Summary
The Environmental Working Group (EWG), a health nonprofit, released a map showing that around 100 million Americans have drinking water with three harmful chemicals: chromium-6, arsenic, and nitrate. These chemicals pose health risks, such as cancer and liver damage. The EWG is urging updated water treatment systems to handle multiple contaminants at the same time.
Key Facts
- Nearly 100 million Americans have drinking water with three toxic chemicals: chromium-6, arsenic, and nitrate.
- The EWG map shows areas with water supplies contaminated by these chemicals above health limits.
- California, Arizona, and Texas are noted as the most affected states with high levels of all three contaminants.
- Chromium-6 alone affects water for more than 260 million people, arsenic for 134 million, and nitrate for 263 million.
- The EWG suggests treatments like ion exchange or reverse osmosis can remove these chemicals from water.
- Current U.S. regulations focus on single contaminants, missing those that occur together.
- The EWG says treating multiple contaminants at once could prevent 50,000 cancer cases over a lifetime.
- The group is calling for updated water treatment systems to manage multiple contaminants efficiently.
