Lifetime of drinking California water could raise cancer risk, study finds

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

Lifetime of drinking California water could raise cancer risk, study finds

Researchers find arsenic and other contaminants that could lead to almost 15,500 cases of cancer

Vivian Ho in San Francisco
Wed 1 May 2019 11.00 BST Last modified on Wed 1 May 2019 13.53 BST

Drinking California tap water over the course of a lifetime could increase the risk of cancer, according to a study published on Tuesday.

Researchers with the Environmental Working Group, an advocacy non-profit, studied the combined health impacts of contaminants found in 2,737 community water systems throughout California and calculated that prolonged consumption of the contaminated water could cause almost 15,500 new cases of cancer.

The study found traces of arsenic, hexavalent chromium, and disinfection byproducts in the water systems. All of these contaminants are regulated federally and on a state level. Trace amounts of some arelegally allowed in the water.

But the study found that a majority of the cancer risk was due to the cumulative effect of these legally allowed amounts. “A large majority of the cancer risk, about 85% of it, is due to the combination of contaminants that are present at legal limits,” explained Tasha Stoiber, an Environmental Working Group senior scientist and the lead author of the report.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/may/01/california-tap-water-drinking-lifetime-contamination

[mr_lebowski]

1. Seriously doubt California's water is in any way unique in this regard vs other states

And it also depends a lot on what the source of one's water is. Around the Bay Area for example there are at least two major and very distinct sources: The Delta, and Hetch Hetchy Reservoir near Yosemite. I can tell the difference like I can between Coke and Pepsi.

The water coming from Hetch Hetchy, unless the pipes in your neighborhood are terrible/old ... tastes phenomenally better, and is, I'm quite certain, much healthier to consume vs. Delta water.

That all being said, a LOT more should be done to study cumulative effects of various carcinogens in the water supply instead of relying entirely on limits on individual chemicals.

[CountAllVotes]

2. Cancer rates in Marin County, Ca. are very high

This is a sad fact.

I do not live in Marin (or Napa county which also has high cancer rates).

As to the whys,

In any event, suggest filtering your water with MultiPure water filtering system. You should see what the filters looked like when they were filtering water out of a well!

Since that time, have continued to filter the water even though now on municipal ground water. I don't trust them, nope.

[dixiegrrrrl]

3. Brita filters everything but the fluoride, they say.

I've used a filter whenever I've been on municipal water supplies, because the water usually has a bad taste...to me, at any rate.
Where I am now has horrible chlorine taste.