What Are the Side Effects of Drinking Tap Water - featured image

What Are the Side Effects of Drinking Tap Water?

Drinking tap water can have a wide range of alarming side effects. It can contain agricultural and industrial pollutants that pose serious health risks. Some of these contaminants have been linked to cancer and damage to the central nervous system.

Others have been linked to fertility issues and hormonal imbalances, and in some cases, to developmental defects in infants.

Acidic water can corrode pipes

Acidic water can corrode pipes in many ways. This water is often highly acidic, and it can dissolve copper and iron from pipes. It can also discolor fixtures and sinks.

It can also leach heavy metals into drinking water, which can be harmful. It can also cause blue-green staining in sinks and tubs.

Chlorine in drinking water – is it dangerous?

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, water with a pH value higher than 8.5 is considered acidic. The EPA recommends a pH value between 6.5 and 8.5, which is considered neutral.

What causes water pipes to corrode?

Impurities in Tap Water by Percentage
Impurity Percentage
Chlorine 0.2-1.0%
Fluoride 0.01-0.3%
Calcium 0.05-0.2%
Magnesium 0.01-0.05%
Sulfate 0.01-0.05%
Iron 0.001-0.05%

If you notice that your water is too acidic or too basic, you should contact your water company and ask them to investigate the situation. You can also install water filtering systems in your sink or pitcher to ensure your water stays within acceptable pH levels.

In addition to being harmful for human health, acidic water can damage pipes in a building. It can lead to costly leaks and damage to building systems.

Why acidic water is corrosive?

It can also cause pinhole leaks in metal components and stress cracking in copper pipes. Ultimately, it’s important to ensure that you have a properly functioning plumbing system to prevent these costly problems.

If you suspect that your water is too acidic for your pipes, you should test it by collecting the first water that comes out of the faucet in the morning or first draw of the day.

During this time, the water’s copper and lead concentrations are the highest. As the water passes through the plumbing system, the concentrations of metals decrease.

Arsenic in tap water can cause skin cancer

Arsenic is a naturally occurring element that is often present in soil, air and water. It is also found in certain foods and industrial processes. It can be found both in organic and inorganic forms.

The inorganic form is more toxic. There are many sources of arsenic in our environment, including mining waste, metal production, and the burning of fossil fuels.

Can arsenic in water be absorbed through the skin?

Because arsenic has no taste or smell, it’s impossible to detect it in drinking water without having it tested. The health effects of arsenic depend on the amount of arsenic you consume and the time of exposure.

People are especially at risk if they are elderly or have a history of skin problems. Drinking water with arsenic can cause changes in the skin and other organs, which can lead to skin cancer.

People exposed to arsenic in tap water are more likely to develop skin cancer than people who consume water with low concentrations of the chemical.

What are the side effects of arsenic in water?

The EPA has developed a dose-response model that is based on Taiwanese data, which included 40,000 people exposed to arsenic in their tap water and 7,500 relatively unsuspecting controls.

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health concluded that drinking water contaminated with arsenic can increase the risk of pre-cancerous skin growths in people exposed to high amounts.

The researchers cited a number of studies that showed a link between drinking water and skin cancer.

Cadmium can cause heart disease

Cadmium, a heavy metal found in the environment, is thought to contribute to several diseases, including cardiovascular disease. It is associated with lipid peroxidation in cells and can interfere with the antioxidant system.

However, the exact mechanism of cadmium’s effect on the cardiovascular system is still unclear. The presence of cadmium in the environment was linked to increased risk of myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, and heart failure.

What are the side effects of drinking tap water
Is it OK to drink tap water?

How Does cadmium Affect the heart?

Cadmium causes cardiovascular disease by increasing oxidative stress and endothelial cell death. It also causes inflammation and lipid oxidation in the vessel wall. It also promotes the formation of atherosclerotic plaques. Moreover, it increases blood pressure and damages kidneys.

The ATSDR has also studied the role of cadmium in COPD. They found that smokers had higher levels of cadmium in their blood. This was related to the damage they caused to their lungs through smoking. However, further research is needed to determine the exact effect of cadmium on cardiovascular disease.

Cadmium can be found in the ambient air in cities and in some industrial areas. It is also present in fertilised soil. However, the level in fertilized soils is unlikely to have negative health effects.

Chromium is naturally found in water

Chromium is naturally present in drinking water, but there is a limit to the amount of this contaminant that we should consume. According to the Environmental Working Group, exposure to high concentrations of chromium can lead to various health problems.

The organization has published a study that found that tap water in 35 cities in the United States contained concentrations of chromium-6 that exceeded the EPA’s safe level.

While the levels of chromium in tap water have a comparatively low effect on human health, exposure from foods is still a significant risk factor for many people.

In fact, exposure from food is estimated to account for up to 50% of the total daily chromium intake. In the Canadian population, drinking water contributes a minimum of 0.5 of chromium intake.

How does chromium get in water?

The amount of chromium in tap water varies widely in different areas. The San Fernando Valley, for instance, is one of the most heavily contaminated areas, with a total chromium content of over 10 parts per billion. This is a fraction of the safe limit for drinking water.

Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, drinking water systems must test for total chromium (which includes chromium-3) in their tap water. The concentration must be lower than 100 parts per billion (ppb) in drinking water. However, EPA does not regularly test water systems in towns and cities with fewer than ten thousand people. The agency relies on random sampling.

Chromium can cause skin cancer

Chromium is an element found naturally in soil and rocks and is released into the environment through erosion and weathering processes.

However, 70 percent of the chromium in our environment comes from human sources. It is found in the environment in nine oxidation states. This means that a person can be exposed to high levels of chromium without even knowing it.

Is chromium toxic to the skin?

The EPA has set standards for chromium in drinking water. The current standard is 100 parts per billion (ppb), which means that water systems are required to test for chromium in drinking water. The EPA is examining the effectiveness of these standards, and it is likely that these standards will be revised in the future.

The toxicity of chromium depends on the form of the chemical, the oxidation state, and the route of exposure. The trivalent form of chromium has no toxicity, but hexavalent chromium is a reproductive toxin for both sexes and is highly carcinogenic in humans.

Can too much chromium be harmful?

Recent studies in Canada found that chromium is present in drinking water, including tap water, in varying concentrations. In Canada, the results of chromium tests revealed that the average total chromium content in drinking water is between 0.03 ug/L and 10 ug/L.

The average detected values and maximum values are reported for each province and territory. In Prince Edward Island, 7622 private wells were tested for total chromium content. Only three samples (0.01%) exceeded the DL.