Although more than 60,000 chemicals are used within the United States, only 91 contaminants are regulated by the EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Act (1974).b
Both government and independent scientists have linked even low levels of hundreds of legal contaminants in tap water to cancer, reproductive difficulties, and other diseases.b
Since 2004, more than 62 million Americans have been exposed to tap water that did not meet government health guidelines created to protect people from cancer and other diseases. Some people have been unknowingly exposed for years.b
Scientists have noted that the Safe Drinking Water Act (1974) is so out of date that drinking water in America poses serious health risks.c
Some common chemicals in tap water such as chromium, arsenic, and disinfectant byproducts can accumulate in body tissue and affect the developmental and hormonal systems in ways scientists do not yet fully understand.e
Pharmaceuticals such as antibiotics, sex hormones, anti-depressants, and seizure pills have been found in the tap water of at least 41 million Americans. Water treatment centers are not currently required to test for pharmaceuticals. Researchers are unsure if the cumulative levels are hazardous.d
Because pollution and chemicals in tap water often have no scent or taste, many people who drink dangerous contaminants do not even realize they are doing so.b
Contaminants in tap water, such as lead and perchlorate, can increase the risk of learning disorders in small children.a,c
Widespread city infrastructures are decaying at a rapid rate, greatly increasing the types of dangerous pollutants in tap water.e
Every year, 18 billion pounds of new pollutants and chemicals are released into the atmosphere, soil, and groundwater.e
