Toxic Contamination Found in 95% of US Drinking Water

(DailyDig.com) – Many people in the US assume drinking water straight from the faucet is risk-free. Recent research showed that 95% of people in the US drink water with potentially harmful levels of contaminants.

The research, led by the University of New Mexico and including specialists from throughout the country, was published in the journal “Nature.” Its findings indicate that almost 320 million citizens are at risk due to the presence of dangerous quantities of harmful compounds in many community water systems.

Around six pollutants linked to developmental and neurological problems were detected in the water supply. Arsenic, lead, nitrates, and uranium were only some of the pollutants. The presence of PFAS chemicals was also confirmed.

Information on the six pollutants was presented in the research as follows:

Long-term exposure to arsenic may compromise the immune system, damage DNA, risk heart disease, increase blood pressure, and promote the development of cancer cells.

Cancer-causing and radioactive substances have been found in fracking fluids.

Lead is very hazardous, and long-term exposure may cause heart disease and high blood pressure, a lowered resistance to infection, the promotion of cancer cell growth, and DNA damage.

Methemoglobinemia is a condition in which hemoglobin transports oxygen but has trouble releasing it to bodily tissues due to an excess of nitrates in the diet.

Increased levels of PFAS (polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl compounds) are linked to a number of health problems.

Uranium is a carcinogen naturally found in the Earth’s crust.

There are a variety of reasons why pollutants are sometimes found in amounts that are unsafe for drinking water, as described by Johnnye Lewis, PhD, of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

She said that scientists are only now beginning to develop reliable techniques for determining the effects of such chemical cocktails. Since a combination takes on different characteristics in each neighborhood, there is always a great deal of unpredictability.

There are hundreds of chemical agents in drinking water, but only six were identified. The presence of many pollutants in the same water source raises the probability of additive or synergistic effects.