GOAL POSTS MOVED ON RECYCLED WATER QUALITY GUIDELINES
THE Bligh Government is set to relax rules on the quality of recycled water produced by its $9 billion water grid, after a report found it contained levels of chemicals (such as TTHM’s like bromodichloromethane) above legislated standards.
The report, by the Queensland Water Commission’s advisory board on recycled water, said tests of samples produced out of the Western Corridor Recycled Water project had detected bromodichloromethane, a byproduct of chlorination that is known to cause liver cancer in animals. The levels were above the standard set out in state public health regulations, which dictate the quality of recycled water deemed fit to drink.
But the board has urged the Government to “revise” the regulations to reflect new research suggesting the chemical did not cause cancer if it was ingested in drinking water.
The recommendation is contained in a February letter to Queensland Water Commission chairwoman Elizabeth Nosworthy.
Here is an extract from a study conducted in Perth WA on Disinfectant By-Products such as bromodichloromethane a TTHM – and the Bligh government wants to revise the law to increase the acceptable levels of these chemicals and chlorination by products! Australia’s limits are up to 250% higher than other countries!
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RESEARCH CHILDREN’S HEALTH - Reference site http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2535633
Risk of Birth Defects in Australian Communities with High Levels of Brominated Disinfection By-products
Birth defects … Given the ongoing controversy surrounding Disinfectant By Products (DBP) and adverse pregnancy outcomes, especially regarding associated Birth Defects (DB), a precautionary approach to DBP exposure during pregnancy is somewhat justified. Most industrialized countries have regulated the permitted levels of TTHM in drinking water, and many of these limits are well below the 250 μg/L level currently accepted in Australia (NHMRC 2004): Canada, 80 μg/L (Rodriguez et al. 2004); United States, 80 μg/L (U.S. EPA 2004); and the United Kingdom, 100 μg/L (Keegan et al. 2001). By international standards, a number of Australian water supplies continue to contain elevated DBP levels.
Discussion The results from this record-based prevalence study indicate that women living in high-TTHM areas in Perth at the time of birth of their baby have a 22% greater risk of having a baby with any BD (birth defect). More specifically, classification in the high-exposure group is associated with an increased risk of 62% for having a baby with a cardiovascular defect. In this analysis, results for musculoskeletal and urogenital defects are suggestive but non-significant, with adjusted ORs of 1.48 (95% CI, 0.99–2.21) and 1.40 (95% CI, 0.98–1.99), respectively.
Read the full study: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2535633
Can any of us afford to take the risk of not filtering our drinking water? We don’t think so!
You MUST Filter your water and then rebalance and nourish it. The zazen Living Water system water test results show how it has reduced the levels of TTHM’s in drinking water (through its 5 stage advanced natural filtration process) to levels less than the instruments can test for: <2.0 ug/L. For a copy of the test results or to discuss what you can do today simply email janet@zazen.com.au or call 1300 78 24 25 and ask Janet to call you.
Filed under: Water & Health
