Lean in Drinking Water
Next to chlorine, lead is the most common contaminant
found in tap water. Lead in drinking water usually
originates between the water main in the street and
the household faucet, so treatment from a central
point is not logical or practical. Most lead in drinking
water comes from lead lined pipes, lead solder
and brass plumbing fixtures inside your home. All
chrome-plated brass and brass plumbing fixtures contain
8% to 15% lead. The EPA estimates that 98%
of all homes have pipes, fixtures or solder
joints in the household plumbing that can leach some
level
of lead into the tap water.
It has been determined and recognized by the EPA that there is no safe
level for lead in drinking water and that any level poses some degree of adverse
health
effects, especially to small children.
Even very low levels of lead can cause reduced IQs, learning disabilities
and behavioral problems such as hypertension and reduced attention span in children,
often these effects are life long and irreversible.
Washington D.C. is the most recent city to announce that an aging delivery system
has caused a lead contamination nightmare that has been poisoning people for
many years. Some residents of the nation's capitol have as much as 400 ppb of
lead in their tap water, more than 25 times the legal limit! Lead at this level
is extremely detrimental to the health of the entire body and even more so to
the bodies and minds of children.
One study, done in Baltimore MD, showed that children with high blood-lead
levels had a significantly higher rate of problem behaviors than children with
low blood levels and concluded that "this study lends support to the belief
that undue exposure to lead in childhood years may have a pervasive influence
on the prevalence of juvenile delinquency in this country."
In adults, lead in drinking water causes high blood pressure and
reduces hemoglobin production necessary for oxygen transport and it interferes
with normal cellular calcium metabolism. Water borne lead affects every one in
a very tragic and permanent way. Lead exposure is cumulative and long lasting.
This toxic metal is stored by the body, primarily in teeth and bones.
Essentially, lead has a very damaging effect on the body‘s electrical
system, the nervous system. It causes the critical life giving messages, sent
from the brain to every cell and organ in our body, to become distorted.
This results in the onset of a chain of adverse health effects.
It is estimated by the U.S. EPA that lead in drinking water contributes to 480,000
cases of learning disorders in children and 560,000 cases of hypertension
in adults, each year in the U.S. alone.
In the first quarter of 1993, the EPA released a first-time report that
showed the results of the new "test at the tap" requirements for lead
in drinking water. The report documented that in America, 42 states exceeded
the legal limits of lead in drinking water and that other states failed to do
the required testing. Some areas had lead levels in excess of 450 parts per billion, thirty
times the legal limit of 15 ppb. The level the EPA has set as the safe level, or
MCLG (maximum contaminant level goal), is -0- ppb.
Essentially, every household with indoor plumbing has some level
of lead in the plumbing structure that may represent a health risk.
The biggest tragedy of lead contamination from drinking water is that it is
completely preventable. By taking a few simple steps, beginning with Point-Of-Use
filtration of our drinking water, we can virtually eliminate the crippling
effects of lead on our society, and most importantly on our children.
Aquasana is proven to remove lead more effectively and more economically than
any other brand!
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