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Side Effects of Drinking Tap Water: Revealing The Contaminants Lurking in Your Water Supply
You probably had realized the importance of drinking plenty of water in keeping your body and mind working at full capacity. But there lies a disturbing truth concerning the potential and alarming side effects of drinking tap water. When you drink a glass of it, you might also be drinking a dose of agricultural or industrial contaminants.
The possible presence of these potential contaminants in your drinking water is associated to critical health risks. These include brain and nervous system damage, cancer, fertility or hormonal problems, developmental defects in infants and many more.
This is, indeed, quite disturbing especially when such claims are heavily documented by reputable organizations and agencies that have conducted scientific research tests concerning the quality of drinking water in the U.S. The results were analyzed from research conducted on nearly 50,000 public water utilities nationwide.
The studies show that despite of national and federal regulations, many of those potentially dangerous contaminants are still lurking in tap water supplies.
And worse, a lot of these contaminants still exit after the water has already been treated by the local municipal water treatment facilities.
Side Effects of Drinking Tap Water: Kinds of Contaminants Found in Tap Water
It is important to note though that not all public water supplies are contaminated with harmful chemicals and substances. You can research for yourself the possible side effects of drinking tap water and measure the quality of your own own tap water. You can get a copy of an annual water quality report from your water supplier.
The annual quality report provides you with information about your water source and exactly what’s in it. Or you can refer to the EPA that monitors all public water systems. It also sets regulations on health standards regarding the presence of contaminants in drinking tap water.
There are two major kinds of contaminants that may be found in tap water. The ones that are legally enforced by EPA are contaminants that can be detrimental to your health. The other are the ones that may cause cosmetic effects such as,skin or tooth discoloration, color, odor or taste alteration.
Unfortunately, only 91 potential water contaminants are being regulated, but there are over 60,000 chemicals used in our country. How many of these chemicals could be finding their way in to the main water supply and ending up in your drinking glass?
Kind of scary to think about! Many of these chemicals are identified as possibly carcinogenic and the known chemical toxins present in tap water are estimated to be at more than 2100. That is a lot of potentially bad stuff that can find its way to you water faucet.
Side Effects of Drinking Tap Water: The Effects of Each Contaminant to Your Health
Not only that, the use of corroded and degraded pipes that transport the water from the municipal centers to your home can leach toxic substances into your drinking water. Some find the potential side effects of drinking tap water quite alarming.
To give you a clearer picture of what this concern can mean for your family’s health, here’s a rundown of the most common chemicals which are likely lurking in your tap water. The specific side effects of drinking tap water depends on what is the most probable contaminants present in your supply.
- Chlorine
While chlorine is known to effectively reduce the risk of some waterborne diseases by killing most pathogens in water, it is also known to cause severe health issues. Regular consumption of chlorine in tap water can lead to certain types of cancer such as, but not limited to urinary bladder, rectum and breast cancers.
Chlorine has also been associated with birth defects. Fortunately, you can sometimes detect the presence of chlorine due to its very strong smell.
- Fluoride
Fluoride has been added to most municipalities in the U.S. to prevent tooth decay and promote dental health. Some critics are in firm opposition to this because they lay claim that it causes more health issues than it cures. This is in part based on studies that indicate that fluoride can be extremely toxic once ingested.
Fluoride is reported to suppress thyroid function, weaken the bones, lower immunity, trigger tumors, and has neurotoxicity that can delay cognitive development in young children. Other potential health effects include premature aging, heart disease, and even cancer if ingested in high amounts.
- Lead
Lead, despite of public awareness and stringent regulations, continues to be lurking in most drinking water supplies. Lead contamination is mainly attributed to old, corroded plumbing and piping fixtures that connect your home supply to the mains.
Unlike chlorine, you can’t easily detect lead dissolved in your tap water because it’s odorless, colorless, and tasteless. Exposure to this extremely toxic heavy metal primarily affects the neuromuscular system, can cause abdominal problems, irreversible brain damage and growth retardation in youngsters. There is no safe level of lead contamination.
- Arsenic
Arsenic in tap water comes from industrial and mining wastes. It can also be from large-scale farming that uses pesticides and fertilizers. It leaches into groundwater and chances are it might be dissolved in your water supply without you knowing it.
Once it does, arsenic poisoning is the main culprit for skin problems, multi-organ failures, physical deformities, and it has been well-established to have a link to cancer. A minimum concentration of 10 ppb poses a cancer risk of 1 in 500.
- Radioactive elements
These contaminants, particularly radon, uranium, cesium, and radioactive iodine, are extremely harmful to human health. They can cause severe metabolic malignancies and cellular damage, leading to abnormal cell divisions.
- Toxic organic compounds
Toxic organic compounds (TOC) can attack the central nervous system and are said proven to cause stunted brain development. They can also trigger formation of tumors, cause kidney and liver diseases, and even cancer as well.
Protecting Yourself From the Side Effects of Drinking Tap Water
Now that you are more aware of the potential side effects of drinking tap water, your first reaction more likely is to protect yourself and your family. Your best protection is to find out what’s lurking in your own tap water and choose the most suitable purification system that will take those nasties out of your drinking water.
These filters are a great investment for your peace of mind knowing that your family is drinking clean, safe water for life.
Last update on 2023-01-09 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
About the Author Jack Wilson
Jack Wilson is a water treatment consultant as well as a topic researcher and post editor for all posts on bestpurifiation.com.