LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF CHLORINATED WATER

LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF CHLORINATED WATER

This is an article from Livestrong.com on the affects of chlorinated water.

Chlorine is a toxic chemical, but we need it to clear our tap water from water born diseases, but once our tap water reaches our homes we don't have any use for the chemical and it should be removed. Total Water Cleaners removes over 90% of the chlorine in our tap water, giving you safe clean water water from every tap in your home.

More information available here - Total Water Cleaners

LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF CHLORINATED WATER 

Chlorine is the most common water treatment to kill bacteria living within it. Chlorine is added not only to swimming pools, but also is often found in tap water. According to Free Drinking Water.com, most cities within the U.S. treat the city water with chlorine concentrations of two to four parts per million; and they report the average person receives 50 percent of their chlorine exposure from bathing. Chlorinated water can have long-term effects on human skin.

Acne, Eczema and Rashes

Chlorine not only kills the bad bacteria that can make us sick, but it also kills good bacteria on which our our skin relies. According to Dr. Rona, M.D., chlorinated water destroys most of the intestinal flora--friendly bacteria that help not only with the digestion of food, but with the production of vitamins B12 and K. A press release announcing the result of findings reported by quickacneremedy.com on PRLog.org also notes chlorinated water also destroys vitamin E and polyunsaturated fatty acids. All of these factors have been shown to result in acne and other skin irritations, including eczema and rashes.

Cancer

According to a report on HULIQ.com, an independent news organization, chlorine actually promotes the generation of free radicals within the body, and specifically the skin. Free radicals have been shown to cause cancer, as has chlorine. Drinking tap water most has been linked to bladder, breast and bowel cancer; and long-term effects of drinking, bathing and swimming in chlorinated water has been shown to cause malignant melanoma, otherwise known as skin cancer.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/196874-long-term-effects-of-chlorinated-water-on-the-skin/#ixzz27gZgA1M5

BPAs LINKED TO OBESITY IN KIDS

This is an article from USA Today on the links of BPA to childhood obesity. BPA is found in a lot of common items like plastic water bottles.
Stop using plastic water bottles and start using filtered tap water in a reusable stainless steel water bottle for everyone in your home, its better for the environment, and much better for your health.


BPAs LINKED TO OBESITY IN KIDS

Kids with higher levels of the widely used substance BPA in their bodies are more likely to be obese, according to the first large-scale, nationally representative study to link an environmental chemical with obesity in children and teens.
Researchers from NYU School of Medicine acknowledge that their study's design doesn't allow them to definitely conclude that BPA, or bisphenol A, caused the children's obesity. Rates of obesity have been rising for three decades as Americans have become more sedentary.
But the findings, in today's Journal of the American Medical Association, add to a growing body of research -- in both humans and animals -- questioning BPA's safety, says Philip Landrigan, director of Children's Environmental Health Center at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York.

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Exposure to BPA -- an estrogen-like chemical used in everything from plastic water bottles to the linings of metal cans and even the coatings on certain paper receipts -- is nearly ubiquitous. More than 92% of Americans over age 6 have detectable levels in their blood, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The new study drew on CDC surveys of 2,838 kids and teens, ages 6 to 19. Researchers found that more than 22% of those with the highest BPA level in their urine were obese, compared to 10% of those with the lowest levels.

A study published last year, also based on CDC data, found similar patterns of obesity among American adults exposed to BPA.

For the entire article click here - USA Today

THM's are Cancer Causing and In Our Tap Water

Cancer Causing Trihalomethanes in Drinking Water

Trihalomethane or THMs are a by-product that comes from chlorination.

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It is one of the toxic carcinogens created when Chlorine reacts with organic matter in water. When this matter decays - somewhat like compost materials (leaves, bark, sediments) Trihalomethanes are formed. This includes chemicals called chloroform, bromoform and dichlorobromethane. Even in small amounts they are all very carcinogenic.
Since the publication of the study by Environmental Working Group and the Public Interest Research Groups, trihalomethanes have been the focus of news articles across the United States. Following are a few excerpts from articles that relate to nationwide water issues, followed by the Water Quality Association's recommendation of a home water filtration system to protect consumers from potential health problems associated with trihalomethanes.

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THMs (Trihalomethanes)in blood increase after shower 
Chapel Hill, NC, May 3, 2002 (Water Tech Online)
THMs, by-products from chlorination, appear to increase significantly in the bloodstream after showering, says a study by researchers at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill School of Public Health.
Public health experts suspect the chemicals might boost the risk of cancer and contribute to reproductive problems such as miscarriages, a release by UNC said.
Through blood sample analysis, researchers measured THMs in the blood of 25 women at each site before and soon after they showered, and compared those levels to concentrations found in tap water in their houses.
THM concentrations were around 1,000 times lower in blood than in tap water, but after the showers, median levels in blood increased by a factor of four.

For more on this article Click Here

Toxic Water Bottles

Great Article from Real Food Freaks on how plastic water bottles are toxic for us.

The Problem with Plastic Bottles and Containers

So, let’s say you aren’t buying any of the information I have stated so far.  And you do indeed do believe that bottled water is better for you than tap.  There is one huge factor that you need to take into consideration.  The packaging of the water and the way it contaminates the water inside it.

BPA – Bisphenol A

I am sure we have all heard about the dangers of BPA.  The FDA is in quite a quandry about what to do about it and will not even discuss it because they realized they have made grave errors in allowing it to be used in packaging.  In 2010 the FDA acknowledged the dangers of BPA to CBS news and in this report, citing all kinds of dangers.  But now in 2012, they are refusing to ban it according to the Huffington Post.

BPA is an organic compound that is used in many plastics applications.  However, recent scrutiny of this compound has found that it has hormone-like properties.   There is a lot of speculation as to what that means, but the FDA is concerned enough to issue warnings about its use in baby bottles.  Of course the rest of us are fine with ingesting a little extra hormone in our diet, right?  Surely, there is no correlation to the rising infertility epidemic or other HORMONE-RELATED phenomena.

• Pregnancy complications: pre-eclampsia, premature births, growth restrictions, pregnancy loss, and miscarriages, (See here)

• Uterine Fibroids.  HA!  I drank a TON of bottled water before the removed a softball sized fibroid from my uterus via abdominal myomectomy.  Needless to say, I no longer drink bottled water.
• Childhood Asthma
• Diabetes (Newbold RR. Hormones (Athens). 2010 Jul-Sep;9(3):206-17)
• Obesity (Newbold RR. Hormones (Athens). 2010 Jul-Sep;9(3):206-17)
• Thyroid Disorders (Zoeller RT, Bansal R, Parris C. Endocrinology. 2005 Feb;146(2):607-12. Epub 2004 Oct 21)
• Prostate Health (Schatzl G, et al. Prostate. 2001 Apr;47(1):52-8 )
• Brain Disorders (like ADHD)

Where BPA is Found:

• Most plastics with the recycle code #3 or #7, but it could be in others as well unless stated specifically BPA free!
• Most canned foods, unless specifically stated to be BPA free.
• Baby bottles that do not list that they are BPA free

Non-BPA plastics: PET and PETE

Think bottled water that is not in BPA bottles is safe?  Think again.  Plastic bottles with PET and PETE are made up of Polyethylene Terephthalates.  Many of you in the real food world are already familiar with phthalates and their hormone disrupting qualities.  The main ingredient of this product is paraxylene which is in the benzene family (a cancer causing compound).

Studies have been conducted by the documentary ‘Tapped‘ to find out what chemicals have leached into the water from PET bottles.  7 major bottled water brands were tested. They found the following:

• Toluene – by-product of oil industry, neurotoxin and adverse reproductive outcomes are associated with it

• Styrene – cancer causing and adverse reproductive outcomes

• Phthalates (three different kinds) – fetal development complications and adverse reproductive outcomes in males and females

Health Canada States Chlorine is Cancer Causing

This is an excerpt from Health Canada's Web Site on water safety. The highlighted areas are pretty interesting to read. Long term exposure to chlorination is known to increase your chances of cancer and may have an effect of pregnancy. Then they follow it up saying that our tap water doesn't usually need extra filtration, and the THM levels are considered low.

Activated carbon filters can be used to remove chlorine and its 

by-products, Total Water Cleaners uses 

NSF Certified Activated Carbon in all of our water cleaners.

For more information on our water cleaners click here - Total Water Cleaners

The Risks of Chlorination By-Products

Lab animals exposed to very high levels of THMs have an increased risk of cancer. Several studies on humans have also found a link between long-term exposure to high levels of chlorination by-products and a higher risk of cancer. For instance, a recent study showed an increased risk of bladder and possibly colon cancer in people who drank chlorinated water for 35 years or more.

High levels of THMs may also have an effect on pregnancy. A California study found that pregnant women who drank large amounts of tap water with high THMs had an increased risk of miscarriage. These studies do not prove that there is a link between THMs and cancer or miscarriage. However, they do show the need for further research in this area to confirm potential health effects.

How the Government Protects Your Water Supply

The federal and provincial governments share responsibility for safe drinking water. Provincial governments are generally responsible for the day-to-day provision of drinking water to their constituents. The water they provide must meet their own drinking water requirements, which are based on the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality. These guidelines are published by Health Canada and developed in collaboration with all provincial and territorial governments. Health Canada publishes an annual table summary of the guidelines, which is available on its Web Site.

Health Canada has established a guideline for THMs of 0.1 milligrams per litre. The cancer risk at this level over a lifetime is considered extremely low. The guidelines for THMs and other chlorination by-products are currently under review by a task group whose work is coordinated by Health Canada.

Minimizing Your Risk

Drinking water that meets the guidelines does not usually need extra treatment. There is no easy way that you can remove all disinfection by-products, but here are some steps you can take.

• Activated carbon filters can be used to remove chlorine and its by-products. If you choose to use such a filter, it is essential to follow the manufacturer's instruction.
• The manufacture and sale of water treatment devices are not regulated in Canada. Health Canada recommends the use of products that are certified to health-based standards. The Standards Council of Canada can provide information on the certification process.

For more information from Health Canada click here - Health Canada

City Has Dirty Water

Tired of Winnipeg's brown tap water? Is it ruining your clothing in the wash? Is it ruining your hot water tank? Well just sue the city, thats what a supervisor with the waste-and-water department suggests.

A supervisor with the waste-and-water department dismissed Bowering's claim for a ruined article of clothing stained brown by dirty water in the washer and then suggested the mother, 27, could hire a lawyer and take the city to court if she didn't like it. 

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Can't swallow city's dirty water

Supervisor tells woman she can sue

A Winnipeg homeowner angered by dirty tap water says she was told
if she didn't like it, she could sue.

Frustration over seeing a stream of brown tap water again and again since May
was bad enough, said St. James resident Nicole Bowering.

Click here for - The Rest of The Story

Winnipeg Mom Fed Up With Brown Water

Winnipeg Mom Fed Up With Brown Water

The Winnipeg Free Press interviewed this mom about the quality of the water in her St.James. She is not alone, there are hundreds of Winnipeg homes that are affected by the water main breaks going on this year, and every year. What is in that brown water? What ever it is please don't drink it, cook with it, wash your clothes with it, or even run your hot water, the brown sludge can get into your hot water tank and damage it.

Watch the video here - Winnipeg Free Press Video

Say NO to Bottled Water!

Do you use bottled water?
Its cheaper and safer to use filtered water from your tap than most bottled waters. Plus when you use a whole home water filter (like Total Water Cleaners), your entire homes water will be filtered and healthy.

Reduce your carbon footprint: 

Say NO to bottled water!

The bottled water industry aggressively promotes bottled water through sexy marketing campaigns that undermine people's trust in public water systems. Their campaigns rival the Joe Camel ads that hooked kids on cigarettes and the Happy Cows ads that belie the California dairy industry's animal factories that dominate subsidized agriculture here. This trendy "healthy" drink can cost 500 to 4,000 times more than tap water.


In the U.S. more than 30 billion plastic water bottles are discarded each year. Only 15% are recycled; the rest end up in landfills, or as litter - 66 million every day. They can take 1,000 years to decompose and meanwhile they contribute to the vortex of plastic waste in the Pacific Garbage Patch, which may be twice the size of Texas.


Smaller bottles are made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the manufacture of which generates 100 times more toxic emissions than glass.

Researchers found that eight out of 10 PET bottles leave residues of the endocrine disrupter bisphenol A in the water. Exposure to extremely low doses of bisphenol A is strongly linked to breast cancer, prostate cancer, and diabetes.

If you are concerned about the quality or taste of your tap water, it is much cheaper and safer to install a water filter on your tap to remove the pollutants than to depend on bottled water.

No problems have been associated with refillable stainless steel or aluminum/baked-enamel-lined containers.

Reducing our carbon footprint

The Pacific Institute estimates that production of bottled water for U.S. consumption in 2006 required the equivalent of more than 17 million barrels of oil, not including the energy used for transportation. This released over 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide, a major global warming gas. It took three liters of water to produce one liter of bottled water.

The total amount of energy embedded in the use of bottled water is the equivalent of filling a plastic bottle one quarter full of oil, according to the Pacific Institute.

What You Can Do - 

Avoid using bottled water unless absolutely necessary. Drink from reusable metal or glass containers filled with tap water when traveling. At public events and at home, offer pitchers of water. Patronize restaurants that refuse to serve bottled water.

Vicki Lee Vicki Lee is a Bay Chapter member who works on water quality and privatization in northern California.

© 2009 San Francisco Sierra Club Yodeler

For more information on a whole home water cleaner
click on our link - Total Water Cleaners

Winnipeg Issues Notice on Water Quality

Winnipeg has issued its second warning advisory I mean notice about the water quality. 

Turns out they are advising not to "drink or cook or clean with it." 

But "water does not pose a public-health threat"..... but don't drink it? 

Durning these water main breaks what exactly is getting flushed into our homes water systems, clogging our pipes, water heaters, washing machines and sinks? How long does the residue sit in our homes pipes before it is flushed out? 

Click on the link for more information on how to get a Total Water Cleaner for your home - Web Page

Posted: 09/17/2012 Winnipeg Free Press - Winnipeg Free Press Link

City issues notice about water quality

The City of Winnipeg has issued another notice about discoloured drinking water, which it attributes to watermain breaks during a dry summer.

Clay soils in some areas of the city have dried out and shifted, leading some water pipes to burst, the city says in a notice, urging Winnipeggers not to drink discoloured water or cook or clean with it. Nonetheless, the discoloured water does not pose a public-health threat, the city says.

This is the second such notice of the summer. The city claims it has reduced the number of watermain breaks by a factor of five over the last 25 years, mainly through pipe replacements.

Winnipeg’s drinking water is treated by a $300-million treatment plant which opened in December 2009 at Deacon Reservoir.

1:49 PM: Warning and advisory changed to notice in copy and headline.

The Dangers of Chloramine

Total Water Cleaners Whole Home Cleaner removes over 90% of chloramine that is found in our tap water.

For more information click on this link - Total Water Cleaners

Chloramine

Chloramine is a combination of chlorine and ammonia. Chloramine is used to disinfect water supplies, water utilities often refer to chloramine as monochloramine.  Chloramines are all respiratory irritants with trichloramine being the most toxic (order of toxicity: monochloramine < dichloramine < trichloramine-most severe.) Chloramine does not dissipate easily compared to chlorine, and stays in the water distribution system longer than chlorine. Chloramine is difficult to remove, and cannot be removed by boiling, distilling, or by standing uncovered. Some disinfection byproducts of chloramine are even more toxic than those of chlorine, i.e. iodoacids.  Chloramine vapors and its disinfection byproducts can accumulate in indoor air and concentrate in an enclosed area such as a shower stall, small bathroom, kitchen, or apartment

Respiratory Problems
Chloramine can cause and/or aggravate respiratory problems. Chloramine fumes can cause an individual to become congested and cause sneezing, sinus congestion, coughing, choking, wheezing, shortness of breath, and asthma (see theHazardous Substances Fact Sheet for Chloramine, PDF, 98 KB), by the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services). An increase in asthma due to exposure from chloramine in indoor swimming pool areas was shown in a Belgium study. Chloramine damages mucous membranes. The lung damage in those exposed to chloramine in indoor pool air is similar to that seen in regular smokers. Chloraminated vapor from showers, baths, hot tubs, dishwashers, and other household appliances contains volatilized chemicals that can be inhaled and cause irritation to the respiratory tract. Inhaled chloraminated vapor can enter the bloodstream directly through the lungs. It bypasses the digestive tract where the SFPUC says it is broken down and excreted.

The SFPUC says that, "if monochloramine enters the bloodstream directly, it combines with hemoglobin (red blood cells) so it can no longer carry oxygen". The toxic exposure to chemicals (like chloramine) in water is greater from taking a shower than from drinking the same water (see Toxic Showers and Baths). An individual can experience long term effects from repeated exposures to a chemical (like chloramine) at levels not high enough to make them immediately sick. Chloramine exposure damages lung mucosa, making the lungs more susceptible to allergens and infections.

Skin Problems
Chloramine tap water can cause severe skin reactions – rashing, dry skin, flaking skin, and chapping. It can also aggravate other skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis. Skin exposure to ammonia "breaks down cell structural proteins, extracts water from the cells and initiates an inflammatory response, which further damages the surrounding tissues."

Digestive and Gastric Problems
Chloramine damages digestive mucosa, and can aggravate digestive disorders. It is suggested that monochloramine is responsible for gastric cancer.

Kidney and Blood Problems
Persons with liver or kidney disease and those with hereditary urea cycle disorders are at increased risk for ammonia toxicity from the consumption of chloraminated water. Kidney dialysis patients cannot use chloraminated water in their dialysis machines because it will cause hemolytic anemia.

Chlorine Linked to Some Cancers

Interesting study on the affects of chlorine. 

The thing is we DO need chlorine in our tap water, I have said that in other posts and will always say that, we need chlorine to get rid of water born diseases. But we have to remove that same chlorine before we drink, cook and bath in our tap water.

Visit our website to find out how to clean your tap water - 

www.totalwatercleaners.com

CHLORINATED WATER CAN AFFECT CANCER RISK - Epidemiology 1998;9(1):21-2829-35 Lifetime consumption of chlorinated tap water can more than double the risk of bladder and rectal cancers in certain individuals, two new studies conclude. Both studies examined the lifetime water-consumption patterns, diets and lifestyles of over 2,200 middle-aged and elderly Iowans suffering from either bladder, colon, or rectal cancers. Those profiles were then compared with those of a pool of nearly 2,000 healthy 'controls'.

Recent research has suggested that chlorine reacts with naturally-found organic compounds in water to form what the study authors call "chlorination byproducts." They say many of these byproducts are "mutagenic and/or carcinogenic." The first study found that smoking men who drank chlorinated tap water for more than 40 years faced double the risk of bladder cancer compared with smoking men who drank nonchlorinated water. Women who drank chlorinated water, on the other hand, had only slightly raised risks for bladder cancers, regardless of (their) smoking status.

The second study found that rates for rectal cancers for both sexes escalated with duration of consumption of chlorinated water. Individuals on low-fiber diets who also drank chlorinated water for over 40 years more than doubled their risk for rectal cancer, compared with lifetime drinkers of nonchlorinated water.

Similar differences were also found between the risk patterns of chlorinated-water drinkers who exercised at least once a week, and those who exercised just once a month, or less. Experts have long recommended regular exercise as one means of reducing one's risk of rectal and other cancers. The study found no link between the long-term consumption of chlorinated tap water and the incidence of colon cancer. This was not surprising, the researchers explain, since colon tumors have very different patterns of genesis and development compared with rectal tumors.

They speculate that the source of chlorinated tap water may help determine its potential to promote cancers. Since surface water (such as that found in lakes and reservoirs) usually contains higher concentrations of organic compounds, the study authors say it is also more likely to contain higher levels of (potentially carcinogenic) chlorination byproducts, compared with water sourced from deep underground.

Jerry E. Smith

Some Dangers of Chlorinated Water

ENVIROMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY - Dr. Lance Wallace
"A Professor of Water Chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh claims that exposure to vaporized chemicals in the water supplies through showering, bathing, and inhalation is 100 times greater than through drinking water." "As chlorine is added to kill pathogenic microorganisms, the highly reactive chlorine combines with fatty acids and carbon fragments to form a variety of toxic compounds, which comprise about 30% of the chlorination by--products." "During the mid-1970's monitoring efforts began to identify widespread toxic contamination of the nation's drinking water supplies, epidemiological studies began to suggest a link between ingestion of toxic chemicals in the water and elevated cancer mortality risks. Since those studies were completed a variety of additional studies have strengthened the statistical connection between consumption of toxins in water and elevated cancer risks. Moreover, this basic concern has been heightened by other research discoveries.

The bad news is that all city treated water has chlorine in it, but we need it. Chlorine kills bacteria and water born disease. But once the water gets to our homes, we need to remove the chlorine and other chemicals in our water and its up to the home owners to get rid of it.

To avoid chlorine's harmful effects, you can use a whole home Total Water Cleaner. 

For more information, visit our web page - www.TotalWaterCleaners.com

Total Water Cleaners - What's in Your Water?

Total Water Cleaners sell and lease “Whole Home Water Cleaners.” They will provide you and your family with healthy, chlorine-free, clean water for all of your daily uses. Whether you’re drinking it, cooking with it, or showering and bathing your kids in it, you will feel the difference clean water makes.

What does a Total Water Cleaner do for you - 

• Clean, chlorine free water from every tap in y
  our home
• Does not remove essential minerals
• Removes over 90% of all chemicals and pollutants from your home's water 
• Removes over 90% of all pharmaceuticals from your home's water 
• Virtually Maintenance-Free, no back washing, no pre-filters needed
• Convenient and Environmentally-Friendly, no electricity needed, no wasting water with back washing
• Easy to install in almost any home or business

Check out our website to find out more information -www.TotalWaterCleaners.com

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