Tips for Taps Blog
Late to Regulate
Published on by John PujolMeanwhile, hundreds of new pharmaceuticals, industrial solvents, fertilizers, and other new chemicals enter the US economy (and water supply) every year. You probably haven’t heard of most of these, and while many chemicals in your water are likely safe, some of them are certainly not.
Unfortunately, regulations are in a game of catch-up with the chemicals our economy releases into the environment. This means many potential toxins go unmonitored in our pipes, and indeed unregulated in your drinking water.
Looking back, here’s a short list of dangerous chemicals that took way too long to regulate:
1. Lead Regulation ↠ 100 Years
-
1887 - US Authorities Diagnose Lead Poisoning In Children
-
1904 - Lead Paint Diagnosed As Source Of Lead Poisoning
-
1978 - US Government Bans Lead Paint [1]
2. Arsenic Regulation ↠ 100 Years
-
1888 - Fowler’s Solution (a once popular arsenic-containing-medicine) proven to cause cancers.
-
1968 - Research in Taiwan shows connection between arsenic in drinking water and cancer.
-
2001 - US EPA regulates arsenic in drinking water to 10 parts per billion (PPB).[2]
3. PCB’s ↠ 50 Years
-
1933 - 95% of workers in PCB factory develop strong reactions to PCB manufacturing.
-
1966 - Scientists declare PCB’s a “worldwide environmental problem”
-
1979 - US EPA bans the manufacture of PCB’s.[3]
4. 1,2,3 TCP ↠ 80+ (still not regulated)
-
1940’s - Manufactured by Dow for use as a pesticide and solvent.
-
2009 - 1,2,3 TCP is declared a carcinogen.[4]
-
2017 - California begins to regulate 1,2,3 TCP amid controversy.[4]
There are more than 100 contaminants currently regulated by the US EPA under public water system protections provided by the US Safe Drinking Water Act.[5][6] Our water laws aren't perfect but they are some of the best in the world. This shows just what an uphill battle regulators face when trying to keep the public safe.
There are thousands of new chemicals introduced into the environment by industry every year. Each chemical contaminant has a story and SimpleLab is doing the difficult of structuring that information in a way that lets us perform state of the art health analysis and generate informative Tap Score Reports.
Sources
▾- Lead Poisoning: A Historical Perspective | About EPA
- Drinking Water Arsenic Rule History | US EPA
- Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) | US EPA
- California is finally going to regulate a carcinogen it identified as cancerous 25 years ago
- National Primary Drinking Water Regulations
- Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) | US EPA
CEO
About Tap Score
Tap Score combines world-class laboratory science with customer service to ensure testing your drinking water is simple, fast and factual. Everything we do is driven by data and supported by a team of experts ready to answer your questions. Let’s get started.
Related Topics
Related Articles
› back to top
Related Articles
-
The Best Water Testing Kits of 2024
Read how Tap Score testing includes easy-to-understand reports, explanations of potential health risks, unbiased treatment recommendations, and unparalleled support.
READ MORE -
The Top 4 Home Water Filter Technologies Explained
Whether your water comes from a private well or a municipal water utility, home water filter systems can reduce and even remove different pollutants from your water. But with so...
READ MORE -
The Ultimate Tap Water Odor Guide
Sometimes, tap water can carry odors that make you second guess your water quality. In this ultimate guide to smelly water, we'll cover all the stinks and their sources so...
READ MORE
Shop our most
popular tests
- I Have City Water
- City Water
- I Have Well Water
- Well Water
Essential City Water Test
Basic test panel for water utility customers primarily concerned by metals, aging pipes, and infrastructure.
Advanced City Water Test
Ideal baseline for testing tap water provided by a local water utility–including metals, minerals, and chlorine-related byproducts.
Extended City Water Test
Comprehensive testing for the core concerns impacting utility-provided tap water, plus analysis of radioactive particles and additional disinfection byproducts.
Essential Well Water Test
Ideal for regular testing of private or shared well water.
Advanced Well Water Test
Recommended test for those on a private well located near industrial, agricultural, or other human activity.
Extended Well Water Test
Comprehensive testing for popular well water issues, plus additional risk factors including radioactive particles, radon, tannins, bacteria, plasticizers and pesticides.