10 Pollutants In Washington Tap Water Put Your Health At Risk: Study

ENUMCLAW, WA - When water flows out of the faucet and into a glass, it usually appears clean and healthy. A report released Wednesday, however, reveals that there are harmful contaminants across the American water supply that can cause cancer, developmental issues in children, problems in pregnancy, and other serious health conditions.

“There are chemicals that have been linked to cancer, for example, that are found above health-based limits, or health guidelines, in the water of more than 250 million Americans,” said Nneka Leiba, director of Healthy Living Science at the Environmental Working Group, or EWG, an independent nonprofit organization that released a detailed account of the contaminants.

EWG, in conjunction with outside scientists, assessed health-based guidelines for hundreds of chemicals found in our water across the country and compared them to the legal limits. The law often permits utilities to allow these dangerous chemicals to pollute our waters.

In Washington state, EWG found 10 contaminants above health guidelines including:

• Bromodichloromethane, which may cause harm to child and fetuses, as well as reproductive difficulties
• Chromium (hexavalent), which is linked to cancer, liver damage and productive system damages
• Chloroform, which is linked to cancer and fetal development issues
• Trichloroacetic acid, which is linked to cancer, and harm to reproduction and child development
• Dichloroacetic acid, which is linked to cancer and harm to reproduction and child development
• Arsenic, which is linked to multiple cancers
• Dibromochloromethane which is linked to cancer and harm to fetuses
• Radium-228, is linked to cancer
• Radon, a gas that is connected to lung cancer

Additionally, there are 6 contaminants EWG found were above legal limits:

• Arsenic
• Nitrate and nitrite
• Uranium
• Total trihalomethanes
• Nitrate
• Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Here's a breakdown of local water departments, where you can see the contaminants found in your water above health and legal guidelines:

• Bonney Lake Water Department
• City of Bellevue
• City of Edmonds
• Enumclaw Water Department
• Issaquah Water System
• JBLM Lewis
• Lakewood Water District
• City of Kirkland
• City of Mercer Island
• North City Water (Shoreline)
• Olympic View Water & Sewer (Edmonds)
• City of Puyallup
• Firgrove Mutual (Puyallup)
• Fruitland Mutual Water Co. (Puyallup)
• City of Redmond Water System
• City of Renton
• Sammamish Plateau
• Seattle Public Utilities
• Soos Creek Water & Sewer (Renton)
• City of Spokane
• City of Tacoma
• Woodinville Water District

“There are more than 250 contaminants across our nation’s drinking water,” said Leiba. “About 160 of those are unregulated. And that’s a big concern, because if a chemical is unregulated, that means it can be present in our water at any level — and be legal.”

Once people know about the high levels of dangerous contaminants lurking in their water, the question becomes what they can do to protect their health.

”There’s a way to reduce those levels simply by buying a water filter,” said Leiba. “We don’t want to scare the population by saying there are 250 chemicals and just leaving it there,” she continued. “As a consumer you may look at it and get a little overwhelmed.”

For this reason, EWG provides a guide to buying water filters. Its website allows you to search for filters that block particular chemicals and pollutants. If you find that your local water supply has a particularly high level of a dangerous chemical, you can search for a filter that blocks that substance.

It’s important to remember, though, that even high-quality filters are not 100 percent effective.

“Filters don’t remove everything,” Scott Meschke, professor of environmental and occupational health sciences at Washington University, told Patch.

He emphasized that it’s important to make sure you’re using a filter that is designed to fit your local needs.
He also said that users should change water filters on a regular basis. Old filters that are never replaced can host bacterial, which also pose potential dangers.

People who don’t get their water through a public utility will have different needs.

“If you are on a private well, I would say that you need to be monitoring your water. You should be paying on a regular basis to have it tested,” Meschke said.

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