50 years ago, U.S. drinking water sparked health and safety concerns

EPA to check faucet water carcinogens — Science Information, November 16, 1974

There’s proof that clear ingesting water in some localities might comprise carcinogenic compounds. Most of the compounds detected comprise chlorine and a few scientists suppose chlorine added to purify the water could also be combining with natural substances not eliminated throughout filtration to type the harmful substances.

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These findings hastened the passage of the Secure Ingesting Water Act, which licensed the U.S. Environmental Safety Company to set minimal requirements for ranges of contaminants (SN: 3/29/75, p. 208). Chlorine continues to be used to kill waterborne pathogens, however the EPA limits ranges of its by-products trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids. Lengthy-term publicity to those chemical substances has been linked with an elevated danger of most cancers. Now, the company is concentrating on lead and PFAS, or eternally chemical substances, which have been linked with myriad well being issues (SN: 11/29/22). The EPA not too long ago set requirements for PFAS and mandated that almost all lead pipe service strains get replaced inside a decade.