What's in your drinking water?
The federal government has no legal limit on numerous dangerous chemicals found in our water. These chemicals have health effects ranging from hormone disruption to fetal growth harm and cancer. Below are some examples and their health effects according to EWG's Drinking Water Standards:
Chloroform: Can cause cancer and fetal harm.
1,4-Dioxane: Can cause cancer, kidney harm, and lung irritation.
Bromochloroacetic acid: Can cause cancer and fetal harm.
Cobalt: Can cause harm to the heart and blood chemistry changes.
Perchlorate: Can cause hormone disruption and fetal harm.
Strontium-90: Can cause cancer and harm to bones.
The federal government has limits on various chemicals, but many of these are not restrictive enough, like nitrate. According to EWG, nitrate can increase cancer risks. "Nitrate pollution of U.S. drinking water may cause up to 12,594 excess cases of cancer a year, and cost up to $1.5 billion for health care. Nitrate contamination of drinking water may also be responsible each year for 2,939 babies born at very low weight or 1,725 babies born very preterm."
EWG is a fantastic resource if you want to dive deeper. They have a tap water database that houses water quality reports from water utilities across the US. Simply put your zip code in and it will provide you with the most up to date water quality report for the water utility servicing your home. The results are easy to read and compare against federal limits (if they exist) and EWG's own health guideline limits. Remember, legal limit does not equal safe.