How Is Tap Water Tested For Contamination And Why Is It Failing?

<h1>How Is Tap Water Tested For Contamination And Why Is It Failing?</h1>Author: <a title="Ray Hamilton" href="http://www.articlesbase.com/authors/ray-hamilton/111430.htm">Ray Hamilton</a> Let's be honest, we have all heard how bad our water quality is and so to ask the question, how is tap water tested for contamination is a good one, but did you realize just how poor the testing is? Our municipal treatment plants can't and are not required to test for all the contaminants present in our water. They must only meet the EPA's most basic requirements for safety. Now the EPA conducts thousands of tests including gas chromatography to detect volatile organic chemicals and spectro-photometry to test for nitrates, but they can only test one small sample at a time. So how is tap water tested for contamination of the more dangerous pharmaceuticals that are becoming more and more prevalent? The answer is in most cases they are not found and in the small samples taken, not enough evidence is collected. You would need to constantly be checking to get the bigger picture, so we tend to get our information from the private bodies that are concerned with water contamination. One of these, the Ralph Nader Research Institute found over 2100 toxic chemicals that can cause cancer in our drinking water, after a long study. Our treatment plants use basic sand bed filters and disinfect with chlorine as they have been doing for years, only getting rid of the visible parts to try to keep us happy. So if you asked them how is tap water tested for contamination, they would try to reassure you everything was being done to acceptable government standards, and stick their head in the sand! The new phenomenon of prescription drugs entering is one they cannot prevent, without a major overhaul of the system, so it is up to us to protect ourselves. Fish in some rivers are changing sex because of the high levels of female hormones that are getting in! And things are only getting worse as we use more chemicals and take more prescription drugs. So the best solution is not to worry about how is tap water tested for contamination, but to get a good quality home filtration system. Look for a carbon block multi-stage one, with an ion exchange, to remove 99% of all the contaminants. If you would like to learn more about the types of water filtration systems that I personally recommend and use, visit my website today.  About the Author: Ray Hamilton is a dedicated advocate and researcher of the incredible benefits of safe, clean, <A href="http://www.healthy-filtered-water.com">healthy water.</a> Take a moment to visit his site now at <a target="_blank" href="http://www.healthy-filtered-water.com/">http://www.healthy-filtered-water.com/</a> and discover which products Ray recommends after extensive research. Article Source: <a href="http://www.articlesbase.com/">ArticlesBase.com</a> - <a href="http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/how-is-tap-water-tested-for-contamination-and-why-is-it-failing-787815.html" title="How Is Tap Water Tested For Contamination And Why Is It Failing?">How Is Tap Water Tested For Contamination And Why Is It Failing?</a>

Let's be honest, we have all heard how bad our water quality is and so to ask the question, how is tap water tested for contamination is a good one, but did you realize just how poor the testing is?

Our municipal treatment plants can't and are not required to test for all the contaminants present in our water. They must only meet the EPA's most basic requirements for safety.

Now the EPA conducts thousands of tests including gas chromatography to detect volatile organic chemicals and spectro-photometry to test for nitrates, but they can only test one small sample at a time.

So how is tap water tested for contamination of the more dangerous pharmaceuticals that are becoming more and more prevalent? The answer is in most cases they are not found and in the small samples taken, not enough evidence is collected.

You would need to constantly be checking to get the bigger picture, so we tend to get our information from the private bodies that are concerned with water contamination.

One of these, the Ralph Nader Research Institute found over 2100 toxic chemicals that can cause cancer in our drinking water, after a long study.

Our treatment plants use basic sand bed filters and disinfect with chlorine as they have been doing for years, only getting rid of the visible parts to try to keep us happy.

So if you asked them how is tap water tested for contamination, they would try to reassure you everything was being done to acceptable government standards, and stick their head in the sand!

The new phenomenon of prescription drugs entering is one they cannot prevent, without a major overhaul of the system, so it is up to us to protect ourselves. Fish in some rivers are changing sex because of the high levels of female hormones that are getting in!

And things are only getting worse as we use more chemicals and take more prescription drugs.

So the best solution is not to worry about how is tap water tested for contamination, but to get a good quality home filtration system. Look for a carbon block multi-stage one, with an ion exchange, to remove 99% of all the contaminants.

If you would like to learn more about the types of water filtration systems that I personally recommend and use, visit my website today.

Ray Hamilton is a dedicated advocate and researcher of the incredible benefits of safe, clean, healthy water. Take a moment to visit his site now at http://www.healthy-filtered-water.com/ and discover which products Ray recommends after extensive research.

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