And the problems with water just do not end. In August 2005 we learned that common household brass plumbing fixtures may release far more lead into
drinking water than previously believed. As a result, even new homes built with brass fixtures like ball valves and water meters could end up with potentially unsafe lead levels. In a report trumpeted by the National Science Foundation, Virgina Tech researchers charged that the standards used to certify the brass plumbing supplies found at most hardware stores may be inadequate to predict lead contamination of water. This contradicts years of assumptions that lead contamination primarily comes from old leaden pipes or public water systems with lead contamination problems [iii]. Contrary to popular belief, many plumbing supplies sold today are not lead-free but contain up to 8 percent lead content in brass fixtures [iv]. Lead makes brass and other metals more malleable, helping manufacturers create intricate shapes.
The consequence though is extraordinarily high for exposure to lead in drinking water which results in delays in physical and mental development, along with slight deficits in attention span and learning abilities. In adults, it can cause increases in
blood pressure. Adults who drink this water over many years could develop kidney problems or high blood pressure according to the American
EPA [v]. The Romans had their engineers turn the populace into neurological cripples when they started using lead in their water systems but they did not have to deal with either fluoride or
mercury. The three together, mercury, lead and fluoride become a kind of devil's triangle of chemical
toxicity that is only made worse by aluminum and a host of other hostile chemicals that are clogging up our bodies.
Water pollution by drugs is an emerging issue that is extremely important. Pharmaceuticals are now attracting attention as a whole new class of water
pollutants. At the recent American Chemical Society conference, Chris Metcalfe of Trent University in Ontario reported finding a vast array of drugs leaving Canadian
sewage treatment plants. Padma Venkatraman, a postdoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins concluded that antidepressants, anticonvulsants, anticancer drugs and antimicrobials are among the
pharmaceuticals most likely to be found at "toxicologically significant levels" in
the environment.
These drugs and many more [vi] are finding their way into public water systems because pharmaceutical industries,
hospitals and other medical facilities as well as households dispose of unused medicines and even human excreta can contain incompletely metabolized medicines. Millions of doses of prescription drugs that Americans swallow annually to combat
cancer, pain, depression and other ailments do not disappear harmlessly into their digestive systems but instead make their way back into the environment where they may contaminate drinking water and pose a threat to life, according to researchers at John Hopkins medical center.
These drugs pass intact through conventional sewage treatment facilities, into waterways,
lakes and even aquifers. Discarded pharmaceuticals often end up at dumps and land fills, posing a threat to underlying
groundwater. And farm animals also are a huge source of pharmaceuticals entering the environment because of the massive use of
hormones, antibiotics and veterinary medicines used in their care. Along with pharmaceuticals,
personal care products also are showing up in water. Generally these chemicals are the active ingredients or preservatives in
cosmetics, toiletries or fragrances. For example, nitro musks, used as a
fragrance in many cosmetics, detergents, toiletries and other personal care products, have attracted concern because of their persistence and possible adverse environmental impacts. Some countries have taken action to ban nitro musks. Also, sun screen agents have been detected in lakes and fish.
It is hard to tell which is worse, the
toxic chemicals and drugs that are leeching into the public water systems or the noxious chemicals deliberately put in the water by
public health officials. Standard water treatments result in health threats yet health officials are loath to admit any problem that we should beware of. Chlorination of drinking water supplies virtually eliminates most disease or bacterial contamination, but creates traces of several toxic by-products in drinking water -- such as chloroform, trihalomethanes and other chlorinated organic compounds. In recent years municipal water districts across the United States are changing the way they disinfect public water supplies. Many are adding ammonia to chlorinated water to produce chloramines [vii], or chloraminated water. They are doing that in order to meet standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). While chloramination has been used as a way to lower the level of carcinogenic disinfection byproducts (DBPs) created by chlorination, it has led to extreme water toxicity. Chloraminated water kills fish and reptiles and there is no reason to believe it is safe for human consumption
