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By Brian Cronin, Director of AquaMD
(AquaMD is the water testing division of the American Water Council,
a nationally respected provider of water education & testing
services. AquaMD has teamed with Dr. Mercola to provide you both
the free home water evaluation and the Dr. Mercola water testing
packages at http://www.aquamd.com/mercola/labtests.cfm.)
For some, the term "heavy metal" conjures up images of
wailing guitars, thunderous drums and stacks of amplifiers. Although
those power chords can hurt your ears at high volume, the heavy
metals found in our nation's tap water are far more harmful.
Heavy metals are inorganic chemical elements with relatively high
density and are toxic even at low concentrations. Some examples
include mercury, arsenic, chromium, cadmium, nickel and lead. These
metallic elements occur naturally in the Earth's crust as geologic
formations, and cannot be degraded or destroyed.
Heavy metals enter our bodies in various
ways:
- The food we eat
- The air we breathe
- The water we drink
In low traces, some heavy metals -- like copper and zinc -- are
essential to maintaining good health and metabolism within the human
body. But, in higher concentrations, even beneficial metals can
be toxic and poison us.
What makes heavy metals particularly dangerous is their tendency
to bioaccumulate, meaning the increased concentration of a chemical
in our bodies over time.
We absorb heavy metals from the environment and they are stored
at a rate that is faster than they are metabolized or excreted from
the body. Heavy metals accumulate in the water supply through human
activity, such as industrial and consumer waste. Commercial processes,
like mining, agriculture, manufacturing and the discarding of wastes
in landfills, are all common sources of heavy metal contamination.
Even rainwater, with its acidic pH, can cause these compounds to
leach into the surface and underground water supplies from the surrounding
soil and rock.
Even our own home can be a source of heavy metal contamination.
In homes built before the late 1980s, lead and copper can leach
into the passing water from water pipes and soldered joints on the
way to our taps. Low pH and elevated temperatures result in increased
corrosion of water pipes.
Left unchecked, lead can give rise to chronic nerve, brain and
kidney damage as well as blood disorders. Homes with children, senior
citizens and people with immune system problems are particularly
vulnerable.
While the EPA sets maximum contaminant levels (MCL) for heavy metals
in our drinking water, practically all of their testing takes place
at the water source and during treatment. Only a tiny fraction of
the testing takes place randomly at the home tap level where metal
contamination can easily occur. For those of us on private wells,
there is no one looking out for your water quality. The testing
is left solely up to you.
Detection is the first step toward protecting yourself. Once you
know what's in your water, then you can find a solution to rectify
the problem.
Remember, no two filters are alike ... and no single filter exists
that can remove all possible contaminants. Always test your water
with a certified laboratory, as they are required to follow mandatory
testing procedures and can detect down to parts per billion.
Relying on your senses simply isn't smart. Certified analysis will
result in the type of accuracy that you need when assessing your
water's overall potability and quality.
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