One million die in Europe of water born ilness

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Poor drinking water quality is a major problem in many parts of mainland Europe, even in the more affluent nations, researchers reported at a World Health Organization meeting in Budapest.

According to WHO statistics, some 20 million people worldwide die each year of waterborne diseases -- one million of them in Europe.

While new technologies help control and monitor water safety, they can create new hazards; in Germany, for example, studies have shown increasing amounts of drugs and other substances -- such as sex hormones from contraceptives, pain killers, anticonvulsants and cholesterol lowering drugs -- are present in drinking water.

New pathogens have emerged as major concerns for industrialized countries, such as Cryptosporidium, a coccidial protozoan parasite now recognized as a common cause of diarrhea, one of the major killers in the world, according to researchers. Chemical contaminants with cumulative toxic properties are also a concern to public health experts in Europe, such as lead from water pipes, nitrates and pesticides from agricultural and livestock operations, and natural contaminants such as arsenic and fluoride.

Source: Carl Kovac, "Waterborne diseases threaten industrialized countries," British Medical Journal, November 11, 2000.

For text http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/321/7270/1176/c

For Water issues http://www.ncpa.org/pi/enviro/envdex4.html#f

http://www.ncpa.org/pi/enviro/pd111000b.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), November 10, 2000

Answers

http://www.fspubl.com/index.html

Details about the nasty bugs in your drinking water.
BTW they don't check for these until folks get sick, and then the boil water alert is issued.
I'd have a good water filter, like Reverse Osmossis with a UV zapper on it.
premier manf system in AZ is a good product, I've used for years.

-- (perry@ofuzzy1.com), November 11, 2000.

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