New Study Warns Pregnant Women Millions Drink Contaminated Water

Women's Health Weekly, Unknown
Published January 31, 2002

Millions of Americans have been drinking tap water contaminated with chemical chlorine byproducts that are far more than what studies suggest may be safe for pregnant women, two environmental groups say in a new study.
Chlorine is commonly used to disinfect drinking water. When it is added to water that contains organic matter such as runoff from farms or lawns, however, it can form compounds such as chloroform that can cause illness.

The study released January 8, 2002, by the Environmental Working Group and Public Interest Research Groups identified areas that may have increased health risks including miscarriage, neural tube defects and reduced fetal growth from women drinking chlorination byproducts. "By failing to clean up rivers and reservoirs that provide drinking water for hundreds of millions of Americans, EPA and the Congress have forced water utilities to chlorinate water that is contaminated with animal waste, sewage, fertilizer, algae and sediment," the report says.

Jane Houlihan, EWG's research director, said the report also shows how that cleanup failure has "a direct impact on human health."