Do you know what you are drinking when you ingest a refreshing gulp of H2O? Chances are you are unaware of all the possible pollutants that refresh your thirst on a daily basis. Water that is claimed to be tested by your water provider may have hidden toxic materials dissolved within, which are ingested into your body and could make you sick. Even bottled water could harm our bodies more than water straight from the tap.
Research shown from The New York Times claims "that an estimated one in ten Americans have been exposed to drinking water that contains dangerous chemicals or fails to meet a federal health benchmark in other ways." This is from interviews of more than 250 state and federal regulators, water-system managers, environmental advocates, and scientists. Toxins that have seeped into wells after being dispersed onto farmland is one way for water to become unhealthy. It can also be from runoff in areas where sewer systems that cannot accommodate heavy rains creating overflow. There is also direct dumping that some companies have plead guilty to.
Records analyzed by The New York Times indicate that the Clean Water Act has been violated more than 506,000 times since 2004, by more than 23,000 companies and other facilities, according to reports submitted by polluters themselves. Companies sometimes test what they are dumping only once a quarter, so the actual numbers of days when they broke the law is often far higher. And some companies illegally avoid reporting their emissions, say officials, so infractions go unrecorded. These toxins can accumulate for years before they even cause problems, making it very difficult to pinpoint the cause for the poisoning.
Water bottles as well are the cause of toxins in our drinking water. Most people have heard of (and have seen their fair share of students and professors toting) water bottles made by Nalgene, but the almost unbreakable plastic that makes these bottles so popular could be making us sick. Bisphenol A, or BPA, has been found to disrupt the processes of the endocrine system in animals, but its is still unclear what, if any, the effects on humans are. The European Food Safety Authority has concluded that even in high exposure instances, the detrimental effects are presumed to be very low because the half life of the compounds are very short; however, taking no chances, the Canadian government seems very likely to place a ban or partial ban on food-related uses of BPA plastics in the near future. Other companies that produce water bottles, such as Klean Kanteen, claim that their use of stainless steel will prevent the seeping of BPA into any liquid inserted into their container. Even water that comes prepackaged could contain the same toxins that come out of our faucets. In this case, why bother paying the money for the convenience when you can bring your own reusable container (one that doesn't contain BPA plastic) and save yourself money and save the environment by preventing waste.
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I agree with your statement that tap water actually may be better for you than bottled water. In reality tap water must meet higher standards and more regulations than bottled water. However, toxins in the water supply are a problem in the United States. Problems arise because local governments, which regulate water supply often do not have the funds or personnel to test all waterways. Often the water is only tested once a year if that. Another problem is that the toxins present in the water are not actually regulated. Water sanitation plants need to account for new toxins that are polluting our drinking water such as pharmaceutical drugs. Companies must also be held accountable for their illegal dumping. The amount of fines should be increased making it more profitable to clean the water than to simply pay a fine.
ReplyDeleteAs far as bottled water is concerned not only does it not have to meet the same restrictions as tap water but it also causes other environmental problems. Tap water is also 1,000 times more expensive than tap water. It takes 4 times the amount of water inside the bottle to produce a single bottle. This causes a problem because fresh water will be one of the major environmental problems of this century. Not only that but companies are beginning to privatize water sources essentially taking away a human right. Not only does creating water bottles create environmental problems but their disposal also creates problems. On an individual level there isn't much I can do except enjoy my tap water in my Sigg and try to convince others to do the same.
*Correction* access to and availability of fresh water will be one of the major environmental problems of this century
ReplyDeleteI could not agree with you more. The plastic water bottle phase is absolutely ridiculous. It is not cost affective nor is it good for us or the environment. Plastic water bottles are everywhere I see them on the side of the road, in the woods, and in waterways. They are a nuisance to the environment and just cause problems. They are also extremely hard to recycle and when you recycle plastic you do not even get all of it back. Fresh drinking water needs to become one of our main concerns.
ReplyDeleteA large part of the problem with toxins in our public water system goes back to the consequences against polluters not being harsh enough. According to Justicenewsflash.com, which Corinne links to, the wealthy chemical company guilty of dumping chemicals into streams outside of Chicago was only fined $100,000. That may seem like a lot, but that 100 grand is for over a decade and a half of ecosystem and community water resource destruction. In the past five years, 506,000 businesses have disobeyed the CWA. This is very similar in nature to auto makers that would rather pay the fine than build cars that meet CAFE standards. It's time to step up the consequences for big time polluter so that the US can have clean air and clean water. Unlike many parts of the world, we actually have good water. We should be grateful of this resource and clean it up. Clean water is a human right.
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