Nearly 30 MILLION Americans are drinking dangerous contaminated tap water
Nearly 30 MILLION Americans are drinking dangerous contaminated tap water linked to cancer, birth defects and lead poisoning
- 15 percent of people in the United States have dangrous contaminated tap water in their homes
- All 50 states have water systems that violate the Enviromental Protection Agency’s Safe Drinking Water Act
- In 2015, there were 80,000 safety violations affecting 77 million people, and few had enforcement action
- The most at-risk for having a contaminated water supply system are those in small rural areas
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America may be facing a water crisis as a new report claims that nearly 30 million people have been drinking contaminated tap water.
Every state in the nation has breached the Safe Drinking Water Act combining in 80,000 safety violations affecting 77 million people’s drinking water.
A report by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) found that 15 percent of those offenses were health-based contamination, including lead, copper, arsenic or cancer-causing poisons.
These pollutants can lead to liver and kidney damage, cancer and birth defects. Lead exposure is especially detrimental to children with possible learning disabilities and damage to the central nervous system.
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A report by the Natural Resources Defense Council found 15 percent or nearly 30 million of Americans had tap water with health-based violations in 2015. The contamination included lead, copper, arsenic or cancer-causing poisons in the water. Pictured: Map showing counties with health-based water contamination
The most at-risk for having a contaminated water supply system were those in small rural communities of around 500 people. This made up 70 percent of the reported offenses.
Erik Olson, the health program director at NRDC and a report co-author, said: ‘America is facing a nationwide drinking water crisis that goes well beyond lead contamination.
TOP 12 STATES WITH MOST WATER VIOLATIONS
1. Texas 2. Florida
3. Pennsylvania 4. New Jersey
5. Georgia 6. Washington
7. Ohio 8. California
9. Arizona 10. Kentucky
11. Wisconsin 12. Maryland
‘The problem is two-fold: there’s no cop on the beat enforcing our drinking water laws, and we’re living on borrowed time with our ancient, deteriorating water infrastructure.
‘We take it for granted that when we turn on our kitchen tap, the water will be safe and healthy, but we have a long way to go before that is reality across our country.’
Although Flint, Michigan, has been the focal point for critically unsafe water, the problem is more widespread, the report claims.