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Chemical water pollution comes from factories, businesses, vehicles, farms and people’s homes. Everything that goes into the air or spills on the ground ends up in surface or groundwater at some point. Examining fish is one way to determine what’s in an above ground source. To test groundwater, samples must be taken from wells. Hundreds of wells may need to be tested in order to get an accurate idea of what kind of contamination has occurred. When smoke from coal-fired fuel plants pollutes the air, rain brings it back down to the ground. The smoke contains traces of mercury. Recent USGS surveys showed that fish in all of the streams and rivers tested contained unsafe levels of mercury. The cause sited by the surveyors was the smoke from coal-fired fuel plants. Already we have advisories about how much fish we can safely eat. In most cases, the suggestion is to avoid eating the same kind of fish more than once a week. The body can rid itself of mercury, but the process is slow. PCB contamination is a type of chemical water pollution that also affected fish. The chemicals were banned in the 1970s, but they are still present in the silt at the bottom of rivers and lakes. They are still present in the fish that swim in those bodies of water. Pesticides and herbicides used by industrial farms are sprayed directly onto the ground. As it rains, the chemicals seep down through the soil and contaminate the groundwater. During a storm, the runoff from a farm can contain high levels of the chemicals. They can be washed down into rivers that people downstream use for their drinking water. In one study, researchers tested samples from the Corn Belt and found high levels of bug spray and weed killer. In addition to causing chemical water pollution, farms also contribute to another kind of contamination. Those contaminants are known as cysts. They are parasitic eggs that are laid on animal feces. They too get washed down into the rivers, although they rarely infect groundwater. One type of chemical water pollution was not done by accident. The chemicals used to disinfect public supplies are added on purpose to kill bacteria and prevent disease. Chlorine, chloramines and bromine are the main disinfectants used for that purpose. When the chemicals interact with bacteria and other life-forms, they cause the formation of another kind of pollutant. It is like a terrible chain reaction. The chemicals in this case are referred to as disinfection byproducts or trihalomethanes. The abbreviations DBPs and THMs are used for simplicity’s sake. Exposure to DBPs or THMs is known to increase a person’s lifetime risk of cancer. There is no doubt about it. There is also no need to risk it. You can protect your health and that of the rest of your family by avoiding supplies that are known to be contaminated when you are outdoors. You can protect them at home by installing a good water purifier. Practically all types of chemical water pollution can be addressed with the right filter. Gordon Hall is fervent about enabling you and everyone to live a healthy lifestyle, and is an ardent reviewer of Water Purification Systems. Visit his website now at Water-Safe-And-Pure.com to discover which Water Purification Systems Gordon recommends after far ranging comparisons.
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