Your Drinking Water

The chlorine used to purify your drinking water was possibly made by electrolyzing molten Nad to produce liquid sodium and gaseous chlorine. 

You are not likely to be exposed to hexachloroethane from your food. However, you might be exposed if you use insecticides, fungicides, or plastics that contain this chemical. You may also be exposed to small amounts of this chemical from your drinking water if chlorine is used to kill germs. Hexachloroethane has occasionally been reported in drinking water at concentrations of 0.03-4.3 ppb in some locations in the United States. 

Hexane can enter your body through your lungs if it is in the air you breathe. It can also enter your body through your stomach and intestines if it is in your drinking water or food, or through... 

R92070 User s Guide and Data Dictionary for Kenai Lakes Investigation Project 570990002 Your Drinking Water from Sonrce to Tap EPA Regulations and Guidance... 

Are you concerned about pesticides and nutrients in your drinking water (% some or a lot) 59 54 41... 

You are probably exposed to small amounts of chloroform in your drinking water and in beverages (such as soft drinks) made using water that contains chloroform. You can also get chloroform in your body by eating food, by breathing air, and by skin contact with water that contains it. You are most likely to be exposed to chloroform by drinking water and breathing... 

ERA concludes that the maximum amounts of heptachlor and heptachlor epoxide present in your drinking water and in the seafood you eat each day through your lifetime should not exceed 2.78 ppt. In theory, this would limit the risk of developing cancer to one in 100,000. For contaminated seafood alone, the maximum amounts of heptachlor and heptachlor epoxide that your consume each day throughout your lifetime should not exceed 2.85 ppt. This recommendation is made because harmful effects may occur in people after exposure to heptachlor. Because the exact levels that might cause these effects are not known, ERA has set a very low limit as a safety factor. 

Chlorine dioxide is added to drinking water to protect people from harmful bacteria and other microorganisms. Most people will be exposed to chlorine dioxide and its disinfection by-product, chlorite ions, when they drink water that has been treated with chlorine dioxide. The EPA has set the maximum concentration of chlorine dioxide and chlorite ion in drinking water at 0.8 and 1.0 milligrams per liter (mg/L), respectively. However, the concentrations of chlorine dioxide and chlorite ion in your drinking water may be lower or higher than these levels. For additional information about how you might be exposed to chlorine dioxide and chlorite, see Chapter 6. 

In order to prevent polluted river water from reaching your drinking-water system, you want to know how much time you have to turn off the pumps once a pollution cloud in the river has reached the location adjacent to the well. In your considerations you assume that the concentration of the pollutant suddenly increases from 0 to a value 10 times above the maximum tolerable drinking-water concentration and then remains at this level. (1) Take the worst-case scenario and calculate how much time you have to turn off the pumps. (2) How much does this time change if you assume that the concentration in die river reaches 1000 times the maximum tolerable drinking-water concentration ... 

Because radium is present, usually at very low levels, in the surrounding environment, you are always exposed to it and to the small amounts of radiation that it releases to its surroundings. You may be exposed to higher levels of radium if you live in an area where it is released into the air from the burning of coal or other fuels, or if your drinking water is taken from a source that is high in natural radium, such as a deep well, or from a source near a radioactive waste disposal site. 

Control. Risks tliat people can take steps to control are more acceptable Uian those they feel are beyond their control. When prevention is in the liaiids of tlie individual tlie risk is perceived much lower than when it is in tile hands of the govermuent. You can choose what you eat, but you caimot control w hat is in your drinking water... 

Sometimes, improving your alkaline state can be as simple as adding highly alkaline compounds to your drinking water. You can purchase ready-made pH drops from a reputable health store. These drops may contain a 2 percent solution of chlorine dioxide or hydrogen peroxide, which releases oxygen into the body, helping you to improve your alkalinity or remain alkaline. 

Do you realize what s in your drinking water he asked Tom. Before Tom could answer, he continued Let me demonstrate. First he fdled a glass of water from the kitchen faucet, then he produced an electrical device that had a pair of probes and a light bulb. It resembled a standard conductivity tester. He inserted the probes into the water and the bulb immediately beamed brightly. Next the salesman poured some water from a jar labeled distilled water into another glass. This time when he inserted the probes into the water, the bulb did not hght. 

Use a F ion selective electrode per manufacturer s instructions to find the concentration of F ion in your drinking water and in your brand of (a) toothpaste and (b) mouthwash. Use a standard additions cahbration procedure. Some sample preparation may be needed for the toothpaste. Several extraction procedures are available in the literature. 

Do you realize what s in your drinking water he asked Tom. 

Lead pipes pose a danger primarily in houses that were built prior to 1920, when such pipes were commonly used7 No matter how old these pipes are, they may continue to leach lead into your drinking water depending on the specific characteristics of the water (that is, lead from the pipes will be dissolved by the water) until they are replaced. Water that sits in them over a period of hours picks up much higher amounts of lead than water that just runs through them on the way to the faucet. However, if your water is hard, your pipes become coated over the years with minerals that protect the water from dissolving lead. ... 

This procedure will tell you not only how much lead is in your drinking water, but also whether the lead is coming from your own plumbing or from the water distribution system, and how effective letting the water run for a couple or a few minutes is in controlling the amount of lead it contains. 

The surest way of getting the lead out of your drinking water if you do have dangerous levels is to use a good drinking water treatment device. Be sure to buy a model that states that it removes a high percentage, at least 90%, of the lead from the water it filters. 

Water softeners DO NOT remove lead. Instead they could have the effect of increasing the lead in your drinking water. 

Learn about lead in the water in your community. The law gives the water supplier a great deal of responsibility for protecting you from lead in your drinking water. The federal government cannot keep an eye on every water supplier to make sure they are doing what they should. You can help protect your community s water supply by getting involved in the process as a citizen activist. Some steps you can take are ... 

National Fire Protection Association, National Electrical Code Handbook (1996) 174-175. Water-Treatment Devices, Consumer Reports Feb. 1993 79-82 Fit To Drink Consumer Reports Jan. 1990 27-43 National Toxics Campaign Fund, A Consumer s Guide to Protecting Your Drinking Water (undated). 

Test your drinking water for lead. Unless and until you know that you don t have lead in your water, do the following ... 

Source USEPA, Is Your Drinking Water Safe , EPA 810-F-94-002, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, 1994 USEPA, National Primary Drinking Water Regulations, EPA 816-F-09-0004, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, 2009. 

A number of companies offer home water treatment to improve the quality of tap water. You may wonder if home water treatment is necessary. Is your tap water safe to drink If you receive your drinking water from a public water provider, the EPA believes that home treatment for the protection of health is not necessary. According to the EPA, you may want to treat your water for other reasons— such as hardness, poor clarity, or undesirable taste-but the EPA maintains that unless you get a notice from your water provider stating otherwise, the water from your tap is safe to drink over a lifetime. 

What is the primary water source type for your drinking water ... 

For each of the following arsenic, total trihalomethanes, turbidity, and lead, answer these questions Define the measuring unit used for each. What is the allowable level of each What are some of the adverse effects of high levels of these contaminants How do these get into the water supply What is the level in your water supply Even if one of these is not found in your drinking water, you must answer all but the last question for each contaminant. 

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