Babies, children, and pregnant or breastfeeding
mothers should not be drinking tap water!
Pure water is vital to our children's health
and development and must be a priority. To
that end, Healthy Child has researched many
different water filters to find the best one
and offer it to parents at the lowest price
possible. The Aquasana AQ-4000 Counter Top
Filter was voted "Best Buy" by
Consumers Digest Magazine 2003, 2004, 2005,
2006! And Healthy Child is pleased to
offer you the Aquasana water filters at the
lowest prices possible - you'll not find lower
prices anywhere!
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Lead in Drinking Water
Lead in drinking water is the #1 environmental
health threat to children in the U.S. -- U.S.
EPA
Next to chlorine‚ lead is the most common
contaminant found in tap water. Lead in drinking
water usually originates between the water
main in the street and the household faucet‚
so treatment from a central point is not logical
or practical. Most lead in drinking water
comes from lead lined pipes‚ lead solder
and brass plumbing fixtures inside your home.
All chrome-plated brass and brass plumbing
fixtures contain 8% to 15% lead. The EPA estimates
that 98% of all homes have pipes‚ fixtures
or solder joints in the household plumbing
that can leach some level of lead into the
tap water.
It has been determined and recognized by
the EPA that there is no safe level for lead
in drinking water and that any level poses
some degree of adverse health effects‚
especially to small children.
Even very low levels of lead can cause reduced
IQs‚ learning disabilities and behavioral
problems such as hypertension and reduced
attention span in children, often these effects
are life long and irreversible.
Washington D.C. is the most recent city to
announce that an aging delivery system has
caused a lead contamination nightmare that
has been poisoning people for many years.
Some residents of the nation's capitol have
as much as 400 ppb of lead in their tap water,
more than 25 times the legal limit! Lead at
this level is extremely detrimental to the
health of the entire body and even more so
to the bodies and minds of children.
One study‚ done in Baltimore MD‚
showed that children with high blood-lead
levels had a significantly higher rate of
problem behaviors than children with low blood
levels and concluded that "this study
lends support to the belief that undue exposure
to lead in childhood years may have a pervasive
influence on the prevalence of juvenile delinquency
in this country."
In adults‚ lead in drinking water causes
high blood pressure and reduces hemoglobin
production necessary for oxygen transport
and it interferes with normal cellular calcium
metabolism. Water borne lead affects every
one in a very tragic and permanent way. Lead
exposure is cumulative and long lasting. This
toxic metal is stored by the body‚ primarily
in teeth and bones.
Essentially‚ lead has a very damaging
effect on the body‘s electrical system‚
the nervous system. It causes the critical
life giving messages‚ sent from the brain
to every cell and organ in our body‚
to become distorted. This results in the onset
of a chain of adverse health effects.
It is estimated by the U.S. EPA that lead
in drinking water contributes to 480‚000
cases of learning disorders in children and
560‚000 cases of hypertension in adults‚
each year in the U.S. alone.
In the first quarter of 1993‚ the EPA
released a first-time report that showed the
results of the new "test at the tap"
requirements for lead in drinking water. The
report documented that in America‚ 42
states exceeded the legal limits of lead in
drinking water and that other states failed
to do the required testing. Some areas had
lead levels in excess of 450 parts per billion‚
thirty times the legal limit of 15 ppb. The
level the EPA has set as the safe level‚
or MCLG (maximum contaminant level goal)‚
is -0- ppb.
Essentially‚ every household with indoor
plumbing has some level of lead in the plumbing
structure that may represent a health risk.
The biggest tragedy of lead contamination
from drinking water is that it is completely
preventable. By taking a few simple steps‚
beginning with Point-Of-Use filtration of
our drinking water‚ we can virtually
eliminate the crippling effects of lead on
our society‚ and most importantly on
our children.
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Water page
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Use the information provided on this site as an educational resource for determining your options and making your own informed choices. It is not intended as medical advice or to diagnose, prescribe, or treat any specific illness.