EPA standards for safe drinking water are just not that safe. They make no bones about it. If you visit their website, you will see a list of all allowable contaminants and the potential health effects from ingesting those contaminants. We have listed some of them for you here, but this is by no means a complete list.



Disinfection Byproducts

When chlorine is used to disinfect the water, it reacts with the bacteria that it kills and byproducts called triahalomethanes or THMs are released. Treatment facilities are allowed to send us water with THMs. They have no real choice. They have to disinfect the water or risk cholera and typhoid epidemics. They have been using chlorine to disinfect and provide safe drinking water to the public since the late 1800s.

Chlorine, itself, is considered a health threat, but THMs are even more so. The potential health effects of THMs include liver, kidney and central nervous system problems, as well as an increased risk of cancer. That's not some kind of propaganda put out by water filter companies. That's straight from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Chlorine

Chlorine, chloramines and chlorine dioxide are all used to make sure that the public has safe drinking water. These chemicals kill bacteria that are immediate health threats. The potential health risks of these disinfectants are largely unknown, but some research has shown an increased cancer risk among people who have chlorinated water. The health risks listed by the EPA include eye and nose irritation, stomach discomfort, anemia in infants and young children and nervous system effects.

Atrazine & Lindane

Safe drinking water is allowed to contain the chemicals atrazine and lindane. Atrazine is an herbicide. Its use has been banned in Europe, but it is the most commonly used plant killer in the United States. There is some controversy surrounding the affect that atrazine has on human beings.

Some studies say that it causes cancer. Others say the results are inconclusive. So, the EPA says that it is "not likely" to cause cancer. They list the detrimental health effects of atrazine in "safe drinking water" as cardiovascular and reproductive problems.

Even the EPA seems to confuse the issue when it comes to atrazine. A report that they released in 2006 concluded that atrazine and other herbicides pose "no harm that would result to the general US population, infants, children or other consumers." But, how can that be, when they know it causes heart and reproductive problems? Why is there atrazine in so-called safe drinking water?

Lindane is a pesticide. Lindane is toxic to the nervous system. There is no question about it. It is banned in 50 countries, including the United States. But, it is still used to treat lice and scabies. The biggest problem is that lindane is very slow to break down in the environment. As usage has declined, levels in ground water have also declined, but it is still a contaminant that is allowed in safe drinking water.

Protect Yourself

Thousands of other contaminants have been found in so called safe drinking water, lead in some areas, drugs and hormones in others. MTBE, a gasoline additive has seeped into the groundwater and ended up in public drinking water. To be sure that you have safe drinking water in your home, you must install a good water filter that blocks chlorine and other chemical contaminants. It is the only way to protect your health and that of your family.