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Is Tap Water
Poisoning Us?
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FREE
Lead Test
Provided by City of Toronto
416-392-2894
Others, please call your local municipal for free lead
test |
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500 Contaminants in Your Tap Water?
It is shocking to compare drinking tap water to smoking, but it
is similar in many ways. Tobacco smoke contains over 500
different chemicals, many of them being carcinogens that cause
cancers and other health problems. Similarly, tap water
may contain over 500 different chemicals and contaminants.
Drinking tap water is like pouring small
quantities of chemicals into your body every single day!
There has been much research and many tests done on tap water
and hazardous contaminants are found consistently – contaminants
that are bad for your family’s health. We have the luxury
of choice when it comes to smoking, but we have no such choice
when it comes to drinking water – our bodies require plenty of
it every day! In Canada and the USA we do have a choice in
taking actions to protect our drinking water, and to filter our
water before use. In a 1997 survey, one third of consumers
used a home water treatment device. But that is not enough
- everyone should filter their water prior to drinking, cooking
and bathing. |
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Drinking Water Contaminants List
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Government Outlines Potential Health Effects From Tap Water
Government department recently described more than 80 contaminants in
tap water that, when consumed, can cause a host of problems including:
diarrhea, vomiting, cramps, legionnaire's disease, pneumonia, headaches,
nausea, an increased risk of cancer, liver, kidney, central nervous
system problems, eye/nose irritation, stomach discomfort, increased
blood cholesterol, decreased blood sugar, skin damage, problems with the
circulatory system, increased chance of developing benign intestinal
polyps, intestinal lesions, allergic dermatitis, gastrointestinal
distress. Further, these toxins can afflict people with Wilson's
disease, nerve damage, thyroid problems, and bone diseases. Worse still,
your children could suffer from delays in physical and mental
development, attention-span deficits and learning abilities.
Infants below the age of six-months could become seriously
ill, experience shortness of breath, blue baby syndrome, hair or finger
nail loss, numbness in the fingers or toes, intestinal and liver
problems, nervous system problems, spleen problems, anemia,
cardiovascular or reproductive problems, adrenal gland problems, weight
loss, cataracts, skin changes, thymus, gland problems, immune
deficiencies, and ill-functioning adrenal glands. This is more
than enough to cause great concern!! Therefore, it is not a
question of whether tap water is dangerous or not, the question is what
action you are going to take to make sure your family's drinking water
is safe. See more here:
We are poisoning ourselves with tap water.
Government's list of potential contaminants
in drinking water that are health risks.
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 Tap
water contains hundreds of different
types of contaminants. Reverse
osmosis technology is the most effective
and economical method for removing
contaminants. It will give you
clean and safe drinking water.
Click here to see more |
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Lead Poisoning.
Children and pregnant women are most vulnerable
to lead poisoning. Since children’s brains are still developing, lead
poisoning can cause learning disabilities, lowered IQ, attention-deficit
disorders, anti-social behaviour, damage to the central nervous system
and developmental problems. This is a frightening issue of great
concern for parents.
How Big Is The Problem?
Lead poisoning from drinking water is such a major concern
right here in Ontario that it has prompted
every major city to require schools and day-care centres to test for
lead annually. There are many reports from both government
departments and public health organizations which advise pregnant women
and young children not to drink unfiltered water. There
is no safe level for lead - any amount of lead is poisonous.
In Canada and the USA, all buildings that were built before 1990, even
those that have copper piping, contain water piping that is joined with
lead-based solder. Therefore, anyone drinking tap water or cooking
with tap water is at risk of lead poisoning.
The US
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently released statistics
showing that nearly 1 million children aged one through five continue to
have elevated blood lead levels. If you currently do not have a
water filter, the very minimum that you should do is to flush your tap
for a few minutes before anyone consumes it.
You should never make baby formula with unfiltered tap water.
Canada's CBC news sampled water from homes across the country and found
15 out of 50 homes – nearly one-third - had lead
levels above the national guideline. Whereas, the other 35
homes with level less than national guideline is also not safe to
drinking because any amount of lead is poisonous. One even had
levels at 250 times the allowable limit. Look at the results on the
right side of this page. If you live in the city, then you are at
risk. If you live in a home built prior to 1970, then you are
probably consuming water containing high lead levels because your home
likely contains lead-soldered pipes.
Lead Soldered Pipes
Typical in Homes |
"Most of the problems came from homes built
before 1970. Of the 25 homes we tested that were
built before 1970, eleven had high lead levels."
Full
CBC Report
Montreal city
officials sent out alerts to 75,000 houses
advising them their drinking water might contain
slightly more lead than called for by provincial
standards.
Reported By Gazette newspaper. |
Every parent wants their children to grow up healthy and
intelligent by providing the best we can for them.
However, it is very unfortunate that the government does
not do more to educate the population about the dangers
of lead poisoning from tap water. The public
needs to be better informed. 
Lead poisoning from drinking water is a serious matter.
NEVER drink or cook from your hot water tap, and especially not
for making baby formula. Hot water dissolves more lead more
quickly than cold water.
More info on lead:
Symptoms and effects of of lead poisoning
FREE
Lead Test Provided by City of Toronto City, call
416-392-2894.
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Note: The cost of replacing your water pipes in your house
can cost about $4000, the simplest solution for people to use a
good water filter. |
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CBCnews reports on high level of leads in tap water
across the country
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Toronto, ON
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Age of Home
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First Draw Level
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Flushed Level
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Pre 1970 |
0.013
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0.002
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Pre 1970 |
0.013
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0.002
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Hamilton, ON
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Age of Home
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First Draw Level
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Flushed Level
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Pre 1970 |
0.035
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0.002
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Pre 1970 |
0.014
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0.008
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Post 1970 |
0.010
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0.002
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Vancouver, BC
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Age of Home
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First Draw Level
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Flushed Level
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Pre 1970 |
0.047
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0.002
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Pre 1970 |
0.019
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0.006
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Pre 1970 |
0.025
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0.002
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Winnipeg, MN
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Age of Home
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First Draw Level
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Flushed Level
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Pre 1970 |
0.022
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0.017
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Pre 1970 |
0.050
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0.007
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Saint John, NB
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Age of Home
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First Draw Level
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Flushed Level
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Pre 1970 |
0.043
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0.021
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Pre 1970 |
0.036
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0.002
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Post 1970 |
0.253
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0.004
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Post 1970 |
0.054
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0.002
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Post 1970 |
0.011
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0.002
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Post 1970 |
0.033
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0.002
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Barbara McElgunn
of the Learning Disabilities Association of Canada says
that reduced IQ is just one result of lead exposure. She
maintains there is no safe level for lead.
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The
greatest tragedy of lead contamination from drinking water is that it is
completely preventable. By taking a few simple steps, beginning with
Point-Of-Use filtration, we can virtually eliminate the crippling
effects of lead on our society, and most importantly on our children.
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Tap Water Causes Cancer
Chlorine is added to drinking water to kill micro-organisms
and prevent the spread of water-born diseases. The
only difference between humans and micro-organisms is that
we are larger in mass and it takes a much higher
concentration of chlorine to kill us. Chlorine is
acidic, and is a very corrosive chemical. When you
walk out of the swimming pool, your skin is very dry and
itchy, and your hair feels brittle and rigid. If this
is what it does to your body on the outside, you can imagine
what it can do inside your body when you ingest it with tap
water! The smell of chlorine and the dangers of water
chlorination are leaving people with no choice but to filter
their water before use. The Canadian government, US
government, and many third party research groups have found
a link between Chlorine and cancer
“A
new statistical analysis indicates that people who drink
chlorinated water run a 21
percent greater risk of bladder cancer and a
38 percent greater risk of
rectal cancer than people who drink water with little
or no chlorine.” “I am quite convinced, based on this study,
that there is an
association between cancer and chlorinated water.”
SCIENCE NEWS- 11 July 1992
“Studies
indicate the suspect
chemicals can also be inhaled and absorbed through the skin
during showering and bathing. Ironically, even
the chlorine widely used to disinfect water produces
carcinogenic traces. Though 7 out of 10 Americans
drink chlorinated water, its safety over the long term is
uncertain. Drinking
chlorinated water may as much as double the risk of the
Bladder Cancer, which strikes 40,000 people a year.”
U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT July 29 1991
Chloroform and
several other
CBPs
(chlorination disinfection by-products)
are known to cause
cancer in experimental animals, and there is growing
epidemiologic evidence of a causal role for CBPs in human
cancer, particularly for bladder cancer. It has been estimated
that 14-16% of bladder cancers in Ontario may be attributable to
drinking water containing relatively high levels of CBPs;
Public Health Agency of Canada |
Chlorine and Chemical Gas During Showering
Taking a warm shower after a hard working day is
relaxing and rewarding. Sometimes, however, the
smell of chlorine makes it less pleasant. We can
smell this chlorine because it actually turns into a gas
as we shower. It has been found that, in one
shower, we breath in a quantity of chlorine gas
approximately equivalent to drinking 3 glasses of
chlorinated water. This chlorine, in its gaseous
state, goes directly into our blood stream making it
more lethal.
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“Taking
long hot showers is a health risk,
according to research presented last week in
Anaheim, California, at a meeting of the
American Chemical Society.
Showers,
and to a lesser extent baths, lead to
greater exposure to toxic chemicals
contained in water supplies than does
drinking the water. The chemicals evaporate
out of the water and are inhaled. They can
also spread through the house and be inhaled
by others. House holders can receive
6 to 100
times more of the chemical by breathing the
air around showers and bath than they would
by drinking the water.”
NEW SCIENTIST 18 September 1986
“A long hot shower can be dangerous.
The toxic
chemicals are inhaled in high
concentrations.”
BOTTOM LINE- August 15 1987
“Cancer risk among people drinking
chlorinated water is 93% higher than among
those whose water does not contain
chlorine.”
U.S. COUNCIL OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
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 Dry
hair, Dry Skin, and Dandruff
Most people do not realize that typically there is
more chlorine in tap water than in most swimming pools.
We bath, shower and wash in chlorinated water
everyday. Chlorine is a powerful oxidant and is used in
bleaching and disinfection of your drinking water.
We are basically bleaching our bodies day in and day
out. Without a shower filter,
the chlorine strips away the natural oil that protects
your hair and skin leaving the hair dry, brittle, prone
to dandruff and difficult to manage. It also
leaves the skin feeling dry and sometimes itchy.
It can cause or further aggravate rashes and other skin
irritations. Now, you can shower in natural water
with a shower filter.
Recommended Shower Filter
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Why Does
The Government Neglect Our Drinking Water?
The government and its politicians know that drinking
tap water is hazardous to our health. Some have
advised us not to drink tap water. It is fair to
say that they are doing what they can, within the
constraints of their financial budgets, to manage our
water supply – but they can certainly do much more.
However, the city water supply infrastructure is huge
and complex, and most of it – the pipes that carry water
to your home - is buried beneath the city. This
makes it impossible for the city to replace all the old
and broken pipes in a timely manner. So, there
will always be pipes that leach lead into our tap water,
and that carry water that has been heavily chlorinated.
In addition, other contaminants can enter the system
through water main breaks and leaks. The only sure
solution to safeguarding your water is to filter the
water at the point-of-use; at the point it enters into
your house, at your faucets and at your shower or bath
tub. |
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Our Bodies Runs on Water
Our bodies need 7 glasses of water daily to function
properly since we are 72% water! Our brains are
73% water; our livers are 95% water and our blood is 80%
water. We need to replenish our body with clean
healthy water for two main reasons: to prevent
dehydration and to help flush the toxins out of our
systems. Therefore,
our health is 100% dependant on
drinking contaminant free water!
Use a Filter or Be a Filter
When we eat food or drink water, our bodies try to absorb
everything they can. This includes both the beneficial
nutrients and the toxic contaminants. Our bodies may
be able to flush out some of these contaminants but,
unfortunately, there are many chemicals and metals that can
accumulate over time. We need a filter to filter out
the contaminants before so that our body will not be filter.
Risk
of
Cooking With Tap Water
Why is it that, most of the time, when you ask someone, "Do
you drink tap water?", they say "no". Then, when you
ask, "Do you cook with tap water?", they say, "yes".
This is the usual answer from people who buy bottled water.
One of the biggest misconceptions
today is people thinking that tap water suddenly becomes
safe when it is boiled or used for cooking.
Boiling water will kill bacteria and cause a few of the
chemicals to evaporate, but many other chemicals, metals,
and contaminants remain in the water.
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What
People Are Doing To Protect Their Drinking Water
A 1994 national survey. showed that only 19.5% of
households in Canada reported using a filter or purifier for
their drinking water, compared with 13.9% in 1991. Also,
21.9% of households purchased bottled drinking water in the
month before the survey, compared with 16.1% of households in
1991. Similarly, in a 1997 survey, one-third of US consumers
used a home water treatment device other than bottled water, an
increase from 27% in 1995. These data are consistent with
increasing public concern about the safety and quality of
drinking water. Today, we estimate that there are more
than 75% of households in Canada using a filter.
Filtering your drinking water and bath water is mandatory for
good health –
it is no longer an option. You can’t afford to risk
your health!
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Questions and Contact
If you have questions, please
call
416-618-3532
(GTA) 1-888-322-3589 |
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