is very alarming when considering how widespread dangerous industrial chemicals are and how easy it is for them to infiltrate our water supply.Along with PCBs and chemical solvents, there are numerous heavy metals, such as arsenic and an isotope of chromium, which has a possible link to cancer if found in elevated concentrations in water (Blau 1; Liss 1). If chromium is found at levels above what the EPA had established to be safe it can possibly cause cancer of the lung, nasal passages, stomach, and kidney (Liss 1). Similarly, arsenic has been linked to several types of cancer including bladder, kidney, lung, nasal cavity, liver, and prostate (Risk 1). They may come from industrial plants and mines, says the National Cancer Institute, or from water treatment processes. No matter where they come from, there are far too many cancer causing pollutants and toxic metals penetrating our natural resources.There are many ways that toxic chemicals and metals can be filtrated into our water supply. A majority of drinking water is taken from underground water resources called aquifers. When industry is careless with the byproducts of their processes our underground water reserves are polluted because the toxins eventually seep through the soil and reach the aquifers. The groundwater sources already receive a small amount of naturally occurring harmful contaminants, so when organic toxins are driven into the aquifers the danger of contamination is doubled. The National Cancer Institute says it best in their essay Risk Factors: Air and Water Pollutants, Seepage of pesticides, industrial solvents, and other industrial chemicals such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) into the underground aquifers (rock formations that hold water) causes further contamination of the groundwater supply (2). The infuriating aspect of this is that back in 1974 when Congress passed the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, to which the EPA set forth the rules, t...
