Are You Using Contaminated Drinking Water?
You have to be careful about those portable drinking water stations. If you are in an area with heavily contaminated drinking water or a temporary trailer without permanent plumbing, then of course you have no choice, but do a little research and make sure that what they say is “drinkable” has been purified.
What counts as drinkable in this country can contain toxic chemicals, bacterial spores, heavy metals and other contaminants. Some drinking water stations contain distilled water, which removes some of them, but not all. A chemical contaminant can not be removed through distillation. Plus, distilled is bad for your digestive health, over the long term.
Some drinking water stations use chlorine for disinfection. That removes all but the hardiest bacterial contaminants, but chlorine itself is a killer. The Natural Resources Defense Council insists that each day, there are 30 new cases of rectal cancer cause by chlorine contaminated drinking water.
You may not think of chlorine as a contaminant, but it is a chemical that was originally used as a weapon of war. Chlorine-gas was first used in World War I. Until the development of activated carbon face masks, it was effective, since it is a respiratory irritant. If you don’t have a face mask and you have asthma, you are increasing your risk of attacks every time you take a shower. So, choose your drinking water stations carefully and consider a shower head filter if you have asthma or other respiratory problems.
By-products of chlorination have also contaminated drinking water supplies around the country. These are called THMs and they are known to cause cancer and other serious health problems. There presence is limited to 80 parts per billion in public supplies, but the testing is done at the facility and THM content can continue to increase as the water travels through the pipes.
Then there are those drinking water stations that are taking the place of the office water-fountain. Those are the big jugs carrying Deer Park and other company logos. Are they a good choice?
Well, it might be better than getting a drink straight from the fountain, but those jugs may still contain contaminated drinking water. Without independent testing, there is never any guarantee that what is in that bottle is any better than what comes out of the tap. Even pricey bottles of Perrier had to be recalled a few years back because of excessive benzene content, 15 times higher than that allowed by the EPA.
Benzene is used to make solvents, drugs, plastics, rubber and dyes. It is a known carcinogen. Its use is still common throughout the world. Benzene contaminated drinking water is possible any time that it is stored in a plastic bottle. Perrier is usually shipped in glass, but they have started using plastics, as well. The source of the Perrier contamination was never disclosed.
The best solution for homes and businesses that have tap-water is to install a good filtration system. Your company will save money over the jug drinking water stations and everyone who gets a drink will be safer.
About the Author: Larry L. Taylor is a dedicated advocate of living a healthy lifestyle and diligent researcher of water purification systems. Visit his site at: http://www.Clean-Water-Pure.com to discover which water filtration systems Larry recommends after extensive comparisons.
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Print Article | Download PDF | 44 views | Jun 25 2008
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