Do you trust your tap water?
Reported July 02, 2009
Some people buy bottled water by the case; others just turn on the tap. But in a big city like L.A., is that a good idea?
In a report released in 2002, Los Angeles tap water scored “fair” in the National Resources Defense Council’s water quality and compliance survey. Although nothing exceeded national maximums, the council found elevated levels of perchlorate, arsenic, radon, nitrates and other contaminants.
The National Tap Water Quality Database has details of some of those harder-to-pronounce contaminants. In some cases, arsenic, tetrachloroethylene and bromodichloromethane — which are, basically, bad for you — exceeded non-enforceable health goals. And to be clear, only a fraction of the tests conducted over five years yielded these results.
And maybe a little arsenic isn’t so bad. In 2008, L.A.’s tap water was named the world’s best (an honor it shared with a district in British Columbia) in the Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting championship.
What do you think? Is a little bit of bacteria good for your immune system? Is fluoride in the water good for your teeth? Does taste trump total trihalomethanes?
Tell us your take on the great L.A. tap water debate. Do you drink it?
Source : www.thisisbrandx.com