Readers Digest, that is! This is a photo of me (left) and longtime Multipure Master Builder Ron Kafker, sharing a copy of the August 2011 Readers Digest. The lead article is called “How Safe is Our Water?” It focuses on the contamination from fracking, perchlorate, rainwater runoff, and pharmaceuticals in the water.
You might ask, “what the frack is ‘fracking’ anyway? I did. It is short for hydraulic fracturing, which is a method for extracting natural gas that is becoming more widespread. When gas companies “frack”, they drill a deep hole and then inject about a million gallons of water, sand and chemicals (some toxic) under high pressure. The jet of material breaks up rock, releasing gas that is trapped underneath. It is becoming a big problem in places like Pennsylvania, New York and West Virginia where chemical contamination and methane are beginning to show up in private wells and may be threatening to rivers and other sources of drinking water. Stay tuned, the fracking discussion/debate is heating up.
Perchlorate, an ingredient in rocket fuel, has shown up in water systems of 26 states and the EPA is finally setting health standards for drinking water. So far, the best way to protect yourself is with a reverse osmosis-type drinking water system and MULTI-PURE makes the best one out there.
Pharmaceuticals may be in drinking water as well.
Tiny traces of contraceptives, antidepressants, blood pressure medicine, statin drugs, even antibiotics can actually be in your water and most municipalities do not test for them. How do they get there? Any time you take a medication, it eventually works its way through your system and eventually goes down the toilet or bathtub drain. And unused medication often gets flushed. Livestock waste contains antibiotics that get washed into the water table every time it rains, and treatment facilities are not designed to take care of this waste. Some of these pharmaceuticals are estrogen-imitators that may cause or enhance cancer growth. One of the best ways to protect yourself is with a high-quality solid carbon block filter.
There’s lots more in this Readers Digest Issue. I recommend it.