Water Filtration

In 1997, President Clinton issued an executive order that specifies that each federal agency “shall make it a high priority to identify and assess environmental health and safety risks that may disproportionately affect children,” and “shall ensure that its policies, programs, activities, and standards address disproportionate risks to children that result from environmental health risks or safety risks.”

Even before the 1997 executive order, children were a priority for the EPA’s drinking water program. The 1996 amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act require the EPA to strengthen protection of children by considering the risk to the most vulnerable populations when setting standards. The amendments call for better science, including an analysis of the health effects of vulnerable populations, to use when making regulatory decisions. To address these requirements, the EPA considers the special needs of children when identifying new contaminants to regulate, includes children in risk assessments to determine public health goal, and conducts research on children’s exposure to contaminants. The 1996 amendments also require the the EPA to reassess all drinking water standards every six years and consider new data, and thus ensure that standards continue to protect public health, including children.

These continued reassessments by the EPA have made a positive difference although not enough for many individuals who have taken additional steps to ensure that their drinking water is as healthy as it can possibly be. Studies have shown that the use of one form or another of water filtration system or purifier is on the rise. Homeowners are finding that the cost of installing their own water filtration system to protect their children more than pays for itself while giving them added peace of mind.

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