Posted by Healthy Choice Naturals on Thu, Oct 01, 2009
Over the last 10 years the drinking water at thousands of schools across the U.S. has been found to contain unsafe levels of lead, pesticides and dozens of other toxins.
The results came from an A/P investigation and found that contaminants have surfaced at public and private schools in all 50 states, both in small towns and inner cities alike.
Shockingly, the problem has gone largely unmonitored by the federal government, even as the number of water safety violations has multiplied.
"It's an outrage," said Marc Edwards, an engineer at Virginia Tech who has been honored for his work on water quality. "If a landlord doesn't tell a tenant about lead paint in an apartment, he can go to jail. But we have no system to make people follow the rules to keep school children safe?"
Experts and children's advocates complain that responsibility for drinking water is spread among too many local, state and federal agencies, and that risks are going unreported. Finding a solution, they say, would require a costly new national strategy for monitoring water in schools.
It should be noted that schools with unsafe water represent only a small percentage of the nation's 132,500 schools. And the EPA says the number of violations increased over the last decade largely because the government has gradually adopted stricter standards for contaminants such as arsenic and some disinfectants.
Many of the same toxins could also be found in water at homes, offices and businesses. But the contaminants are especially dangerous to children, who drink more water per pound than adults and are more vulnerable to the effects of many hazardous substances.
The AP analyzed a database showing federal drinking water violations from 1998 to 2008 in schools with their own water supplies. The findings:
• Water in about 100 school districts and 2,250 schools breached federal safety standards.
• Those schools and districts racked up more than 5,550 separate violations. In 2008, the EPA recorded 577 violations, up from 59 in 1998 — an increase that officials attribute mainly to tougher rules.
• California, which has the most schools of any state, also recorded the most violations with 612, followed by Ohio (451), Maine (417), Connecticut (318) and Indiana (289).
• Nearly half the violators in California were repeat offenders. One elementary school in Tulare County, in the farm country of the Central Valley, broke safe-water laws 20 times.
• The most frequently cited contaminant was coliform bacteria, followed by lead and copper, arsenic and nitrates.
"There is just no excuse for this. Period," said California Sen. Barbara Boxer, Democratic chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. "We want to make sure that we fix this problem in a way that it will never happen again, and we can ensure parents that their children will be safe."
The problem goes beyond schools that use wells. Schools that draw water from public utilities showed contamination; too, especially older buildings where lead can concentrate at higher levels than in most homes.
Schools that get water from local utilities are not required to test for toxins because the EPA already regulates water providers. That means there is no way to ensure detection of contaminants caused by schools' own plumbing.
But voluntary tests in Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Seattle and Los Angeles have found dangerous levels of lead in recent years. And experts warn the real risk to schoolchildren is going unreported.
Many school officials say buying bottled water is less expensive than fixing old pipes. Baltimore, for instance, has spent more than $2.5 million on bottled water over the last six years.
In California, the Department of Public Health has given out more than $4 million in recent years to help districts overhaul their water systems.
Let us know what you think about this outrage.
Posted by Healthy Choice Naturals on Tue, Jan 20, 2009
Everyone knows how important it is to drink enough water. It’s one of the most basic and fundamental elements necessary for our survival. It is recommended that every adult drink a minimum of 6-8 glasses of water each day. But before you take that next sip out of your tap, you may want to learn what is really in the water you’re drinking. It might be hiding a surprising array of chemicals.
A recent study analyzed the drinking water for more than 28 million Americans. The results showed a widespread, but low-level presence of pharmaceuticals and hormonally active chemicals.
The study was conducted at the Southern Nevada Water Authority in Las Vegas. The study screened tap water from 19 US water utilities for 51 different compounds. The surveys were carried out between 2006 and 2007
The 11 most frequently detected compounds - all found at extremely low concentrations were:
- Atenolol, a beta-blocker used to treat cardiovascular disease.
- Atrazine, an organic herbicide banned in the European Union, but still used in the US, which has been implicated in the decline of fish stocks.
- Carbamazepine, a mood-stabilizing drug used to treat bipolar disorder.
- Estrone, an estrogen hormone secreted by the ovaries.
- Gemfibrozil, an anti cholesterol drug.
- Meprobamate, a tranquilizer used in psychiatric treatment.
- Naproxen, a painkiller and anti-inflammatory.
- Phenytoin, an anticonvulsant that has been used to treat epilepsy
- Sulfamethoxazole, an antibiotic used against the Streptococcus bacteria.
- TCEP, a reducing agent used in molecular biology.
- Trimethoprim, an antibiotic.
Who Regulates our Tap Water?
The US government regulates the levels of pathogens in US drinking water, but there are no rules for pharmaceuticals and other compounds, apart from one: the herbicide atrazine.
Which states have the most contaminants in their drinking water?
- California
- Wisconsin
- Arizona
- Florida
- North Carolina
- Texas
- New York
- Nevada
- Pennsylvania
- Illinois
Is Bottled Water a Better Alternative?
Bottled water is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which has weaker regulations than the Environmental Protection Agency requires for tap water.
Also, FDA rules exempt waters that are packaged and sold within a single state -- which describes between 60 percent and 70 percent of all U.S. bottled water. About one out of five states don't regulate these waters and carbonated water and seltzer are also exempt.
Even bottled water that is regulated may still be contaminated. The Sierra Club reports that the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) tested 103 brands of bottled water and found contamination exceeding allowable limits in about one-third of the brands, including toxins such as arsenic, synthetic organics and bacteria.
The NRDC also found that about one-fourth of bottled water is actually bottled tap water (some say it's as much as 40 percent).
Choices for Cleaner Water?
The best way to ensure your tap water is as clean as possible is to install a water filter. It can reduce the impurities and contaminants and provide you with cleaner, better tasting water. They are easy to install and can be purchased at any local hardware or home improvement store.
Healthy Choice Naturals