U.S. Water News Online
SAN FRANCISCO -- Bacterial pathogens, principally cholera,
are at the
top of a list of a dozen "critical" drinking water contaminants that
cause
health problems worldwide, according to a new study by Baytel
Associates. As
an overview of the health costs and economic effects of impure
drinking
water, the San Francisco-based consulting and market research firm
has
produced a ranking of the most deadly contaminants.
"Death and disease attributable to contaminated drinking water is
a
tremendous problem in almost every part of the globe," states the
study by
Baytel Associates, which specializes in international analysis of
drinking
water markets. In the developed world, it is noted, the problem is
less
obvious since drinking water contamination takes effect either slowly
or
mildly. "But in the developing world, the situation is critical -- as
it has
been through all of human history," the Baytel study says.
The world's major advisory and regulatory agencies, including the
U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency and the World Health Organization,
have each
suggested eliminating or reducing certain drinking water
contaminants, the
study points out. "Taken together these contaminants would number in
the
hundreds, and adding all the synthetic chemicals that most likely
appear
occasionally in water ... the list would number in the tens of
thousands," it
states.
In view of this, the study has highlighted a smaller group of
"critical"
contaminants, "that, if eliminated, in Baytel's estimation, produce
maximal
health effects worldwide." Baytel's listing of 12 critical drinking
water
contaminants is as follows: cholera, enteric bacteria, rota- and
polioviruses, intestinal protozoans, Ascaris (intestinal
roundworm)
, Dracunculus medinensis (Guinea worm), Trichuris trichiura
(whipworm),
Enerobious vermicularis (pinworm), fluorides, heavy metals, nitrates,
and
synthetic chemicals.
The report "Critical Drinking Water Contaminants: A Global
Perspective" (cost
of $1,495) is available from Baytel at (415) 563-3468 or fax (415)
563-9801.
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