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Arsenic

Water Quality - Arsenic In Water

Water Quality - Arsenic In Water

Arsenic is a natural element found widely in the earth's crust. Particles are released during mining, and spread throughout the environment. Arsenic from weathered rocks and soils dissolves in groundwater. Arsenic concentrations in groundwater are particularly high in areas with geothermal activity. Arsenic may be found in some drinking water supplies, including wells. Exposure to high levels of arsenic can cause serious health effects.

There are trace amounts of arsenic in all living matter. For most North Americans, the primary source of exposure to arsenic is food, followed by drinking water, soil and air. Drinking water would only be the major source of exposure for those people living near a source of arsenic.

Arsenic may enter lakes, rivers or underground water naturally, when mineral deposits or rocks containing arsenic dissolve. Arsenic may also get into water through the discharge of industrial wastes and by the deposit of arsenic particles in dust, or dissolved in rain or snow. These arsenic particles can enter the environment through:

  • the burning of fossil fuels (especially coal);
  • metal production (such as gold and base metal mining);
  • agricultural use (in pesticides and feed additives); or
  • waste burning.

Testing for Arsenic

Testing for Arsenic

As arsenic is both tasteless and odourless, you won't be able to tell if it is in your drinking water. However, arsenic tends to be found in very specific regions and may not be a concern in your area. If you live in an area that has natural sources of arsenic or is known to have high levels of arsenic in its groundwater, it is recommended that you have your water tested. To do so, you can contact your regional public health office.

The Health Effects of Arsenic

The Health Effects of Arsenic

Arsenic in drinking water is absorbed by the body when consumed and distributed by the bloodstream. It does not enter the body externally such as inhalation or bathing. Your body gets rid of arsenic mostly through urine, with smaller amounts removed through the skin, hair, nails and sweat.

Health Canada and the International Agency for Research on Cancer consider arsenic a human cancer-causing agent. Its effects have been studied in a population in Taiwan where the drinking water contains naturally high levels of arsenic (over 0.35 ppm). The results suggest that consuming drinking water with very high levels of arsenic over a lifetime, can increase the risk of cancer in internal organs such as the bladder, liver and lungs.

Long-term exposure (over many years or decades) to high levels of arsenic in drinking water may also cause:

  • thickening and discoloration of the skin;
  • nausea and diarrhea;
  • decreased production of blood cells;
  • abnormal heart rhythm and blood vessel damage; or
  • numbness in the hands and feet.

Short-term exposure (days/weeks) to very high levels of arsenic in drinking water can result in:

  • abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea;
  • muscular cramping or pain;
  • weakness and flushing of skin, skin rash;
  • numbness, burning or tingling sensation or pain in hands and feet;
  • thickening of the skin on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet; or
  • loss of movement and sensory responses.

Arsenic Water Filters

Arsenic Water Filters

Because arsenic can cause cancer, every effort should be made to keep arsenic levels in drinking water as low as possible.

If you live in an area that has natural sources of arsenic or is known to have high levels of arsenic in its groundwater, you should have your water tested and consider having an arsenic water filter installed.

The MineralPRO™ Reverse Osmosis Healthy Water System has been tested by NSF as an effective arsenic water filter to remove arsenic from drinking water.

Installing an industry leading arsenic water filter such as the MineralPRO™ Reverse Osmosis Drinking Water Filter will provide assurance that you will have safe, healthy drinking water no matter what contaminants are in your water including arsenic.

For more information, regarding arsenic water filters please contact MineralPRO™.

                                          

Testimonials


"I grew up on a farm in the interior of B.C, Canada. We had fresh water right from a natural spring water run off, and I always thought that was what all the water in the world tasted like. My mother called it “mountain juice”, and we drank it up eagerly, but not knowing how lucky we were to have the fresh, clean and uncontaminated water that we had.

It was not until I started traveling away from our little farm that I noticed the difference, and I started to educate myself about the quality of water around the world. I often wondered about the strong chlorine taste of the water in nearly every city I visited. I was astonished to learn that drinking unfiltered tap water can be hazardous and unhealthy because of chemicals, microbiological bacteria and viruses, pharmaceutical drugs, toxic metals and other contaminants.

Chlorine is one of the obvious added contaminants in most tap water. Most people are not aware that chlorine in water combines with natural organic matter creating cancer-causing Trihalomethanes (THM's). It is associated with triggering tumor development both in heart disease and cancer. Research has shown the basic cause of heart disease, heart attacks and most common forms of strokes is from the chlorine contained in drinking water.

CBC Research found that 24 of the 28 water samples taken from major metropolitan area water supplies contained evidence of drug contamination. “Birth control pills, cancer drugs and a host of other pharmaceuticals are making their way into the water supply because the human body doesn't always absorb all the medication it ingests, and some are flushed down the drain” says Gord Miller, Ontario's environmental commissioner.

In addition to chlorine and drugs in our drinking water, iron, fluoride, and harmful bacteria are also present in the majority of North American tap water.

Water consumption is so important to our health, that it vital that we have access to clean, and healthy drinking water. Healthy water, is water the way nature intended before we contaminated it, stripped it of its natural minerals, and reduced the pH to unhealthy acidic levels. Ordinary tap water must be first cleaned of harmful contaminates including chlorine, fluoride, pharmaceutical drugs, metals (mercury, lead, arsenic), chemicals, and bacteria. It must then be replenished with minerals to ensure that naturally occurring minerals are present. To ensure optimum health, the water should then be Alkaline PH balanced, and be certain that the water has a fresh spring water taste.

This can be achieved with Mineral Alkaline Drinking Water Filter Systems.

The first time I tried water cleaned by on of these water filter systems, I assumed that I was drinking natural spring water. I was surprised to find out how the Mineral Pro water filter systemswork, and how beneficial they are to our health. After a month of drinking the filtered mineral alkaline water, I noticed the health of my whole family increase. My skin was healthy and clear, and we all had so much more energy than before. I am relieved to know that even though I don’t live in an area with my own spring water run off, I can still get the same great quality water wherever I chose to live with the help of Mineralpro water filter systems."

Kaz H. Squamish BC

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