subject: Death by Tap Water by:Scott L. Pitcher [print this page] By the time you have completed your reading of this article you are going to be extremely concerned about drinking water from your tap as a very large percentage of our cities tap water is contaminated. Some of the chemicals in our water systems like arsenic are retained by your body and after a period of time can often result in death. So how do you protect your family?
Let's face it. Nobody is arguing the fact that we have to do something about our contaminated tap water. For many years, we've relied on our local water authority to make sure that we're getting water that is safe for use in our homes. But as more evidence continues to surface about the potential dangers of drinking, cooking, and bathing with what is delivered through our faucets, we have to wonder what are we to do to protect our families if even our tap water is bad
Toward the end of 2006, two uncommon notifiable conditions were reported to Communicable Disease Epidemiology Section. Listeriosis and trichinosis are rare conditions but have public health importance.
Infection with the bacterial agent, Listeria monocytogenes, causes a range of symptoms. Healthy persons may have diarrhea or only minimal illness such as fever. Invasive disease can result in bloodstream infection or meningitis. Infection during pregnancy can be transmitted vertically, causing few symptoms for the woman but severe fetal or neonatal infections sometimes resulting in pregnancy loss.
Filtration While in the Mountains
Boiling/filtering water on the trail is precautionary for small percentage of creeks that are contaminated. I hike a lot and use a Berkey Travel Filter that is almost as easy as just getting water out of the stream.
Sources of Drinking Water
Drinking water is often obtained when the water source is contaminated by sewage and animal waste, or when wells are improperly sealed and constructed. These metals can get into your drinking water from natural sources, industrial processes, and the materials used in your plumbing system. A recent study suggests that that we should consider untreated surface water as a possible source of contamination.
Researchers, whose tested water over a one-year period in rivers and streams in a region of south Georgia known for its high rate of sporadic salmonella cases found Salmonella in 79 percent of water samples, with the highest concentrations and the greatest diversity of strains in the summer and after rainfall.
Not everyone who is exposed to an infectious disease, even the widely-feared new "swine" flu (H1N1), gets sick. And many people who do come down with the flu or another illness get over it without much trouble. While a lot of factors can be at work, from good nutrition to physical fitness, a new study suggests an all-too-common toxin in even the water you drink could play a role in whether an H1N1 infection makes you seriously ill.
There's no telling precisely how many Americans get sick each year from drinking bad water. But it's safe to say there are a lot more of them than anyone knows about.
From 1993 to 1996, the most recent years for which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has records, there were 52 confirmed outbreaks of waterborne illness that sickened 408,000 people and killed 111. All the deaths and 403,000 of the illnesses were linked to a 1993 bad water outbreak in Milwaukee.
A new study suggests that health agencies investigating Salmonella illnesses should consider untreated surface water as a possible source of contamination.
There a Solution to Contaminated Tap Water
Have you ever imagined that it could be dangerous to drink a glass of water? Every municipal water supply in the country and many around the world, have tested positive for a wide range of dangerous chemical toxins. The presence of these chemicals are the reason the need for filtered tap water has never been greater. And where do you get a clean drink of water if your water lines are contaminated because of an earthquake, tornado or even an act of war?
The main reason for the failure of municipal treatment systems is that they are based upon outdated disinfection methods - namely, chlorination. The type of contaminated tap water that we're faced with today (over 2100 known toxins) calls for powerful, but expensive filtration. The cheapness of chlorine remains a major factor in the decision by city officials to stick with this highly-ineffective treatment method and chlorine is not good for your body. It is a last stand cheap method.
A high quality table top filtration system can solve most of your problems.
Every family must make adequate preparations not only for an ongoing supply of water but also for storing enough food to last a year. Such preparations must begin now for after the disaster strikes it's too late.
Scott Pitcher taught in the Utah public school system for seven years, he spent two years on an L.D.S. Church Mission in Australia. He has a large amount of experience in export and import and in this regards visited or lived a short time in Mexico, Japan, China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. He is now the owner of Wensco Products, L.L.C. which is concerned with long term food and water storage.
