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1. In 2005, the nonprofit Environmental
Working Group (EWG) tested municipal water in 42 states and
detected some 260
contaminants in public water supplies. Of those, 141 were
unregulated chemicals for which public health officials have no
safety standards, much less methods for removing them.
2.
Despite these seemingly alarming stats, the Natural
Resources Defense Council (NRDC), which has also conducted
extensive tests on municipal water supplies as well as bottled
water, says: “In the short term, if you are an adult with no
special health conditions, and you are not pregnant, then you can
drink most cities’ tap water without having to worry.” This is
because most of the contaminants in public water supplies exist at
such small concentrations that most people would have to ingest
very large quantities for health problems to occur. NRDC does
caution, however, that “pregnant women, young children, the
elderly, people with chronic illnesses and those with weakened
immune systems can be especially vulnerable to the risks posed by
contaminated water.” The group suggests that anyone who may be
at risk obtain a copy of their city’s annual water quality
report (they are mandated by law) and review it with their
physician.
3.
Bottled water is required to be tested less frequently
than tap water for bacteria and chemical contaminants, and U.S.
Food and Drug Administration bottled water rules allow for some
contamination by E. coli or fecal coliform, contrary to EPA tap
water rules that prohibit any such contamination. Similarly, NRDC
found that there are no requirements for bottled water to be
disinfected or tested for parasites such as cryptosporidium or
giardia, unlike more stringent EPA rules regulating tap water.
This leaves open the possibility, says NRDC, that some bottled
water may present similar health threats to those with weakened
immune systems, the elderly and others they caution about drinking
tap water.
NBC
Nightly News as aired on 10/5/2004
4.
An examination
of 65 of the 3,000 largest utilities found cities such as
Philadelphia, Boston, New York City, Providence, R.I., and
Portland, Ore., are "manipulating the results of tests used
to detect lead in water, violating federal law and putting
millions of Americans at risk,'' The Washington Post said. More
than 250 major cities currently exceed the EPA's lead standards,
and many of them have been deceptive, or even fraudulent in their
reporting of the problems.
Environmental
working group: data as reported by local state water offices
5.
The 2008 Rankings for water quality has the following
areas listed as endangered: Washington D.C., San Diego, Ca, Los
Angeles, Ca, Columbus, Oh, Nashville, Tn, Las Vegas, Nv, Honolulu,
Hi, New Orleans, La, New York, Ny, and Virginia Beach, Va.
To see the complete
list, go to http://www.sustainlane.com/us-city-rankings/categories/tap-water-quality
Please note: the above information was
found online within minutes. This
information is readily available to anyone and continues to show
up in newspapers, news reports and online research around the
country.
So,
before we say another word, we invite you to research this issue
further and decide for yourself.
We will warn you, however, the amount of information can be
alarming.
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