What Pollutants Can Be In Your Water?

Lead

Lead is an extremely toxic metal that can cause health effects even at low doses and the most susceptible public groups are children and pregnant women. It can enter drinking water when plumbing corrodes, especially if the acidity level is high or there is low mineral amounts. The most common sources of lead in drinking water are corroded lead pipes, faucets, and fixtures that can be found across the world. Lead found in homes typically depends on how long the water is exposed to the pipes, the amount of corrosion on the pipes, and the water temperature. 

Mercury

Mercury is another heavy metal that is extremely toxic and can be found worldwide as well in in various natural deposits. The main contributor to mercury contamination is from the erosion of natural deposits, effluent discharged from refineries & factories, leachate from landfills, and runoff from crops.

Possible symptoms of mercury poisoning may include the following:

• loss of peripheral vision
• “pins and needles” feelings, usually in the hands, feet, and around the mouth
• dizzyness and lack of coordination of movements
• slurring of speech, loss of hearing, and inability to walk
• muscle weakness

Fluoride

In the past decade or so, fluoride has shifted from being a healthy component to becoming a water pollutant. A recent study showed the reduction of fluoride from the municipal drinking system resulted in a clear increase in life expectancy.

We don’t need our municipal supplies and tap waters to be laced with fluoride anymore. That’s because most of us are already using fluoride-based products like toothpaste, mouthwash and other healthcare products. But regulations aren’t changing fast enough.

Arsenic

Arsenic is mostly found in soil, pest killing chemicals, agricultural produce and animals that feed on land which has arsenic in its soil or has been cultivated using water that has arsenic in it. For the common person, the largest source of arsenic in our bodies comes from the public water supply.

Possible symptoms of arsenic poisoning may include the following:

• loss of peripheral vision
• “pins and needles” feelings, usually in the hands, feet, and around the mouth
• dizzyness and lack of coordination of movements
• slurring of speech, loss of hearing, and inability to walk
• muscle weakness

Chlorine

Chlorine is a powerful oxidant added to the water by several municipal water systems to control microbes. Yet, this doesn’t mean that it is completely safe to ingest or that you even need to have it stay in your water.

Chlorine is a naturally occurring element with many uses, from purifying water to disinfecting and bleaching. Even in very small quantities, exposure to chlorine gas or liquid can be poisonous. It is absorbed through physical consumption but can also be absorbed through your skin while bathing.

Chlorine can have the following serious health effects:

• increase risk of cancer
• cause cellular damage
• increase risk of asthma
• severely dry skin and hair
• irritate eyes and nose
• cause water to taste bad

Benzene

Benzene consists of a variety of chemicals emitted as gases or evaporate off of spilled liquids. There are millions of products that contain benzene and their degradation often leads to water contamination. When water is heated and vaporized, your body can absorb these contaminants.

Side effects include:

• Eye, nose and throat irritation
• Headaches, loss of coordination and nausea
• Damage to liver, kidney and central nervous system
• Some are known to cause cancer in animals, some are suspected or known to cause cancer in humans.

PFAS

Per- and Poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are man-made chemicals that repel both water and oil. Sometimes referred to as PFOA, PFOS, GenX, or “Forever Chemicals”, there are thousands of PFAS but all are known to be harmful to human health.

Herbicides

A common buzz word in today’s news, glyphosate may be the most wide used herbicide in the world. It and other herbicides enter the drinking water system by accumulating in soil and water as well as from rainfall and irrigation which wash herbicides off farmlands and into lakes and rivers. Another common herbicide, Atrazine, a herbicide commonly used on golf courses, and it can interfere with the bodies hormonal activity and reproductive organs.

Pesticides

In the US farmers and homeowners apply about 1 billion pounds of pesticides annually. This helped to make us one of the largest producer of food in the world and has provided other benefits, but has also been accompanied by concerns about their effects on the environment and human health.

These pesticides travel through sewers that run from drains within the home, carrying all wastewater to treatment plants where they remain untreated throughout the detoxifying process. There are hundreds of different compounds with few tests and studies on how these contaminants may impact our health.

Perchlorate

According to the EPA, Perchlorate is a man-made chemical salt, which was commonly used as rocket propellant, in fireworks, airbag initiators, matches, signal flares and munitions. It can also in household detergents and pest control chemicals.

Perchlorate can have the following serious health effects:

• increase risk of cancer
• cause cellular damage
• increase risk of asthma
• severely dry skin and hair
• irritate eyes and nose
• cause water to taste bad

Bacteria and Cysts

There are a number of potential microbial invaders in our water. Cysts are the most common cause of human illness. A microbial parasite that can be found in lakes and rivers, cysts can enter the water through sewage, leaking septic tanks and runoff from feedlots. Several types of cysts include:

• Coliforms
• Cryptosporidium
• Giardia
• Protozoa
• Viruses

Viruses

There are a number of potential microbial invaders in our water besides bacteria that can cause even more harm. Viruses are microscopic intruders that are neither alive or dead, but very deadly. This has become even more evident with the recent pandemic caused by the coronavirus, swine flu, and SARs.