Carcinogenic Chemicals In The Water Supply: Is Your Tap Water Safe?
The
popular Oscar nominated film Erin Brockovich first piqued our interests about
the contamination of carcinogenic (cancer-causing) chemicals in our water
supplies.
The more recent Oscar winning documentary film Gasland reminded us
that contamination is still occurring in various water supplies all over the
country and the world.
According
to the documentary, we can't rely on government officials for the protection of
our water supplies, so it's important that we educate ourselves about the
possible contaminants that can surface in them, what kind of damage they can do
and how to recognize their presence in our tap water.
Recently,
numerous studies have been conducted in order to determine exactly which
chemicals are showing up in the water supply and exactly how dangerous these
chemicals are. These studies have shown that the most prominent chemical
contaminant in tap water all over the country is hexavalent chromium, also
known as chromium-6.
Hexavalent
chromium is a known carcinogen and can start eating away at the body after only
a relatively small amount of exposure.
Other types of carcinogens and
neurotoxins found in water supplies include: benzene, chlorine, fluoride,
arsenic, lead, dimethyl disulfide, carbon disulfide, Napthalene, trimethyl
benzene and the list goes on.
Detecting
these contaminants is not very difficult because many people can either smell
or taste the difference in their drinking water, or begin noticing changes in
their health condition pretty early on.
If you suspect your tap water may be
contaminated
with one of these carcinogens or neurotoxins, the best thing you
can do is, obviously, stop drinking the water.
Furthermore,
you should make sure that any alternative water sources are safe by properly
filtering them before drinking.
Another blatant sign of water contamination is
any unusual changes in your health. They usually start in the form of
stomachaches, headaches and dizziness.
The
symptoms then progress to a loss of the senses of taste and smell and begin
progressing even further to full body aches and acute pains until finally you
can suffer serious brain damage or develop a fatal cancer.
Because
these chemicals are so dangerous in making one more prone to cancer and other
diseases, it is important to stay alert and be aware of any changes you notice
in your water supply, however minor they may seem.
You
should be especially cautious if there are natural gas wells or any drilling
activity around your home.
This basically guarantees that natural gas has
contaminated your water. If you discover this, you should stop drinking your
water immediately and search for alternatives in the form of tanks or bottled
water from the nearest grocery store.
Next,
you should contact your local government officials to get this problem analyzed
and resolved immediately. Go to the media to make your story impossible to be
ignored.
According
to the Clean Water Act of 1972, the public waters and sources of drinking water
for the people of the United States are protected from exposure to all forms of
pollution, including the dumping of toxic chemicals.
Reverse Osmosis |
According
to the Gasland documentary, former Vice President Dick Cheney passed a law that
exempt companies like Halliburton from adhering to the Clean Water Act when
drilling for natural gas. As a result, widespread pollution of harmful
carcinogenic and neurotoxic chemicals has contaminated the water supplies of
several American households all over the United States.
These
chemicals (listed above) are some of the most dangerous chemicals for humans to
ingest. Many of them have a noticeable difference in taste and smell when
compared to pure water; however some of them are not always as blatantly
detectable.
Ultra-Violet Lamp Disinfection System |
Lead
and arsenic, for example, are both odorless and tasteless when mixed in with
drinking water. It's a scary thought that carcinogenic chemicals could be
lingering in your water supply going undetected until it's too late.
The
best thing you can do it is to be alert and test your water as often as
possible.
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