Searching for the Perfect Water Filter - Understanding the Water Report

How to understand what the water report is saying. Well…after reading through the EPA water drinking regulations, it should be quite easy to understand the water report. NSF International provides a detailed description on their website.

On my report, only couple of substances were mentioned so I called the municipal water system company and asked them about all substances they are testing. The surprise was that they are testing for many more substances than those on the EPA list and they were not included in the report because of their undetectable levels. No perchlorate, no atrazine, no MTBEs, etc. I was very relieved and nicely surprised to find out that my family (and the surrounding neighborhood, of course) is drinking one of the cleanest waters in the country.

However, I would still like to test the water for copper and lead which were identified bellow acceptable levels, but the road from the water tank to my sink is quite long.

Searching for the Perfect Water Filter - EPA Drinking Water Regulations

What I learned from browsing the EPA water drinking regulations?

Here's what you will know and what you won't know from your water agency report:

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is regulating more than 90 contaminants found in the drinking water, although there are many more that keep on seeping in -- pun intended. For short, there are three types of standards or guidelines that needs to be followed:

National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (NPDWRs or primary standards) are legally enforceable standards that apply to public water systems. Primary standards protect public health by limiting the levels of contaminants in drinking water. There is a full list of the regulated contaminants including the maximum allowed levels, potential health effects, and sources of the contaminants. The list include:Microorganisms, Disinfectants, Disinfection Byproducts, Inorganic Chemicals, Organic Chemicals, and Radionuclides.

National Secondary Drinking Water Regulations (NSDWRs or secondary standards) are non-enforceable guidelines regulating contaminants that may cause cosmetic effects (such as skin or tooth discoloration) or aesthetic effects (such as taste, odor, or color) in drinking water. EPA recommends secondary standards to water systems but does not require systems to comply. However, states may choose to adopt them as enforceable standards. Problems are starting to arise with this list, depending on the water district. I decided to include the whole table with these contaminants as most of them are the ones I would like to completely reduce from the water I drink. The table is adapted from the Secondary Drinking Water Regulation: Guidance for Nuisance Chemicals released in July 1998. Well, since 1998 the scientific community added more proof about health effects of some of these contaminants which should call EPA to more strict standards or at least to enforce these to all public water systems.

Contaminant	Secondary MCL	Noticeable Effects above the Secondary MCL
Aluminum	0.05 to 0.2 mg/L*	colored water
Chloride	250 mg/L	salty taste
Color	15 color units	visible tint
Copper	1.0 mg/L	metallic taste; blue-green staining
Corrosivity	Non-corrosive	metallic taste; corroded pipes/ fixtures staining
Fluoride	2.0 mg/L	tooth discoloration
Foaming agents	0.5 mg/L	frothy, cloudy; bitter taste; odor
Iron	0.3 mg/L	rusty color; sediment; metallic taste; reddish or orange staining
Manganese	0.05 mg/L	black to brown color; black staining; bitter metallic taste
Odor	3 TON (threshold odor number)	"rotten-egg", musty or chemical smell
pH	6.5 - 8.5	low pH: bitter metallic taste; corrosion high pH: slippery feel; soda taste; deposits
Silver	0.1 mg/L	skin discoloration; graying of the white part of the eye
Sulfate	250 mg/L	salty taste
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)	500 mg/L	hardness; deposits; colored water; staining; salty taste
Zinc	5 mg/L	metallic taste
* mg/L is milligrams of substance per liter of water

Unregulated Contaminants are contaminants which are not subject to any proposed or promulgated national primary drinking water regulation (NPDWR), are known or anticipated to occur in public water systems. For more information check out the list,This list include Methyl-t-butyl ether (MTBE), Triazines & degradation products of triazines and others. This lists perchlorate for which in January 2009, EPA issued an interim health advisory level of 15 micrograms per liter (µg/L) to assist state and local officials in addressing local contamination of perchlorate in drinking water. Again, this is advisory, not enforced or reported.

For more information about contaminants you can visit the Drinking Water Standards page. In addition you can look over an article I wrote earlier about perfluorochemicals and other chemicals found in the water of some states.

Next step is to understand the water report and to find out which of the secondary standards are tested by my public water system.

Searching for the Perfect Water Filter: What Toxic Chemicals are in the Water?

I am trying for a long time to change the water filter, because I started to badly want one that is filtering out the fluoride I get against my will. I am asking myself sometimes if there is somebody really worried about my health it should start taking out all the chemicals I am imposed to live with rather than giving me more. But, I do not want to get into the politics – nobody will care anyway.
So it took me a while to decide on a water filter but after looking around and reading about the filters and the chemicals that have/must be removed I got confused and decided to seriously do my homework. I will not finish this post right away as this is an ongoing project but I will post the findings as I come to a conclusion. There should be couple of steps that need to be addressed:

1. find out the dangerous chemicals that are in the water
   
2. study the EPA water regulation
   
3. find out what chemicals are in the water I get into my house (read reports, call the water service to check the pipelines’ material from their service area to my house, check the plumbing components of the house; eventually test for lead, etc)
   
4. find out what chemicals can be removed through the water filters available
   
5. find out the types of water filter available and search eventually for the “green” ones
   
6. buy it and use it with the hope that you contributed a little more to your family’s health and wellness, not only to your monthly budget…
   

What toxic chemicals are in the water?

Some studies made by EWG found that there are so many weird things in the water we drink that you probably do not want to know about it. However, the tap water is regulated by EPA and is the safest to drink when compared to bottle water. Nonetheless, there are people like me who want it even cleaner. Here is a list with (let’s say!) most toxic chemicals that were found in the tap water:

Fluoride. Fluoridation has proved to be a safe and cost-effective way to reduce dental caries. As of 2002, the CDC statistics show that almost 60% of the U.S. population receives fluoridated water through the taps in their homes. Some communities have naturally occurring fluoride in their water; others add it at water-processing plants. Recently, the National Research Council found naturally occurring fluoride levels exceeded the optimal levels used in community fluoridation programs (0.7 to 1.2 ppm), putting kids under 8 years old at risk for severe enamel fluorosis. The CDC recommends that in communities where fluoride levels are greater than 2 ppm, parents should provide kids with water from other sources. If you have time to watch, there is an interesting video about fluoride dangers made in Australia.

Lead is a toxic metal that was used for many years in products found in and around our homes. Lead also can be emitted into the air from motor vehicles and industrial sources, and lead can enter drinking water from plumbing materials. Lead may cause a range of health effects, from behavioral problems and learning disabilities, to seizures and death. Children six years old and under are most at risk.

Arsenic enters drinking water supplies from natural deposits in the earth or from agricultural and industrial practices. Non-cancer effects can include thickening and discoloration of the skin, stomach pain, nausea, vomiting; diarrhea; numbness in hands and feet; partial paralysis; and blindness. Arsenic has been linked to cancer of the bladder, lungs, skin, kidney, nasal passages, liver, and prostate.

Perchlorate occur both naturally and through manufacturing. They are also used as an oxidizer in rocket fuel and explosives and can be found in airbags and fireworks. Perchlorate is becoming a serious threat to human health (in significant amounts disrupts production of thyroid hormones) and water resources. It was also found in infant formula, in cow’s milk.

Chlorine is a oxidant used in bleaching and disinfectants. Chlorine is a toxic gas that irritates the respiratory system. By itself, used at indicated levels chlorine is not harmful but in combination with other substances found in the water poses a health risk.

Atrazine is the most widely used herbicide in conservation tillage systems. Atrazine was banned in Europe in 2004 because of its persistent groundwater contamination while in the U.S. is one of the most widely used herbicides, with 76 million pounds of it applied each year. Some of its helath effects include endocrine effects, possible carcinogenic effect, and epidemiological connection to low sperm levels in men. Traces of atrazine in drinking water are most likely to be found in areas of heavy agricultural production like the Midwest and Southeast.

A full list with water contaminants and their potential health effects can be found on the EPA website. There are more things like radon but that cannot be eliminated by a water filter so I do not include that in here.

38 Pollutants Found in 10 Brands of Bottled Water

One more study came out to prove that bottled water is not as good as people may believe. The study, released by the EWG, tested 10 brands of bottled water and found that Wal-Mart's Sam's Choice contained chemical levels that exceeded legal limits in California and the voluntary standards adopted by the industry. The names of the other 8 brands were not released by EWG. In the EWG study, the University of Iowa Hygienic Laboratory screened for 170 possible contaminants and found 38 pollutants in 24 samples from 10 major brands purchased in California, Washington, D.C., and eight other states (an average of 8 contaminants in each brand).

It was found that the levels of disinfection byproducts exceeded safety standards established by the state of California and the bottled water industry:

• Walmart’s Sam’s Choice bottled water purchased at several locations in the San Francisco Bay Area was polluted with disinfection byproducts called trihalomethanes at levels that exceed the state’s legal limit for bottled water (CDPR 2008). These byproducts are linked to cancer and reproductive problems and form when disinfectant react with residual pollution in the water

• Also in Walmart’s Sam’s Choice brand, lab tests found a cancer-causing chemical called bromodichloromethane at levels that exceed safety standards for cancer-causing chemicals under California’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Proposition 65, OEHHA 2008). EWG is filing suit under this act to ensure that Walmart posts a warning on bottles as required by law: “WARNING: This product contains a chemical known to the State of California to cause cancer."

• These same chemicals also polluted Giant's Acadia brand at levels in excess of California’s safety standards, but this brand is sold only in Mid-Atlantic states where California’s health-based limits do not apply. Nevertheless, disinfection byproducts in both Acadia and Sam’s Choice bottled water exceeded the industry trade association’s voluntary safety standards (IBWA 2008a), for samples purchased in Washington DC an 5 states (Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and California). The bottled water industry boasts that its internal regulations are stricter than the FDA bottled water regulations(IBWA 2008b), but voluntary standards that companies are failing to meet are of little use in protecting public health.
  

Other contaminants found include fluoride, fertilizers, drugs (e.g., acetaminophen and caffeine), synthetic chemicals (e.g., acetaldehyde, hexane, toluene, etc.), bacteria, arsenic, and radioactive pollutants.

What to do?

The EWG recommends:

• Drink filtered tap water. Carbon filters (pitcher or tap-mounted) are affordable and reduce many common water contaminants, like lead and byproducts of the disinfection process used to treat municipal tap water. Install a reverse osmosis filter if you can afford it, to remove contaminants that carbon filters can’t eliminate, like arsenic and perchlorate (rocket fuel).
• Change your water filters on time. Old filters aren’t safe – they harbor bacteria and let contaminants through.
• Forgo the plastic bottles
• Use safe water for formula. Use filtered tap water for your baby’s formula. If your water is not fluoridated, you can use a carbon filter. If it is, use a reverse osmosis filter to remove the fluoride, because fluoridated water can damage an infant’s developing teeth.
• Consumers can urge policymakers to improve and adequately fund source water protection programs

In my house, we use filtered water and occasionally buy (sparkling) mineral water in glass bottle which can be found at Costco, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods.

For more information you can read my previous posts about tap water and bottled water.

How Many More Chemicals in Our Water?

I wrote recently about the tap water and bottled water. While it is up for everyone to decide which one is best to use, I continue to be concerned myself about the quality of each. Currently, I use filtered tap water and mineral water in glass bottles. Now, I came across of the results of an analysis conducted by Environmental Working Group (EWG) which shows that in 42 states over the country, the water is contaminated with 260 chemicals, of which 166 are industrial pollutants (solvents, propellants, plasticizers, pharmaceutical production ingredients). Moreover, drugs used to treat depression and epilepsy, sex hormones, and antibiotics represent another category of substances found in our daily “fresh” water. Of course, it is the pollution of the waters that contributes to the load of chemicals in tap water. The problem is that many of these ingredients are not regulated at all, so people, especially those who are vulnerable (children, pregnant women, elderly) are not protected at all against these particular chemicals.

The biggest concern of the EWG is represented by the presence of perfluorochemicals found in the environment and in people. These chemicals are used in the production of non-stick cookware, food packaging, and stain-resistant fabrics (carpet, waterproof clothing). This chemical has been found to lead to liver damage, thyroid problems, high cholesterol in children, inability to fight infection. Well, I was relived when I did not find California on the list with the states contaminated with perfluorochemicals, but what about the other chemicals? The states contaminated with the perfluorochemicals are listed as follows:

Location	Details
Ohio	drinking water serving city of Belpre, Little Hocking Water Association, Tuppers Plains, Village of Pomeroy
West Virginia	drinking water serving Lubeck Public Service district, Mason county
New Jersey	78% of 23 drinking-water systems tested
Minnesota	cities of Oakdale, Lake Elmo, Woodbury, Cottage Grove
Alabama:	Decatur/Tennessee river; Mobile River
Georgia:	Conasauga River; streams and ponds near Dalton, GA; city of Dalton drinking water supply; city of Columbus drinking water
North Carolina	ground water in Bladen County
Illinois	Chicago tap water
Virginia	ground and surface water
New York	rivers and lakes
Florida	Port St. Lucie, surface water
Lakes Erie and Ontario

Check the quality of your water here, although it seems that many of the chemicals found in the water are not listed because they are not regulated.

The Danger of Plastic Bottled Water

There have been news recently on National TV warning about the danger of chemicals released from plastic bottles. As I stated in a previous post tap water is safe to drink and if we want it to be safer we can use a filter. The news are stating that "certain plastics used to make reusable water bottles leak a chemical into drinking water that may pose a risk, especially to children and pregnant women." It is already known that plastic baby bottles are releasing substances dangerous for babies health. Well, I would not be surprised if in one day they will find the same results with the plastic bottled juice.



I am always concerned for the health of my family so until it is decided that the chemicals released are bad or not for our health I took the approach "better safe than sorry" and eliminated plastic bottled water from our consumption. It was a little hard to get used to the heavier glass bottles, but only for a short time; now I fell like in the 90's. :)

Here are some tips I follow:

• if you cannot avoid the plastic bottled water, do not reuse the plastic bottle; recycle it. In fact, do not reuse any plastic bottle.
  
• use glass whenever possible.
• just fill your glass bottle with tap water (filtered tap water) in your way out.
• use glass bottles for babies and kids.

Bottled Water vs. Tap Water

What is safer to drink: bottled water or tap water? Bottled water became extremely popular in the U.S. In fact, U.S. is considered the largest consumer of bottled water, consuming up to 7 billions gallons annually. It is just so easy to grab a bottle in your way to the gym, or have it for your kids when playing in the park, etc. In U.S. bottled water is regulated as a food by the Federal and Drug Administration (FDA) which requires that manufacturers are responsible for producing "safe, wholesome and truthfully" labeled bottled water products. The problem with the bottled water is the consumption of lots of energy necessary to produce the bottles and the production of avoidable garbage. In a recent BBC Panorama documentary, the British research revealed that the production of some bottled water brands generated up to 600 times more CO2 than tap water. In the same documentary it is said that the Australians spend more than $500 million a year on bottled water and only 35 percent of those bottles are recycled. The plastic most commonly used for the bottles is polyethylene terepthalate (PET), which is derived from crude oil. Hoping to diminish the environmental harm, some companies are considering a more ecological alternative by using biodegradable plastic called polylactic acid (PLA), which is derived from corn.

The tap water is regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) including extensive regulations on the production, distribution and quality of drinking water; regulations on source water protection; regulations on operation of drinking water systems; regulations on contaminant levels; and regulations on reporting requirements. Given all these strict regulations, it seems that the tap water is safe to drink, at least the same or even safer that the bottled water. Considering that the bottled water take a long route until it reaches us and thus, going trough various climate changes (i.e. hot weather) that may determine the leach of chemical substances from the plastic, I think that tap water is safer to drink. To note that a considerable quantity of bottled water is actually tap water - that is just sold in a bottle. If trying to avoid the fluoride in the tap water, then bottled water is a solution although many brands have fluoride added.

Which one is safer? Check the quality of your own drinking water!