Posted on 07/05/2005 8:18:55 AM PDT by truthandlife
Taking a shower could give you brain damage, new research suggests.
It can expose people to dangerously high levels of manganese, a poisonous metal dissolved in water.
It has been linked to damage to the nervous system.
Most countries have strict guidelines for 'safe levels' in water, to which suppliers must adhere.
But they do not take into account inhalation of steam vapour while showering, warn US scientists.
Inhaling it leads to a 'direct unfiltered pathway of toxins' to the brain which increases the risk, they argue.
Studies on rats suggested a tenminute shower every day could cause brain and spinal cord damage, behavioural changes and a tremor condition similar to Parkinson's disease.
After ten years, children would be exposed to manganese levels three times higher than the doses needed to damage the rodents' brains. Adults with a longer history of showering could be exposed to doses that are 50 per cent higher.
Dr John Spangler, of Wake Forest University School of Medicine, North Carolina, said: 'If confirmed, our results could have profound implications for the world.'
However, while safe levels in the US are considered to be 0.5mg, a 1998 EU directive reduced acceptable levels in Europe to 0.05mg.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said British people should not worry.
Aspokesman said: 'The levels set by the EU are safe for individuals who choose to shower.'The Drinking Water Inspectorate would consider the study and all the evidence, he added.
Is this the hippies' new justification for not showering?
I guess the French have known about this for decades.
So this is why war protestors don't shower? On a side note, better not let children know this info.
...where's the Just Damn guy when you need him...
Since war protestors do not shower, I would deduce that showers actually enhance intelligence.
"I'm gonna be the head greenskeeper, hopefully within the next six years, that's my schedule."
"You know, cinch bugs, you know, manganese. A lot of people don't even know what that means."
So I got Mad Hatter's Disease from showering too much. That explains it...
So the dangerous chemical, di-hydrogen-monoxide, contains a dangerous gas. In Durbin speak then, di-hydrogen-monoxide must a Nazi plot.
Perfect! LOL!
Sorry, dudes, but "inhalation of steam vapor" won't do it. "IF true", the real culprit is small spray droplets of the original shower stream that are in the "respirable particle" size range---NOT steam.
Mark my words, within two years, some other "scientist" will issue a press release that showering is good for the brain.
The key phrase in all these "studies" is: "More research is needed", in other words, justification for more grant money.
Of course, you dare not tell that to some ( maybe even on FR ) who think that scientists are little gods.
Nobody gets a 10-minute shower in my house! We're paying for that water, and the gas to heat it!
You sound like my dad. LOL
If I recall correctly, steam in the shower (and associated toxic particles) was the method of contamination in the Woburn cancer cluster case made famous in the book "A Civil Action". the book was later made into a movie with John Travolta.
My memory is that the Woburn residents were drinking bottled water but still using local well water for dishes and showers. The well water was contaminated with a cancer causing industrial chemical, either a solvent or cleaning fluid.
Nasty stuff.
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