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Water Filters

05 August 2006

DIY solutions to toxic tapwater

It’s said that London’s water passes through 13 people before being flushed into the sea. For many of us in the UK, the water does certainly taste ‘used’. But taste isn’t the only problem. Tapwater also contains pollutants such as fluoride (natural and artificial), lead (from old pipework), Giardia (an intestinal parasite), nitrates, pesticides, hormones and drug residues. Yet, most health authorities firmly deny that there are health problems linked to drinking it.

While tapwater may not house the nastiest bacteria or viruses, it does contain the toxic chemicals used to kill such bugs. The best-known one - which consumers can taste (and even smell) - is chlorine. Chlorine combined with organic matter or certain naturally occurring chemicals in water forms trihalomethanes and other harmful disinfection byproducts (DBPs). Our drinking water accounts for a major part of our total exposure to DBPs, followed by air and food (...

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