| Lead
In Drinking Water
Lead
in drinking water is the #1 environmental health threat to children
in the U.S. -- U.S. EPA
Next
to chlorine, lead is the most common contaminant found in tap water.
Lead in drinking water usually originates between the water main
in the street and the household faucet, so treatment from a central
point is not logical or practical. Most lead in drinking water comes
from lead lined pipes, lead solder and brass plumbing fixtures inside
your home. All chrome-plated brass and brass plumbing fixtures contain
8% to 15% lead. The EPA estimates that 98% of all homes have
pipes, fixtures or solder joints in the household plumbing that
can leach some level of lead into the tap water.
It
has been determined and recognized by the EPA that there is no safe
level for lead in drinking water and that any level poses some degree
of adverse health effects, especially to small children.
Even
very low levels of lead can cause reduced IQs, learning disabilities
and behavioral problems such as hypertension and reduced attention
span in children, often these effects are life long and irreversible.
Washington
D.C. is the most recent city to announce that an aging delivery
system has caused a lead contamination nightmare that has been poisoning
people for many years. Some residents of the nation's capitol have
as much as 400 ppb of lead in their tap water, more than 25 times
the legal limit! Lead at this level is extremely detrimental to
the health of the entire body and even more so to the bodies and
minds of children.
One
study, done in Baltimore MD, showed that children with high blood-lead
levels had a significantly higher rate of problem behaviors than
children with low blood levels and concluded that "this study lends
support to the belief that undue exposure to lead in childhood years
may have a pervasive influence on the prevalence of juvenile delinquency
in this country."
Read more about Water and Raising Small Children.
In
adults, lead in drinking water causes high blood pressure and reduces
hemoglobin production necessary for oxygen transport and it interferes
with normal cellular calcium metabolism. Water borne lead affects
every one in a very tragic and permanent way. Lead exposure is cumulative
and long lasting. This toxic metal is stored by the body, primarily
in teeth and bones.
Essentially,
lead has a very damaging effect on the bodyÎs electrical system,
the nervous system. It causes the critical life giving messages,
sent from the brain to every cell and organ in our body, to become
distorted. This results in the onset of a chain of adverse health
effects.
It
is estimated by the U.S. EPA that lead in drinking water contributes
to 480,000 cases of learning disorders in children and 560,000 cases
of hypertension in adults, each year in the U.S. alone.
In
the first quarter of 1993, the EPA released a first-time report
that showed the results of the new "test at the tap" requirements
for lead in drinking water. The report documented that in America,
42 states exceeded the legal limits of lead in drinking water and
that other states failed to do the required testing. Some areas
had lead levels in excess of 450 parts per billion, thirty times
the legal limit of 15 ppb. The level the EPA has set as the safe
level, or MCLG (maximum contaminant level goal), is -0- ppb.
Essentially,
every household with indoor plumbing has some level of lead in the
plumbing structure that may represent a health risk.
The
biggest tragedy of lead contamination from drinking water is that
it is completely preventable. By taking a few simple steps, beginning
with Point-Of-Use filtration of our drinking water, we can virtually
eliminate the crippling effects of lead on our society, and most
importantly on our children.
Aquasana
is proven to remove lead more effectively and more economically
than any other brand! For more information; see Aquasana's Performance
Data and Health Department Certification. |
