NationofChange/Environmental Working Group: 100 cancer-causing contaminants found in US drinking water

Saturday, July 29, 2017
NationofChange – Progressive News and Activ:ism

 100 cancer-causing contaminants found in US drinking water

No American should have to settle for drinking water that puts them and their loved ones at risk.

By Environmental Working Group -
July 29, 2017 | News Report
0 Comments
61

SOURCE
Ecowatch

    TAGS
    drinking water
    Environmental Working Group
    water

By Robert Coleman

The Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) just-released Tap Water Database shows that a startling number of cancer-causing chemicals contaminate the nation’s drinking water. Of 250 different contaminants detected in tests by local utilities, 93 are linked to an increased risk of developing cancer.

We analyzed the tap water data for 48,000 water utilities nationwide for the years 2010 to 2015, and found that more than 80 percent of the utilities detected contaminants linked to cancer in levels exceeding health-protective guidelines. According to a recent study published in the journal Cancer, counties with the highest rates of pollution also have higher cancer rates and contaminated drinking water likely plays a role in this.

Here’s a list of the five most pervasive drinking water contaminants linked to cancer nationwide:

1. 1,4-Dioxane

NationofChange is a nonprofit organization, and this website is funded by readers like you. Please support our work. Donate or give monthly.

Found in the drinking water supplies for 90 million Americans, this contaminant can come from hazardous waste sites, industrial spills and discharges from municipal wastewater plants. It is linked to liver, gall bladder and respiratory system cancers.

2. Arsenic

Found in the drinking water supplies of 70 million people, this notorious poison is a naturally occurring mineral that causes bladder, lung and skin cancers.

3. Chromium-6

The “Erin Brockovich” chemical contaminates drinking water for 250 million people, and can come from industrial pollution or natural sources. Chromium-6 is linked to stomach cancer.

4. Disinfection byproducts

Detected in the drinking water served to more than 250 million Americans, these contaminants form when disinfectants such as chlorine interact with plant and animal waste in source water. Disinfection byproducts have been linked to bladder, liver, kidney and intestinal cancers, and may harm fetal development.

5. Nitrate

Nitrate is a fertilizer chemical that comes from agricultural and urban runoff, as well as discharges from wastewater treatment plants and septic tanks. High levels of nitrate in drinking water have been linked to colon, kidney, ovarian and bladder cancers. EWG has defined a health guideline for nitrate at 5 parts per million or ppm, based on studies by scientists at the National Cancer Institute and other independent researchers. This health guideline protects against cancer and harm to fetal growth and development. In 2015, 7 million Americans received tap water with levels of nitrate greater than 5 ppm. The federal drinking water regulations allow up to 10 ppm nitrate in drinking water.

Arsenic, chromium-6 and nitrate are also common in private wells. The federal government does not require private well water monitoring, so it falls to individual homeowners to test the water in their wells.

The odds of having one of these contaminants in your water above the established health-protective guidelines are high, but it’s not all doom and gloom. For all of these contaminants except 1,4-dioxane, there are water filters certified to remove the chemical from water. Simple countertop filters will reduce but not eliminate many contaminants. In the case of 1,4-dioxane, reverse osmosis will not remove it completely, but can reduce the amount of the chemical. If you have any of these contaminants in your water, check out EWG’s Water Filter Buying Guide.

Follow the links below for filters that remove:

    Arsenic
    Chromium-6
    Disinfection byproducts
    Nitrate

No American should have to settle for drinking water that puts them and their loved ones at risk. EWG urges concerned citizens to reach out to their local officials and press for answers to vital questions on water quality.

Until federal and state regulators take action to protect Americans from drinking harmful contaminants in tap water, EWG will be on the front lines, arming people with the information they need to protect themselves and their families from water contamination, and advocating for better safeguards for water quality and human health.
DID YOU KNOW?

NationofChange is a nonprofit organization that provides an online magazine, daily newsletter, and activist platform – all free to the public.

It's hard, expensive work, and our daily operations are funded entirely by donations from readers like you.

If you value the work that we’re doing, please take a moment to make a 100% tax-deductible donation to NationofChange.
Make a donation → Become a Sustaining Member →

Previous article
The Mooch, the Donald, and the Goldmanization of government
Next article
Meet the MEK, the US establishment’s favorite Islamist cult
Environmental Working Group
The Environmental Working Group is an American environmental organization that specializes in research and advocacy in the areas of toxic chemicals, agricultural subsidies, public lands, and corporate accountability.
RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR
Causes
Ohio teachers win back regular raises
Politics
Meet the MEK, the US establishment’s favorite Islamist cult
Causes
Three Republicans vote to kill Senate effort to repeal Obamacare
COMMENTS

Get NationofChange in your inbox

POPULAR
Three Republicans vote to kill Senate effort to repeal Obamacare
July 28, 2017
The Democrats’ new agenda is everything that’s wrong with the party
July 28, 2017
The resistance to health care repeal rolls on
July 28, 2017
California deputy attorney general charged with possession of child porn
July 28, 2017
Billionaire donors plot a ‘renaissance of freedom’ – for the privileged
July 28, 2017
ACTIONS
Save net neutrality
Protect federal funding for public education
Pledge to reduce your plastic usage
Secure funding for climate science
Ban fracking now
SITE AREAS

    Home
    Blog
    BullHorn
    Archives
    About
    Newsletter

ORGANIZATION

    About NOC
    Support Our Work
    Join Our Team
    Frequently Asked Questions
    Submissions
    Contact

RECOMMENDED SITES

    Democracy Now!
    The Nation
    Tom Dispatch
    Think Progress
    National Radio Project
    Truthdig
    Inter Press Service
    GritTV
    Mother Jones

The NationofChange logo
ABOUT US
At NationofChange, our mission is to help people create a more compassionate, responsible, and value-driven world, powered by communities that focus on positive solutions to social and economic problems.
Contact us: info@nationofchange.org
FOLLOW US

    Contact Us

© Copyright 2011-2017 - NationofChange