water but it is not a safe additive either. Bacteria and other parasites find their way into our drinking water as well. Good home water filters will prevent these from getting into the water we use at home.

So, how do water filters work? Filters can be attached to the faucet or right to the incoming water source. One of the best types of filters is the carbon block and granular carbon filters. Water flows through the carbon filters and the filters block the contaminants. Activated carbon is considered the best filter for removing harmful contaminants from drinking water.

Other top rated filters include multi media block filters. These particular home water filters use activated carbon along with other advantages to filter out the harmful chemicals and bacteria. This combination filter is considered an even better filtering system.

The most important thing to remember is that we can do something about the state our drinking water. First, farmers can stop using dangerous pesticides and herbicides as we now know that they can find their way into our drinking water supply. By taking care of the environment, we can work towards improving our water supply. In addition, we can install home water filters and be sure that our families are drinking clean, safe water.

An Ezine Article

In 1974, Consumer Reports published a landmark three-part series on the safety of the United States water supply, contending that water purification systems in many communities had not kept pace with increasing levels of pollution and that many community water supplies may have been contaminated with potential carcinogens. Those reports, which won the magazine’s first National Magazine Award, have been credited with playing a role in the enactment by Congress of the Safe Drinking Water Act in December 1974 and prompted inquiries into drinking water safety on local levels.

Since then, much has been done to improve water quality and to certify to the general public that their drinking water is safe. However, in many parts of the U.S. citizens are not happy about their water…concerns about its taste, its color and more importantly, the things that may be present in the water that they cannot see.

For many of those individuals, their only immediate recourse is to purify their water with one of the many water filtration systems on the market today. But, with so many systems available, how is one to know which is right for them. The easiest solution is to simply buy a water filter or water treatment system that removes a multitude of contaminants, but that may not be effective enough for the more serious situations. Testing the water, even from a do-it-yourself kit, although having a professional lab or testing company is generally advisable, should always be the first step. Those test results will be key to knowing what you will need and how best to proceed. Don’t be afraid to get advise from such organizations as the EPA or even good ole Consumer Reports. Afterall, it’s your health and the health and well-being of your family that’s at stake. 

Actions You Can Take To Reduce Lead In Drinking Water

Flush Your Pipes Before Drinking
Anytime the water in a particular faucet has not been used for six hours or longer, “flush” your cold-water pipes by running the water until it becomes as cold as it will get. (This could take as little as five to thirty seconds if there has been recent heavy water use such as showering or toilet flushing. Otherwise, it could take two minutes or longer.) The more time water has been sitting in your home’s pipes, the more lead it may contain.

Only Use Cold Water for Consumption
Use only water from the cold-water tap for drinking, cooking, and especially for making baby formula. Hot water is likely to contain higher levels of lead.The two actions recommended above are very important to the health of your family. They will probably be effective in reducing lead levels because most of the lead in household water usually comes from the plumbing in your house, not from the local water supply.

Have Your Water Tested
After you have taken the two precautions above for reducing the lead in water used for drinking or cooking, have your water tested. The only way to be sure of the amount of lead in your household water is to have it tested by a competent laboratory. Your water supplier may be able to offer information or assistance with testing. Testing is especially important for apartment dwellers, because flushing may not be effective in high-rise buildings with lead-soldered central piping.

Health Threats From Lead

Too much lead in the human body can cause serious damage to the brain, kidneys, nervous system, and red blood cells.

You have the greatest risk, even with short term exposure, if:

• you are a young child, or
• you are pregnant.

 Sources of Lead in Drinking Water

Lead levels in your drinking water are likely to be highest if:

• your home has faucets or fittings of brass which contains some lead, or
• your home or water system has lead pipes, or
• your home has copper pipes with solder, and
  • the house is less than five years old, or
  • you have naturally soft water, or
  • water often sits in the pipes for several hours.

Q:  Aren’t there a lot of types of treatment devices that would work?

A: There are many devices which are certified for effective lead reduction, but devices that are not designed to remove lead will not work. It is suggested that you follow the recommendations below before purchasing any device:

• Avoid being misled by false claims and scare tactics. Be wary of “free” water testing that is provided by the salesperson to determine your water quality; many tests are inaccurate or misleading. Research the reputation and legitimacy of the company or sales representative.
• Avoid signing contracts or binding agreements for “onetime offers” or for those that place a lien on your home. Be very careful about giving credit card information over the phone. Check into any offers that involve prizes or sweepstakes winnings.
• Be sure to do your homework, then get a water filtration system designed specifically for lead. Many water filters will remove some lead along with a variety of other contaminants, but if removing lead is your primary concern, don’t cut corners by purchasing an inexpensive, catch-all filter. The negative effects are too serious to take chances.

People who utilize methods of water filtration hope to take a step towards health.
Most sources of drinking water contain very low levels of radioactive contaminants, also known as radionuclides.  Most of these occur naturally, although drinking water can also become contaminated from human-made nuclear materials.  Most radioactive contaminants remain at levels low enough not to be considered a public concern, however, long-term exposure to even low-level radionuclides in drinking water has been flagged as a contributing factor for cancer.  Exposure to uranium in drinking water may also damage the kidneys. 

The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has established drinking water standards for several types of radioactive contaminants, including combined radium, beta emitters, gross alpha standard, and uranium.  Different U. S. states have different standards of compliance for drinking water.  Check online to obtain the most current information regarding drinking water standards of compliance for your area.

People are increasingly concerned about the safety of their drinking water. As improvements in analytical methods allow us to detect impurities at very low concentrations in water, water supplies once considered pure are found to have contaminants. We cannot expect pure water, but we want safe water.The health effects of some contaminants in drinking water are not well understood, but the presence of contaminants does not mean that your health will be harmed. Throughout the U.S., drinking water is generally of high quality and free from significant contamination. Public water supplies are tested, and regulated to ensure that our water remains free from unsafe levels of contamination. Small private water supplies, including wells, are not regulated by drinking water standards, and the owner must take steps to test and treat the water as needed to avoid possible health risks.

What is in your drinking water? The only way to know is to have it tested.

Drinking water can become contaminated Read the rest of this entry »

After years of telling people chemotherapy is the only way to try and eliminate cancer, a recent report by Johns Hopkins is finally talking about some alternative methods.

1. It’s a fact that every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable size.

2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person’s lifetime.

3. When the person’s immune system is strong the cancer cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumors.

4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has multiple nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic, environmental, food and lifestyle factors.

5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing diet and including supplements will strengthen the immune system.

6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing cancer cells and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow, gastrointestinal tract etc, and can cause organ damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc.

7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs.

8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often reduce tumor size. However prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation do not result in more tumor destruction.

9. When the body has too much toxic burden from chemotherapy and radiation the immune system is either compromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumb to various kinds of infections and complications.10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy. Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other sites.

11. An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer cells by not feeding it with the foods it needs to multiply.

CANCER CELLS FEED ON:

a. Sugar is a cancer-feed. Read the rest of this entry »

In February, 2008, the EPA compiled a list of the following contaminants that may be found in U.S. drinking water:

Microbial Contaminants

Read the rest of this entry »

The EPA regulates only public water systems; it does not have the authority to regulate private wells. Approximately 15 percent of Americans rely on their own private drinking water supplies, and these supplies are not subject to EPA standards. Unlike public drinking water systems serving many people, well owners do not have experts regularly checking their water’s source and its quality before it is sent to the tap. These households must take special precautions to ensure the protection and maintenance of their drinking water supplies.

The risk of having problems depends on how good your well is–how well it was built and located, and how well you maintain it. It also depends on your local environment. That includes the quality of the aquifer from which your water is drawn and the human activities going on in your area that can affect your well.

Although several sources of pollution are easy to spot by sight, taste, or smell, many serious problems however can be found only by testing your water. Learning of the possible threats in your area will help you decide the kind of tests you may need.

WHAT SHOULD I DO?

There are six basic steps you can take to help protect your private drinking water supply:

1. Identify potential problem sources.
2. Talk with local experts.
3. Have your water tested periodically.
4. Have the test results interpreted and explained clearly.
5. Set and follow a regular maintenance schedule for your well, and keep up-to-date records.
6. Immediately remedy any problems.

IMMEDIATELY REMEDY ANY PROBLEMS

If you find that your well water is contaminated, fix the problem as soon as possible. Consider connecting into a nearby community water system, if one is available, and/or install a water treatment device such as a reverse osmosis unit to remove impurities.

If you choose to keep your well and treat the water yourself, it is all too important that you also maintain your well, fix problems before they reach crisis levels, and keep up-to-date records of well installations and repairs as well as plumbing and water costs. It is up to you to protect your own well area from contamination.

Excerpted from the EPA’s “Water On Tap” publication.