Launch the bombers.
Posted on 05/28/2006 7:10:39 PM PDT by Coleus
Pooled data from six case-control studies suggest that higher consumption of tap water-based drinks may slightly increase the risk of bladder cancer among men. The increased risk of bladder cancer with tap water consumption was "consistently found in all six studies, making chance an unlikely explanation," write investigators in the International Journal of Cancer.
They caution, however, that for now, the study finding that tap water "is associated with a slight increased risk of bladder cancer" does not readily translate into public health recommendations. The results are based on 2,749 bladder cancer cases and 5,150 cancer-free controls. Most of the subjects resided in the US, Canada or Finland, with data from subjects in France and Italy also included.
The investigators observed that the risk of bladder cancer was 50 percent higher in men who drank more than 2.0 liters of tap water per day compared with those who drank 0.5 liters or less of tap water per day. Results among women were less consistent. Coffee made up, on average, about one third of the tap water intake and heavy coffee consumption, defined as more than 5 cups per day, increased bladder cancer risk, especially among men who smoked.
However, consumption of tap water excluding coffee was also associated with an increased risk of bladder cancer.
Drinking fluids other than tap water was not associated with bladder cancer risk, reports the study team led by Dr. Christina M. Villanueva from Institut Municipal d'Investigacio Medica in Barcelona, Spain. The association between bladder cancer and tap water consumption, but not with non-tap water fluids, suggest to investigators that the increased risk may be related to the cancer-causing contaminants in tap water, such as disinfection by-products. Disinfection by-products are chemicals generated through reactions of disinfectants (such as chlorine) with organic matter naturally occurring in water. Trihalomethanes are usually the most prevalent by-products of chlorination.
However, in the current study, the increased risk of bladder cancer among those who drink large amounts of tap water was independent of trihalomethane exposure. SOURCE: International Journal of Cancer, April 15, 2006.
Launch the bombers.
Want to hear about bad tap water?
It was always bad- we never drank it- but NOW, the tap water
in the New Orleans area( Metairie) is so bad it KILLS flowers.
I put a bunch of fresh picked roses in a vase and they were shriveled and dead by evening. Even mint I usually root in water died.
Since ' The Thing' I know they're adding chemicals to the water supply- but I wonder WHAT- and what it does to those who have to drink it!
... and in related news- drink water, since Life causes death anyhow, according to anonymous scienterrific unnamed sources.
A Spanish research team has published a paper that suggests higher consumption of tap water may slightly increase the risk of bladder cancer.
The study, published in the International Journal of Cancer, looked at six case studies and found the increased risk of bladder cancer consistently across all of the studies, which the authors suggest makes chance an unlikely explanation.
The authors warn that the finding does not easily translate into public health recommendations.
The results are based on 2749 bladder cancer cases and 5150 cancer-free controls, most living in the US, Canada or Finland, with additional data from cases in France and Italy.
The study suggests that the risk of bladder cancer was 50% higher in men that drank over two litres of tap water per day compared to those that drank 0.5 litres per day or less, with a less significant association for women.
Coffee consumption, which on average makes up about a third of tap water consumption, was implicated � over five cups a day, particularly among men that smoked, increased bladder cancer risk. However, drinking tap water alone was also associated with an increased risk.
The team correlated current and historical average THM levels in water. Respondents in the study, from age 15 to the interview, had an average residential THM level of 32.2mug/l.
The team leader�s previous study looked at other possible routes of THM ingestion including showers, baths and swimming pools, with experimental studies showing substantial differences in THM uptake and internal distribution by route. Dermal absorption and inhalation were found to be significant routes.
Drinking fluids other than tap water was not associated with an increased risk, the current study team found. The team speculated that the increased risk may be associated with ingestion of disinfection byproducts, notably THMs, though they found no concrete evidence to link the risk to THM exposure.
Lis Stedman"
http://www.iwapublishing.com/template.cfm?name=news70&br=w21
Notice this one was not written so much to take preasure off putting Chlorine in water. The fed's would be freaked if the public really understood how dangerous Chlorine is in water.
The last line is stated much differently in this article and has a whole different meaning. It makes sense. The other one does not.
Any word about city water run through a carbon filter under the sink? We use that for our coffee water and use bottled water for carry around drinking.
Pick your poison, microbes or chlorine.
ping
Since i've never drank anything in my life (water) other than tap water, 12 cups of coffee daily or more, or from an outside hose I guess at 69 i'm about to die.
It is everywhere.
Don't go swimming.
Don't drink Chorinated tap water if you are pregnant.
Ect....
Giant article on this:
http://swimming.about.com/od/allergyandasthma/a/cl_pool_problem_2.htm
Living may cause death...
I read of studies years ago about increased bladder cancer among men who served in Nam, because of the excessive amounts of chlorine that had to be used to make water potable.
However, the point made then, was that the chlorine consumption required to raise the risk was *extremely* high and essentially no risk to the average person.
Keep in mind that there are a number of enviro wackos that want to ban ALL uses of chlorine, on the premise that all chlorine gets into the atmosphere and destroys ozone. Since the effectiveness of the ozone layer boogieman is diminished, other horror stories have to be found. I would bet on their influence here before I bet on bottled water producers.
And think about it. Most people that take their water consumption seriously usually don't drink tap water anyway. Most tap water drinkers just don't consume that much water daily.
"Any word about city water run through a carbon filter under the sink?"
Any word on water softeners?
yitbos
"However, the point made then, was that the chlorine consumption required to raise the risk was *extremely* high and essentially no risk to the average person."
That was propaganda. Recently they have found that when you take a shower you inhale a Chlorine Gas that is even more deadly than having it in the water. Also read the article in #30. Much info on this.
When I lived out in the country I had a well. Best water I ever drank. I hate city water and rarely drink it. My choice of beverage is iced tea. I drink at least a gallon of it every couple of days.
Just one page of detailed article:
Tap Water Linked to Stillbirths, Cancer - What About Swimming Pools?
from Allan Finney, Mainstream Water Solutions
Other problems with chlorine
Studies in the United States, Canada and Norway have linked chlorine byproducts in ordinary tap water to higher risks of miscarriages and stillbirths in pregnant women and increased incidences of bladder and colon cancer. Of disturbing news for swimming pool patrons are studies that show much higher levels of these chemicals are found in swimmers. And the highest levels are found in the most active swimmers.
The heightened risk is linked to exposure to a contaminant found in chlorinated water called trihalomethanes (THMs) which forms when chlorine reacts with organic material. THMs are a widely recognized carcinogen.
While regulation changes in Canada and the United States have put tighter restrictions on the levels of THMs allowed in tap water, no such regulations exist for swimming pool water. This is in spite of a study that found a 1 hour swim resulted in a chloroform dose 141 times the dose from a 10 minute shower and 93 times greater than exposure by ingestion of tap water.
Recent Studies on THMs in tap water include:
* A study by California health department investigators Kirsten Waller and Shanna Swann examined the records of 5,144 pregnant women from the Fontana, Santa Clara and Walnut Creek areas. They reported a 15.7% higher chance of miscarriage among women who drank 5 or more glasses of chlorinated water per day.
* A Canadian study reports that women who drink tap water containing high levels of trihalomethanes are twice as likely to have stillbirths. This Dalhousie University study reported that pregnant women increase their risk the more they drink or bathe in water containing the compounds. This study was reported in the scientific journal Epidemiology.
* A Norwegian study of 141,000 births over a three-year period found a fourteen percent increased risk of birth defects in areas with chlorinated water.
Despite these studies and the limited studies on swimming pool patrons, most swimming pool managers are probably unaware that they are exposing their patrons to THMs. This problem is not widely known and for the most part is ignored by the media.
In swimming pools, the most obvious and instant signs of high exposure to these chemicals is red eyes, rashes and other skin irritations or problems. And the highest exposure would appear to be for athletes and other swimmers who exert themselves physically in the water. Researchers report a mean chloroform uptake of 25.8 [micro]g/h for a swimmer at rest and 176.8 [micro]g/h) after 1 hour swimming. Other studies note that inhalation is an important route of exposure and the uptake through this route is affected by various factors including the number of swimmers, turbulence, and breathing rate. Which means that for elite athletes, the risk of exposure at water level is significantly higher than for that of a casual swimmer. And in both cases, the dosages of THMs far exceed what is considered allowable by merely drinking a glass of chlorinated tap water.
While the incidence of miscarriages and stillbirths is in itself cause for concern, other problems have been identified. Bladder cancer has been linked to chlorinated drinking water in an average of ten out of eleven studies. One of the studies in Ontario, conducted with funding from Health Canada, found that fourteen to sixteen percent of bladder cancers in Ontario showed a direct correlation to drinking water containing high levels of chlorine by-products. Chlorinated water has been linked to colon and rectal cancers in the studies, but the occurrences were not as common as those for bladder cancer.
Solutions?
Dr. John Marshall, of the Pure Water Association, an American consumer group campaigning for safer drinking water, states: "It shows we should be paying more attention to the chemicals we put in our drinking water and we should be looking for other alternatives to chlorination. A number of safe, non-toxic options exist, such as treating water with ozone gas or ultra violet light.
http://swimming.about.com/od/allergyandasthma/a/cl_pool_problem_2.htm
A private deep water well without Chlorine is not the subject of this article. That water is safe unless there happens to be something else in that water that is dangerous.
Actually, that information has been around for a long time.
I'd have to see the nuts and bolts of the methodology of some of these studies. No doubt chlorine is far from risk free, but the risks of not properly purifying water are significant. And the non-chlorine methods are far from practical on the scale needed.
I suspect the third world folks that haven't died from malaria since the banning of DDT, would be thrilled to have chlorine banned now, too.
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