Perchlorate: Drinking Water Contaminant

Some people say that they haven't gotten any symptoms from water contamination, therefore, there is no actual harm, but the fact is that it can result in problems later on in life and cause a shorter lifespan. So, in summary, water quality needs to be better and no longer contaminated. Help spread the word and raise money for filters

The very chemicals that are used to treat our water to kills deadly toxins are the same chemicals that can pose health problems when digested for a period of time (EPA 2013). For instance, excessive consumption of fluoride over a lifetime may lead to increased likelihood of bone fractures in adults, and tooth enamel pits in young children. Lead consumption leads to physical and mental development in children and mercury consumption leads to kidney damage. (Birmingham Water Works).

A half-mile neighborhood, in the town of Woburn, has a staggering 8 cases of Leukemia amongst children -- a rate that is three times the national average. These cases were discovered following the construction of local Wells G and H, both of which received complaints of water quality. Upon investigation, we discovered that the contamination of both of the wells is likely a significant factor in the health of Woburn residents. Pollutants used by companies in the area, trichloroethylene, are known to cause Leukemia. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Quality Engineering discovered high amounts of trichloroethylene in wells G and well H. This chemical is commonly as a cleaning fluid -- the most efficient way to dispose of it being to simply discard the waste into a secluded body of water. In the case of Woburn, trichloroethylene seeped into soil which would later contaminate the water in both wells after they were built. Following the infrastructure of the water supply, the contaminated drinking water made its way to the neighborhood that would later experience the tragic loss of two children, and the following diagnosis of Leukemia in 6 others. We are hereby setting out to prove that the

What effect did each of the contaminants have on the water in the experiment? Which contaminant seemed to have the most potent effect on the water?

“Eighty-six percent of water bottles end up in landfills or in the ocean” (Sexton & Morley). The National Resource Defense Council (NRDC) tested over 1,000 bottles of water to find out what kind of water was really in the bottle (Jemmott). They found out that an estimated 25% or more of bottled water is really just tap water in a bottle (Olson). It is sometimes treated more, sometimes not. Also the NRDC tested water for contaminants. Most didn’t have any but 22% of the brands contained chemical contaminants (Olson). Most of these chemicals were strict above the state health limits. If the water inside the bottle becomes contaminated the producers don’t have to let the consumers know. Although many people believe plastic bottles are convenient, nevertheless they can extremely harm you because of the chemicals in the plastic and is also causing harm to the earth.

The city of Stockton’s water cleaning company uses “chloramines which are not as chemically active as chlorine” to filter their tap water system (recordnet.com). However, due to the drought and lack of water many of the chloramines compounded together and became toxic. Moving on, Chloramine is a compound made up of very low concentration of chlorine and ammonia. However, large quantity of chloramine can be harmful since the chlorine can compound onto each other, which develops trichloramine (recordnet.com). Trichloramine can cause redness in the eye, irritation of the skin, and if ingested in large quantity, the respiratory system can be damaged. Moving on, the water contamination in Stockton effects all the residents in North Stockton only. Despite that the water contamination is only in North Stockton, the residents are taking precaution to using their tap water due to the unsure effects of ingesting the contaminated

Tap water is often "cleansed" with chlorine. Once thought to be a great and benign water cleanser even for drinking water, chlorine has now been linked in numerous studies to causing cancer if consumed for an extended period of time. Tap water delivery systems of cities, towns, and municipalities are often out of date, dirty, and rusting and pass along filth such as rust into the tap water supply. Government regulations also arguably do not set low enough "safe levels of consumption" for potential harmful

Although municipal water can contain a vast array of contaminants, several continued to repeatedly show up in water of the cities studied. Among the most frequently found contaminants were Arsenic, mentioned earlier, and other toxic chemicals such as radon, the rocket fuel perchlorate and other carcinogens, which may cause skin problems, birth defects, reproductive problems and even cancer. High Volumes of Lead were found, which enters the drinking water supplies from the corrosion of old pipes and

Few people give much thought to what’s in the water that comes out of their faucets until a funny smell or color alerts them that more than just water is coming from the tap.

In different areas of the world it is found that the presence of arsenic, lead, and cadmium is hazardous to the health of the general population. In Burkina Faso high concentrations of arsenic dominated the groundwaters (BGS). A similar case occurred within California with the existence of lead and cadmium. Similar to Arsenic in the groundworks of Burkina Faso, there was a significantly large amount of lead found in the water system in California affecting the nervous system, kidneys of children (Rios, Michael). Cadmium has also been found in California, because the metal is known to cause cancer and developmental harm there are several laws preventing certain amount of cadmium in drinking water (Monserrat, Laurie).

Due to disinfection (microorganisms) and oxidation (e.g. taste and odour control, elimination of micropollutants, etc.), chlorine is commonly used in water disinfection processes (Gunten et al., 2006). However, under certain circumstances, oxidants can induce formation of potentially harmful by-products or transformation products due to their reactivity with micropollutants in water (Kranser et al.,

There are very few guidelines and standards governing maximum acceptable concentrations in fresh water and drinking water of pesticides and pharmaceuticals. A comprehensive review of these chemicals including their use, toxicological effects, properties and occurrence in water was conducted. Watersheds and drinking water systems across the United States show that millions are at risk from the endocrine disrupting pesticides and pharmaceuticals.

There are many contributions to causing many health issues, one, in particular, is cancer. The tap water that we drink contains chemicals that contribute to causing cancer. One specific chemical is DDT, scientifically known as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, it is an odorless chemical that has no taste, that is used as an insecticide. In addition, the chemical is also used to fight against diseases. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), “DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane) was developed as the first of the modern synthetic insecticides in the 1940s. It was initially used with great effect to combat malaria, typhus, and the other insect-borne human diseases among both military and civilian populations” (EPA). Although

The research from this report shows that the advantages of chlorination as a disinfection outweighs its disadvantages. Chlorination still remains the best disinfection process for our drinking water even though it has some long-term health concerns. Due to a lack of evidence it can be concluded to be the best disinfection process for our drinking water supply. No other alternative can match up to it, but as the technology is getting more advanced, in the future there may be a completely new system to disinfect our drinking water without producing

This review of literature presents three themes necessary to understand the context of testing for heavy metals in tap water: the toxicology of heavy metals, their prevalence in tap water, and potential remediation techniques.