Thursday, July 26, 2012

Drinking water from garden hose is unsafe

Whether you are in Asia experiencing the hot days or in countries welcoming the advent of the summer months, here is one precaution that should be taken to heart, especially if you have children playing around outdoors all the time, enjoying the sun and getting thirsty.

A recent study by the Ecology Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan released on HealthyStuff.org has found out that the water from common garden hoses is full of toxic materials that could harm the human body.

The study reported that 100 percent of the garden hoses sampled contained plastic additives including phthalates or plasticizers currently banned in children’s products.

According to Health Stuff, consumption of these hazardous plasticizers can disturb normal hormonal processes and are linked to birth defects, altered levels of reproductive hormones, increased breast cancer risk, and asthma.

Also discovered were high levels of lead and bisphenol A (BPA).

Lead is found in the brass fixtures at the mouth of gardening hoses and, out of the of 90 garden hoses screened, 33 percent of products contained levels of lead that exceeded those considered safe for children.

Apparently, garden hoses are not regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), which monitors America's public drinking supply. The study's findings showed that levels of lead in water coming from garden hoses they tested exceeded legal safe levels 100 percent of the time.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) defines BPA as an industrial chemical used to make hard, clear plastic. The chemical component is said to have detrimental effects on the brain, behavior, and prostate gland in fetuses, infants, and young children.

The study found levels of BPA at 20 times higher than those of safe drinking water levels.

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