Eliminating Nasty
Drinking Water Habits in Your Home
Drinking water quality affected by
plumbing pipe quality
(ARA) - When it comes to drinking
water, there are all sorts of bad habits Americans have gotten into.
Like sharing a glass among family members at the bathroom sink. Or
neglecting to boil water for a baby's formula. Or even forgetting to
let hot water run for at least 30 seconds, as recommended in many
utility Water Quality Reports and the Safe Drinking Water Hotline,
before drinking or cooking with it to reduce the risk of lead
contamination.
But perhaps one of the more
pervasive, yet often overlooked, habits is the continued use of
plumbing materials that adversely affect water quality.
Studies confirm that copper, as a
corrosion byproduct of copper plumbing, can be found in elevated
levels at kitchen and bathroom taps in almost any part of the
country. Exact copper concentrations are highly dependent on the
quality of water carried in the pipes (how corrosive it is), as well
as how long the water stands in the pipe and the age of the pipe.
Third-party testing and certification labs, like NSF International,
document that aggressive water with pH of less than 6.5 may corrode
copper at a rate sufficient to contaminate water beyond state and
federal drinking water standards.
Data collected between 1984 and
1995 by the California Department of Health Services, Drinking Water
Program, found that about 7 percent of the public drinking water
sources tested had detectable levels of copper. In February 1997,
The Office of Drinking Water for the EPA's Environmental Criteria
and Assessment Office reported that a majority of copper present in
drinking water appears to come from copper water pipes. The EPA
reported that it was not able to accurately estimate the number of
individuals who regularly consume water that exceeds the copper
Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL).
The challenge, according to the
EPA's Web site, is that "since copper contamination generally occurs
from corrosion of household copper pipes, it cannot be directly
detected or removed by the water system." That means that even if
water is determined to be free of copper contamination when it
leaves the municipal water utility, it can become contaminated after
flowing through a home's copper pipes.
Although copper is an essential
nutrient which is required by the human body in very small amounts,
the EPA has found copper to potentially cause the following health
effects when people are exposed to it at levels above the Action
Level (even for relatively short periods of time): stomach and
intestinal distress, liver and kidney damage and anemia. Several
medical studies that were published in the "Journal of
Orthomolecular Psychiatry" and the "Indian Journal of Physiology and
Pharmacology" even link copper exposure to more severe health
problems that can occur at elevated copper levels.
In addition to problems of copper
leaching into drinking water, there are concerns about how overall
drinking water quality is affected after flowing through copper
pipes. One look inside a cutaway piece of copper pipe that has been
in service for even a short period of time (3 to5 years) creates a
vivid impression. Even where water is considered in the "normal"
range and not aggressive, copper pipe can form a very distasteful,
unsanitary looking buildup of scale.
The best way to protect your
family from copper corrosion or the buildup that forms inside metal
pipes is to choose a piping material that naturally and permanently
reduces scaling and corrosion. Chlorinated polyvinyl chloride
(CPVC), like that found in FlowGuard Gold plumbing systems, will
never corrode. And its smooth interior surface is not subject to
buildup, which is not only unappealing, but also may eventually
restrict water flow and create the need to repipe a home at an
average cost of $4,500 - $6,000.
Substantiating the need to use
alternative plumbing materials, Phil Bobel, environmental compliance
manager at the Regional Water Quality Control Plant in California
reported, "We would like to see CPVC used wherever possible in new
residential construction and re-piping. This would significantly
reduce future copper discharge and help us bring water back to
cleaner conditions."
To learn how to maintain the high
water quality standards set by the EPA and water utilities across
the country or to review the benefits of alternative plumbing
materials, call (888) 234-2436, Ext. 7393, or visit
www.flowguardgold.com.
Courtesy of ARA
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