How to Protect Yourself

By Janice M. Horowitz

Is your water safe? The company or municipal authority that supplies it is required by federal law to give you an analysis and disclose any violation of health standards. But even if you can trust the company, the report won't tell you what happens to the water in the dank recesses of your own plumbing system. The only way to know precisely what's coming out of your tap is to have your water tested. The EPA's Safe Drinking-Water Hotline (800-426-4791) offers names of testing laboratories in individual states. The hot line can also answer technical and health questions such as "How much cryptosporidium is too much?"

Special mail-order labs can help as well. They send you empty bottles and instructions; you ship back samples and receive a detailed analysis. Two particularly reliable labs are Suburban Water Testing Laboratories (800-433-6595) and National Testing Laboratories (800-458-3330). Prices range from $25 for a simple test for lead to $178 for the works, including screening for bacteria, nitrate, lead and PCB levels.

What if the lab raises the red flag? Let's take lead as an example, since it's one of the most common problems. Too much lead (more than 15 parts per billion) tends to show up in older, turn-of-the-century houses with lead pipes and in homes where lead solder has been used to join and repair plumbing. Lead solder was banned in 1986, but it is still around in older pipes.

The longer water sits in the system, the more lead it absorbs. So let the water run for at least two minutes, until it is cold to the touch, before using it. That way you're using water from the main lines under the street, which do not contain lead. (Apartment dwellers can't do this if their building's plumbing system is huge). Don't cook with water coming from the hot ; water tap; it draws more lead from pipes than cold water does.

If you're dissatisfied with your municipal water supply, you can always buy bottled water. But it is not always free of contaminants either (even Perrier had that little problem with the chemical benzene). Look for a seal of approval from NSF International, an Ann Arbor, Michigan, company that certifies bottled water as safe. Unfortunately, NSF does not analyze all brands.

Another option is to buy one of the many filters or other water-purifying devices on the market. Be sure to choose one that specifically removes the toxins turning up in your water. Carbon filters, for example, are good at purging organic compounds, such as pesticides and solvents, but they will not remove minerals or most heavy metals. And one of the more elaborate devices, a distiller, is excellent at taking away heavy metals but is not effective against chloroform and benzene.

Before investing in a treatment device, which ranges from $30 for a simple filter to $850 for a reverse-osmosis system, check that it is certified effective by NSF. Above all, remember that home devices need plenty of maintenance. If they are not cleaned or their filters are not replaced regularly, they put back into your water the very pollutants they removed, and they wind up a health hazard themselves.