By CHARLES DUHIGG
"more than 62 million Americans have been exposed since 2004 to drinking water that did not meet at least one commonly used government health guideline intended to help protect people from cancer or serious disease, according to an analysis by The Times of more than 19 million drinking-water test results from the District of Columbia and the 45 states that made data available."
For more information on El Paso Water Utilities' water contaminant levels click on: TAP WATER DATABASE
For El Paso Water Utilities (westside):
ALPHA Radioactivity Level.
Although the Legal Limit of 15 (pCi/L) was not exceeded there was an actual measurement that appeared rather close: 13.1 pCi/L from March of 2004.
However, anything over 0 pCi/L (zero) exceeds the suggested health limit by the EPA ("which allows an adequate margin of safety"). One Alpha Particle if inhaled or swallowed (ingested) is more toxic than arsenic. The particle may stay inside the body, and would damage the tissues around it with radiation.
For Beta Radiation particles, the maximum level recorded in December 2005 was 18.1pCi/L which is above the legal standard of 15 pCi/L. Since the AVERAGE result (all the samples-data put together and averaged) was below 13 pCi/L the report for that period did not state that the legal limit was exceeded.
"more than 62 million Americans have been exposed since 2004 to drinking water that did not meet at least one commonly used government health guideline intended to help protect people from cancer or serious disease, according to an analysis by The Times of more than 19 million drinking-water test results from the District of Columbia and the 45 states that made data available."
For more information on El Paso Water Utilities' water contaminant levels click on: TAP WATER DATABASE
For El Paso Water Utilities (westside):
ALPHA Radioactivity Level.
Although the Legal Limit of 15 (pCi/L) was not exceeded there was an actual measurement that appeared rather close: 13.1 pCi/L from March of 2004.
| "2004-03-09 | 13.1 pCi/L | 1 | 0 | 13.1 pCi/L" |
However, anything over 0 pCi/L (zero) exceeds the suggested health limit by the EPA ("which allows an adequate margin of safety"). One Alpha Particle if inhaled or swallowed (ingested) is more toxic than arsenic. The particle may stay inside the body, and would damage the tissues around it with radiation.
| "Contaminant | Average/ Maximum Result | Health Limit Exceeded | Legal Limit Exceeded |
|---|
For Beta Radiation particles, the maximum level recorded in December 2005 was 18.1pCi/L which is above the legal standard of 15 pCi/L. Since the AVERAGE result (all the samples-data put together and averaged) was below 13 pCi/L the report for that period did not state that the legal limit was exceeded.
| "Testing Date | Average Result | Samples taken that day | Number of Non-Detects | Range of Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005-12-07 | 12.85 pCi/L | 2 | 0 | 7.6 to 18.1 pCi/L " |
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