THIS IS THE REASON TO USE A COUNTERTOP OR UNDERCOUNTER FILTER FOR
YOUR DRINKING WATER AS WELL AS A SHOWER WATER FILTER FOR YOUR SHOWER
WATER
Research names top 11 compounds in tap water
Monday, January 12, 2009 LAS VEGAS
New
research has identified the 11 most frequently detected pharmaceutical
and hormonally active chemical compounds in the drinking water of 19 US
water utilities, a January 12 NewScientist.com article reported.
Researchers Shane Snyder and colleagues at the Southern Nevada Water
Authority in Las Vegas screened tap water from 19 US water utilities
for 51 different compounds. The research, which is scheduled to appear
in the next issue of the journal Environmental Science &
Technology, indicates that all of the 11 most frequently detected
compounds were found at extremely low concentrations. According to the
NewScientist.com article, the 11 most frequently detected compounds
were:
- Atenolol, a beta-blocker used to treat cardiovascular disease
- Atrazine,
an organic herbicide banned in the European Union but still used in the
United States, which has been implicated in the decline of fish stocks
and in changes in animal behavior
- Carbamazepine, a mood-stabilizing drug used to treat bipolar disorder, among other things
- Estrone, an oestrogen hormone secreted by the ovaries and blamed for causing gender-bending changes in fish
- Gemfibrozil, an anti-cholesterol drug
- Meprobamate, a tranquilizer used in psychiatric treatment
- Naproxen, a painkiller and anti-inflammatory linked to increases in asthma incidence
- Phenytoin, an anticonvulsant that has been used to treat epilepsy
- Sulfamethoxazole,
an antibiotic used against the Streptococcus bacteria, which is
responsible for tonsillitis and other diseases
- TCEP, a reducing agent used in molecular biology
- Trimethoprim, an antibiotic.
Christian
Daughton, Ph.D., of the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA)
National Exposure Research Laboratory, said in the report that neither
this nor other recent water assessments give cause for health concern.
He added, “But several point to the potential for risk — especially for
the fetus and those with severely compromised health.”
Snyder
said in the report that water utilities could make drinking water
purer; however, the costs of “extreme purification” are huge in terms
of increased energy usage and carbon footprint, cautioning that
ultra-pure water might not even be safe.
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