University of Illinois geneticist Michael Plewa said that disinfection by-products (DBPs) in water are the unintended consequence of water purification. "The reason that you and I can go to a drinking fountain and not be fearful of getting cholera is because we disinfect water in the United States," he said. "But the process of disinfecting water with chlorine and chloramines and other types of disinfectants generates a class of compounds in the water that are called disinfection by-products. The disinfectant reacts with the organic material in the water and generates hundreds of different compounds. Some of these are toxic, some can cause birth defects, some are genotoxic, which damage DNA, and some we know are also carcinogenic."
The first discovery of the University of Illinois research team involved water with naturally high bromine and iodine in it, produced primarily from sea water or underground aquifers most likely linked to ancient sea beds in the past. When this type of water was disinfected with chemicals, DBPs were produced that had iodine atoms attached -- creating a gene harming toxin.
The second discovery revealed a danger from nitrogen-containing DBPs. "Disinfectant by-products that have a nitrogen atom incorporated into the structure are far more toxic and genotoxic, and some even carcinogenic, than those DBPs that don't have nitrogen. And there are no nitrogen-containing DBPs that are currently regulated," Dr. Plewa said in the media statement.
Our skin is not waterproof; it absorbs water. That's why it becomes wrinkly like a prune after we sit in the bath or swimming pool too long. Our skin doesn't absorb that much water, but absorption does occur.
Then what about what the environment is putting in your water without the help of what we use to "clean" the water?
Bokor, the Idaho Department of Environ-mental Quality's regional drinking water protection coordinator, and a number of other water officials and companies set themselves up inthe KMVT Community Room on Saturday for a water-quality fair, featuring free tests for nitrate levels in private wells. Such wells aren't regulated by the state and testing is the owner's responsibility, he said. But it's something that owners should do, given the risks involved.
Twin Falls County now hosts the No. 1 nitrate priority area in the state for its level of contamination. And in a report released March 27, the U.S. Geological Survey announced that more than 20 percent of private domestic wells sampled nationwide by the agency contain at least one contaminant at levels that prompt possible health concerns. The data came from around 2,100 private wells tested between 1991 and 2004, including some in the Magic Valley.
The specific contaminants varied by region and type of rock, but included nitrate, radon and arsenic - the last one specifically noted as existing in Idaho's basalt-rock aquifers. The agency estimated that about 43 million people, 15 percent of the population, rely on drinking water from private wells.
Of all the disinfectants, the chemistry and toxicity of the reaction by-products of chlorine have been the most extensively studied.
Chloramine generally produces by-products similar to those observed with chlorine but at much lower concentrations. The use of chloramine as a disinfectant has increased in recent years because of limited formation of THMs, however, little is known about the nature of other by-products.
The main disinfection by-products of chlorine dioxide are chloride, chlorate and chlorite. Chlorine dioxide is more effective towards inactivation of Giardia cysts than free chlorine, but less effective towards rotavirus and E. coli. Unlike chlorine, the disinfection efficiency of chlorine dioxide is independent of pH and the presence of ammonia.
Ozone is the most efficient disinfectant for all types of microorganisms. Disadvantages include lack of disinfectant residual, biological regrowth problems in distribution systems, high cost, and limited information on the nature and toxicity of its by-products.
Something to keep in mind is the risk of death from pathogens is at least 100 to 1000 times greater than the risk of cancer from disinfection by-products.
So why does it seem very active swimmers are more likely to have bladder cancer? I am sure all this will be research and studied in the near future.
Sources: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2009, April 7). What's In Your Water? Disinfectants Create Toxic By-products In Drinking Water And Public Swimming Pools.
Regli S., Berger P., Macler B., Haas C. (1993). Proposed decision tree for management of risks in drinking-water: consideration for health and socioeconomic factors. In: Safety of water disinfection: balancing chemical and microbial risks. Craun G.F. ed. ILSI Press, Washington, D.C.
Every day, more than 140 million people in southern Asia drink groundwater contaminated with arsenic. Thousands of people in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Myanmar and Vietnam die of cancer each year from chronic exposure to arsenic, according to the World Health Organization. Some health experts call it the biggest mass poisoning in history.
According to a 1999 study by the National Academy of Sciences, arsenic in drinking water causes bladder, lung and skin cancer, and may cause kidney and liver cancer. The study also found that arsenic harms the central and peripheral nervous systems, as well as heart and blood vessels, and causes serious skin problems. It also may cause birth defects and reproductive problems.
"How does the arsenic go from being in the sediment loads, in solids, into the drinking water?" said Fendorf, a professor of environmental Earth system science and a senior fellow at Stanford's Woods Institute for the Environment.
To find out, he launched a field study in Asia in 2004 with two Stanford colleagues: Chris Francis, an assistant professor of geological and environmental sciences, and Karen Seto, now at Yale University. The initial study was funded with a two-year Woods Institute Environmental Venture Projects grant. Five years later, the research team appears to have solved the arsenic mystery and is working with policymakers and government officials to prevent the health crisis from escalating.
"We found out that, sure enough, within the first 2 to 3 feet from the surface, arsenic was coming out of the solids-that is, the sediments transported down from the Himalayas—and into the water, and then it migrated down into the aquifer," Fendorf said. Aquifers are the source of drinking water for people who use wells throughout Cambodia, Bangladesh, Myanmar, India and Vietnam.
Beginning March 24, Fendorf will co-host a four-day meeting on arsenic poisoning in Siam Reap, Cambodia, with about 60 experts, including government officials, scholars, NGOs and funding agencies, such as the World Bank. The meeting was convened by the American Geophysical Union and the Woods Institute.
Arsenic is in water in 25 states of the United States. Due to the ability for better water filtration in this area of the world it doesn't provide as much of a threat, but it is still cause for concern.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency often finds problems with bottled water, but doesn't tell the public about them.
Canada's federal food watchdog issued 29 recall notices for bottled water products between 2000 and early 2008, citing deficiencies such as contamination by bacteria, moulds, glass chips and trace amounts of arsenic.
Of the recalls, affecting 49 different products, it issued a public warning in only seven cases, two of which came after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration made public its recall orders.
Source for some of this article came from: Stanford University (2009, March 25). New Solutions For The Arsenic-poisoning Crisis In Asia. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 25, 2009.
Clorox has joined the "green" movement and made it publicly known. So why do they continue to make and profit from carbon filters?
Here is a statement from Clorox, "With the aim of creating a practical way to green your home without making trade-offs, each product contains over 99% natural ingredients that are biodegradable. Green Works cleaners are not tested on animals and use recyclable packaging."
Interesting.
Brita filter cartridges consist of activated carbon housed inside a plastic body which cannot be opened by the consumer for refilling or recycling. The plastic body must be land filled or incinerated each time the filter is changed.
There is currently no way to recycle or refill Brita filter cartridges in North America at all.
Time to do your part, folks. Sign the petition to persuade Clorox to make a change. I signed it. It's your turn.
PUR Water Filtration is partnering up with model Cindy Crawford to help promote the use of filtered tap water and reduce consumption of the bottled kind. The campaign, which is launching this May, is called "Thirsty for Change" and will include Crawford designing her own eco-chic reusable water bottle - with all proceeds from the sales going towards Children's Safe Drinking Water; a program which is dedicated to providing safe drinking water to impoverished children around the world. Said Crawford,
"Like me, many moms today are concerned about the environment. We all want to live a little greener and do our part for the planet and for the health our families. The good news is that even small changes can make a huge impact on the environment. And that's great news for my family because changes that fit easily into our hectic routine are the ones that are going to stick.
That's why I would like to share some easy, green tips for other moms out there. They've worked in my house. I have learned that getting the whole family involved shows the kids that being eco-friendly can be fun!"
I didn't know about this program for safe drinking water, so being inquisitive, as I am to a fault, I looked it up.
According to their website, "To date, the Children's Safe Drinking Water Program (CSDW) has provided enough product to produce more than 500 million liters of clean drinking water for children and their families in need around the world."
Isn't that a fantastic number!? It was established in 2003 and has already helped so many children in impoverished countries.
Millions of children die each year due to drinking water from lakes and rivers contaminated with pollutants, parasites, and viruses. Studies show the PUR water can reduce diarrheal illness in children by up to 50 percent.
If you would like to donate to this cause, or learn more about it please click through to CSDW.org and see how you can get involved.
There is an interesting column entry on Grist's "Ask Umbra" today.
I hate to say it, but I never thought about what what type of material I was filtering my water with until I read this article. In an effort to steer clear of plastic, a reader wrote to Ask Umbra to see if there were any other solutions.
Here is a blip of what was said, but click here to read the full posting.
Dearest Kristopher,
The ceramic filter may be for you. I'm sure many of our lovely readers have one, and will write in with comments about the efficacy, longevity, and conversation-pieciness of the ceramic filter and its housing. Additionally, it appears that enterprising persons can learn to make these filters themselves, as have many persons in areas with poor drinking water."
This then led me to the website of Potters for Peace. "Potters for Peace has been developing a low-tech, low-cost, colloidal silver-enhanced ceramic water filter."
