MEDICAL BENEFITS
(HOW R/O PURIFIED WATER
HELPS PREVENTING CANCER)
More and more communities are
becoming concerned about potential links between cancer and chemicals found in
their drinking water. Whether you drink municipal water or drink from a
well, additives and contaminates linked to cancer probably exist in your
water.
Although water providers are
required by federal law to follow guidelines that are designed to keep these
cancer-causing chemicals at “safe” levels in the water, there is much debate at
what actually is “safe.” Because of these concerns, water providers are now
required by law to publish the results of their water testing every year for
public review.
Some of the chemicals added to
water to keep us healthy could oddly enough actually be contributing to cancer
rates. Studies concerning chlorine and fluoride have determined high levels
of these chemicals could cause cancer.
Chlorine, used to disinfect
most community water supplies, produce Trihalomethanes (THMs), chemicals formed
when chlorine reacts with organic material, like bacteria, in water. The
American Journal of Public Health published an article in regard to a 1992 study
that linked trihalomethanes in water to incidences of rectal, bladder and
pancreatic cancer.
Citizens groups frequently
target fluoride, which is added to the water supply of most municipalities to
help cut down on tooth decay in children, as a possible carcinogen. The
Journal of Epidemiology, in 2001, linked fluoride as the genetic cause of
cancer. A 1990 National Toxicology Program study determined fluoride could be
the cause of cancers affecting the mouth, pharynx, colon and rectum. Another
study, with results published in the Journal of Environmental Pathology,
Toxicology and Oncology in 2001, linked osteosarcoma, a rare bone cancer, with
fluoride.
Natural occurring radioactive
agents like radium, uranium and radon, seep into the water supply. High levels
of these elements can cause cancer of the brain and bone.
People living in rural areas
with their own water wells are also at risk of drinking potentially
cancer-causing chemicals. Fertilizer, insecticides and herbicides contain
carcinogens that can filter down into the water supply. Nitrate, a by-product of
fertilizer, also shows up in water supplies. In the human body, nitrate breaks
down into nitrosamines, which are potentially cancer-causing
agents.
Atrazine, an herbicide used on
crops, is also found in drinking water. It is suspected of causing breast
cancer. Another chemical, trichloroethylene, a solvent used in dry cleaning,
is found sometimes in water supplies near facilities that do not dispose of
their chemicals properly. It is considered a possible cancer-causing agent as
well.
Most municipalities do not
have the costly technology to filter these and other potentially harmful
chemicals from the water. Neither do most bottled water companies, which
frequently get the water they bottle from the same sources as municipalities.
Reverse osmosis filtering is one of the few effective ways to remove
potential cancer-causing chemicals from your water.
