Toxic Water 1

Toxic Water:Hazards of the Health Beverage

Heather Michel

McDaniel College

Dr. Weiner

Nutrition EPE 535

June 22, 2014

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Toxic Water : Hazards of the Health Beverage

Water, one of the traditional categories of nutrients (substances that are essential for

growth and good health), regulates body functions for all human beings. (Mitchell, p 4)

However, water is not necessarily the healthy beverage Americans have been led to believe in.

The safety of drinking water relates to what is in it. There are incidents in recent news that show

that Americans are contracting diseases based on contaminants that have been proven to be in

their tap water. Though the United States government regulates the treatment of tap water, those

regulations are outdated and hard to enforce, leading to unsafe drinking water in many cities of

the country. Many people turn to bottled water as a safe alternative, but the bottled water

industry is largely unregulated, so the consumers are basically at the mercy of the manufacturers.

Those people with wells usually think of their water as safe from all the contaminants found in

treated water since it comes from the ground which filters water naturally. Unfortunately,

ground water can be just as dangerous for human health. Whether the water of choice is tap

water, bottled water, or well water, it has to come from somewhere. Most of the time the water

comes from the natural water cycle, namely the waterways that collect water from the rainfall.

These waterways are becoming more polluted every day, and many of the nation’s largest water

polluters are outside the Environmental Protection Agency’s reach because the Supreme Court

has left uncertain which waterways are protected. The wise consumer will need to take control

of filtering his/her own water before drinking it.

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Current news includes Marines suing the United States government for contaminated tap

water at a U.S. Marine Corps base in North Carolina. According to Dalesio (2014), “A long-

anticipated study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released in December

reported a link between the tainted Camp Lejeune tap water and increased risk of serious birth

defects and childhood cancers. The CDC's Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry

warned it was based on a small sample size and could not prove specific individuals became ill

from exposure to chemicals, which included toxins associated with degreasing solvents and

gasoline.” Obama administration attorneys have asked a federal appeals court to dismiss the

lawsuit due to a North Carolina 10-year deadline for filing a suit, based on the Supreme Court

decision last week against a group of North Carolina homeowners who were up against the same

10-year deadline. As reported by CBS/AP (2014), “The ruling on Monday involves property

owners living on land where CTS used to make electronics equipment until it sold the property in

1987. It wasn't until 2009 that residents discovered their well water contained chemicals that can

cause numerous health problems including cancers, reproductive disorders and birth defects.”

Though the decision was 7-2, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said the majority's decision "gives

contaminators an incentive to conceal the hazards they have created until the repose period has

run its full course." (CBS/AP, 2014) Incidents like these are more common in the United States

than Americans like to think because there are so many ways our water gets contaminated every

day.

Water is the health beverage that all the diets tout as the best choice. Unlike food,

people’s drink choices all have water as their base, though many dehydrate the human body due

to other ingredients. The body is comprised mostly of water,

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and it requires a fresh supply daily to carry out its functions properly. The problem comes when

that fresh supply is unsafe. Though the government supposedly watches over the safety of water

supplied to Americans, there are more than 80 “regulated” contaminants and more unregulated

toxins, like the rocket fuel component perchlorate, which are present in most tap water. (Group,

n.d.) Dangerous contaminants such as lead, chloroform, arsenic, nitrate, nitrite, radon, and E.

coli bacteria are common in tap water. Bottled water, on the other hand, is unregulated to the

point that it could be tap water in the bottle. Deceptive labeling goes on even in a health industry

like bottled water. (Group, n.d.) Bottled water, often advertised as a "pure" and "natural"

alternative to tap water, is generally safe. But it's actually less regulated by the Environmental

Protection Agency than municipal water supplies. According to Consumer Reports (2013), some

bottled water is simply filtered tap water. A third choice of water supply is well water, which

has its dangers as well. Bacteria and chemicals can flow into groundwater and contaminate

wells, sickening residents with chronic diarrhea, stomach illnesses and severe ear infections.

Most tap water contains arsenic, fluoride, chlorine, and a host of other unhealthy toxins.

An inordinate amount of research is available concerning the harmful effects these chemicals

have on the human cells. Arsenic is a very toxic heavy metal which occurs naturally in rocks but

is also produced by human activities. It is classified by the International Academy for Research

on Cancer (IARC) as a Category I carcinogen, which means it definitely causes cancer.

According to a 1999 study by the National Academy of Sciences, arsenic in drinking water

causes bladder, lung and skin cancer, and may cause kidney and liver cancer. The study also

found that arsenic harms the central and peripheral nervous systems, as well as heart and blood

vessels, and causes serious skin problems. It also may cause birth defects and reproductive

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problems. (NRDC, 2009) In 2013, the EPA added prostate and nasal passage cancer to that list

and reported that non-cancer effects can include thickening and discoloration of the skin, skin

lesions, anemia, low blood pressure, shock, headaches, weakness, delirium, irritation of mucous

membranes, stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, numbness in hands and feet, partial

paralysis, decreased IQ, increased risk of diabetes, blindness, miscarriage, low birth weight, and

infant mortality. While naturally-occurring arsenic in groundwater is one of the most common

sources of exposure, hydrofluorosilicic acid—the most commonly used form of fluoride added to

water supplies—is a toxic waste product from the phosphate fertilizer industry that is commonly

contaminated with arsenic, radionucleotides, aluminum and other industrial contaminants.

(Heyes, 2012) According to Dr. Group, “The EPA set the acceptable standard for arsenic at 10

parts per billion in tap water. Several US states in the Midwest, New England and western area

exceed this standard from time to time.”

Fluoride, on the other hand, is added to water deliberately, even though studies show it

does nothing to help fight tooth decay and stops being an effective enamel strengthener after the

teeth are formed (in children around the age of 7). The Centers of Disease Control and

Prevention note that fluoride's effect is delivered through topical application and not through

ingestion. Some studies show that fluoride fails to help kids’ teeth at all; in fact, it makes them

rot more often in Australia, Singapore, and Toronto where abscesses and root canals are more

common! (Natural News, 2014) Fluoride is one of the most toxic substances we know, more

than lead and almost as much as arsenic, yet it is added to tap water, some bottled water, baby

formula, and almost all toothpastes. In fact, fluoride is linked to the erosion of children’s IQ all

over the world, with Americans having among the worst effects, being force-medicated daily

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through drinking water. (Natural News, 2014) "Children residing in areas with higher than

normal water fluoride levels demonstrated more impaired development of intelligence,” say

researchers from the Dental Research Center and Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Dental

School, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, which was published by the U.S.

National Institutes of Health. Researchers from both Harvard University's School of Public

Health and China Medical University in Shenyang, in a joint meta-analysis of 27 studies, found

there were "strong indications" that fluoride exposure, particularly among developing children, is

highly problematic for proper cognitive development and brain formation. "[O]ur results support

the possibility of adverse effects of fluoride exposures on children's neurodevelopment," Anna

Choi, a research scientist at Harvard, and her colleagues wrote in their report. "Fluoride readily

crosses the placenta. Fluoride exposure to the developing brain, which is much more susceptible

to injury caused by toxicants than is the mature brain, may possibly lead to damage of a

permanent nature." (Heyes, 2012) The U.S. National Research Council has also found that

fluoride affects normal endocrine function, which may contribute to hypothyroidism, or reduced

activity of the thyroid gland, which regulates the body's metabolic rate. Hypothyroidism can lead

to fatigue, depression, weight gain, hair loss, muscle pains and heart disease. Currently, the

source of fluoride in most public water supplies is not pharmaceutical-grade sodium

fluoride but fluorosilicic acid, the toxic by-product of the fertilizer industry, which is often

contaminated with arsenic. Recent research has linked the arsenic from fluorosilicic acid in

drinking water to as many as 1,800 extra cases of cancer yearly in the United States. (Main,

2013) Some United States cities have followed the lead of other countries and started rejecting

the process of fluorination since 1990. (Dr. Group, n.d.)

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Similarly, chlorine is purposefully added to water, to kill parasites and bacteria. Federal

regulations require chlorine treatment of the water from surface sources such as lakes, reservoirs

and rivers, constituting about 75 percent of water consumed. A chemical strong enough to kill

small organisms is obviously going to have a detrimental effect on the human body at a cellular

level. Long-term risks of consuming chlorinated water include excessive free radical formation,

which accelerates aging, increases vulnerability to genetic mutation and cancer development,

hinders cholesterol metabolism, and promotes hardening of arteries. A study in the late 1970s

found that chlorinated water appears to increase the risk of gastrointestinal cancer over a

person’s lifetime by 50 to 100 percent. Risk of such cancers results from use of water containing

chlorine at or below the Environmental Protection Agency standard and “is going to make the

E.P.A. standard look ridiculous,” stated Robert Harris (1980), lead scientist in the study. A later

meta-analysis found chlorinated water is associated each year in America with about 4,200 cases

of bladder cancer and 6,500 cases of rectal cancer. (Morris, 1992) Chlorine happens to bond

with organic compounds both in the water and in the human body to form chloramines or

Trihalomethanes (THMs), which are known to produce free radicals in the body and cause

serious cell damage, and oxysterols (lipid and oxygen molecules combined). Among the THMs

that result from chlorine combining with organic compounds in water are carcinogenic

chloroform and carbon tetrachloride. (Hattersley, 2000) Chlorinated water in swimming pools is

especially susceptible to having organic material in it (due to the swimmers) to create the THMs.

Studies in Belgium have related development of deadly malignant melanoma to consumption of

and swimming in chlorinated water. (Prota, 1980) Sodium hypochlorite, used in chlorination of

water for swimming pools, is mutagenic in the Ames test and other mutagenicity tests.

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(Kurakawa, 1996) Unfortunately, chlorine destroys antioxidant vitamin E, which is needed to

counteract excess oxysterols and free radicals for cardiac and anti-cancer protection. (Hattersley,

2000) Industrial chemist J.P. Bercz showed in 1992 that chlorinated water alters and destroys

unsaturated essential fatty acids by oxidizing them with hypochlorite, turning them rancid. In

addition, chlorine in water destroys protective acidophilus, which nourishes the 3 pounds of

immunity-strengthening “friendly” organisms lining the colon, where about 60 percent of our

immune cells operate. (Hattersley, 2000)

It also appears that chlorine may be responsible for dairy foods tending to clog arteries,

though little research has been done so far. For example, when chlorinated water is run through

a hose or carried in a pail followed by milk as in a dairy farm, “very tenacious, yellowish

deposits chemically similar to arterial plaque” form; with unchlorinated water this doesn’t

happen. (Price, 1969) As an early experiment, J.M. Price, MD gave cockerels (roosters less than

a year old) only chlorinated water. They rapidly developed arterial plaques; and the stronger the

concentration of chlorine, the faster, and worse the damage. Other cockerels given unchlorinated

water developed no such damage. CBS’s “Sixty Minutes” show on July 11, 1992, displayed two

laboratory rats, both of them eating standard rat chow and drinking chlorinated water. One rat

was also on pasteurized, homogenized milk. When the animals were sacrificed, the arteries of

the milk-drinking rat were found to be clogged. A physician team led by William F. Enos

autopsied 300 GIs averaging age 22.1 who had died in battle in the Korean War. In 77 percent,

the pathologists found “gross evidence of arteriosclerosis in the coronary arteries.” In several,

one or more heart arteries were partly or completely occluded. The water that the American

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soldiers had to drink in Korea was so heavily chlorinated that many could hardly tolerate it.

(Enos, 1953) In Vietnam, too, autopsies of American solders found heart artery damage. Again,

water supplied to them had been heavily chlorinated. (McNamera, 1971) Also Hattersley (2000)

cites an example in the residents of the small town of Roseto, Pennsylvania, who had no heart

attacks despite a diet rich in saturated animal fats and milk--until they moved away from

Roseto's mountain spring water and drank chlorinated water. After that, consuming the same

diet, they had heart attacks. A clinical study showed DCA (dichloroacedic acid) in chlorinated

water alters cholesterol metabolism, changing HDL to LDL cholesterol and causes liver cancer

in laboratory animals. (Douglass, 1994) (What Doctors Don’t Tell You, 1997)

That is not all that is in tap water, however. Analysis of tap water supplies in major

metropolitan areas conducted by the Associated Press has revealed that the water supplies in 24

major U.S. cities -- serving over 40 million people -- are contaminated with trace amounts of

pharmaceuticals including antibiotics, anti-seizure medications, anti-inflammatory drugs,

psychotropic drugs, pain medications and even caffeine. (Adams, 2008) No research has been

done on how this ever-changing medicinal concoction affects the human body.

Drinking water, whether tap, bottled, or well, comes from somewhere, usually the

waterways that collect water from the rainfall. The single biggest source of water pollution in

the nation’s rivers and streams is agricultural runoff, according to the federal Environmental

Protection Agency, yet farm waste is largely unregulated by many of the federal laws designed to

prevent pollution and protect drinking water sources. (Duhigg, 2009) To bring this closer to

home, major waterways like the Chesapeake Bay have been seriously damaged by agricultural

pollution, according to government reports. In Maryland, residents have accused chicken farm

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owners of polluting drinking water. Abundant in many counties in Maryland, including Carroll

County, dairy cows are fed a special high-protein diet that helps them produce milk but also

creates a large amount of liquid feces. “One cow produces as much waste as 18 people,” said

Bill Hafs, a county official who has lobbied the state Legislature for stricter waste rules. Farmers

often spread the manure on nearby fields as fertilizer, but in excess, nitrates (byproducts of

manure or other fertilizers), parasites, and E. coli and coliform bacteria can flow into

groundwater and contaminate wells, sickening residents with chronic diarrhea, stomach illnesses

and severe ear infections as they seep into drinking water. Children are especially susceptible to

parasites and bacteria from cow manure. The Clean Water Act of 1972 largely regulates only

chemicals or contaminants that move through pipes or ditches, which means it does not typically

apply to waste that is sprayed on a field and seeps into groundwater. (Duhigg, Sept. 2009)

The Clean Air Act indirectly has caused water contamination as well. The Acid Rain

Program, part of the Clean Air Act, regulated SO2 and NOx , based on health concerns. By

lowering SO2and NOx emissions from power generation, the Acid Rain Program reduced the

levels of fine sulfate and nitrate particles in the air and so reduced

the incidence and the severity of illness and premature death from

heart and lung disorders, such as asthma and bronchitis.

Unfortunately, pollutants in the air that caused acid rain have

now been transferred to waterways by some industries. A

major source of waterway contamination is power plants, the

United States’s biggest source of toxic waste. (Duhigg, Oct. 2009) Coal-burning power plants

around the nation have begun to reduce their air emissions by transferring it to nearby lakes and

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rivers or landfills that have leaked into nearby groundwater, say regulators and

environmentalists. Similarly, many sewer systems are frequently over capacity, with sewage

spilling into waterways and poisoning them with excrement and industrial chemicals. Half the

rainstorms in New York overwhelm the Brooklyn wastewater treatment plant, pictured here with

a worker maintaining a tank there. (Duhigg, Nov. 2009) Ruptures in aging water and sewer

systems also cause pollutants to seep into water supplies, but saving the systems would be costly.

In many cities, residents have protested rate increases to fix the pipes. (Duhigg, Mar. 2010)

More than twenty percent of water treatment systems have violated key provisions of the Safe

Drinking Water Act (Duhigg, Dec. 2009) Duhigg cited the example of the water system in

Ramsey, NJ, which had illegal concentrations of arsenic and the solvent tetrachloroethylene,

both linked to cancer. The 42-year-old federal law regulating tap water is so out of date that the

water Americans drink can pose what scientists say are serious health risks — and still be legal.

Monica Almeida of the New York Times provided a photograph of samples of tap water from

Maywood, Calif., where laboratory tests showed toxic levels of chemicals in the city’s tap water.

(see page 4) When residents asked for cleaner water, they were told the water satisfied the Safe

Drinking Water Act. (Duhigg, Dec. 2009) Amazingly, thousands of the nation’s largest water

polluters are outside the Environmental Protection Agency’s reach because the Supreme Court

has left uncertain which waterways are protected.

In conclusion, drinking water in America is not as healthy as people think. It is hard to

find the clean and pure water that has been advertised. The government regulations concerning

the safety of drinking water only minimize a certain number of toxins. In addition, the

regulations call for certain additives to tap water that are known to be harmful to the human

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body. The waterways that are the source of American drinking water are becoming more

polluted and are only partly regulated themselves. The consumers need to purify the water

themselves. It is up to each individual to make sure that the water in his/her cup is clean and

healthy to drink. One way to do this is to use a water filter at home. Many people use a filter to

take chlorine out of their water after it has done its job. It is important for water treatment plants

to put chlorine in the water to protect people from all types of diseases. (Just consider the

dangers of drinking water in third world countries where no chlorine is added to the drinking

water.) It is just as important for people to remove chlorine from water before they drink it.

Some filters have an ultraviolet light (recommended strongly for well water) that does the same

job as the chlorine: kill parasites and microbes in the water that cause disease in humans.

Reverse-osmosis filters can remove a wide range of contaminants, including dissolved solids,

and they are the only type certified to remove arsenic, but they must be sanitized with bleach

periodically. (Consumer Reports, 2013) There are many filters to choose from, but, given the

state of drinking water in America, it is imperative that everyone insures that the water they

drink is clean and healthy because it is the health beverage and is essential to regulate body

functions properly.

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