Toxins are everywhere.
Between toxins in water and the receptacles from which we drink the water, it’s important to know the facts and make an informed decision about what’s going into your body.
Because you drink water every day, it’s important to bear these things in mind: What’s in the Water?
What’s in the Bottle?
Don’t buy into the falsehood that bottled water is always purer than tap water.
In fact, sometimes the bottled water you pay for IS tap water.
Let’s break them down: Reusable Plastic • Reusable plastic bottles can contain BPA (Bisphenol A) and other toxins.
Any plastic bottle will leach a little, but the main concern is inconclusive research regarding the toxicity of BPAs found in plastic water bottles.
• Stainless steel water bottles can be pricey but they typically last longer than other reusable bottles.
Glass: • Glass bottles do not affect the taste of the water or beverage and they do not leach chemicals.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Toxins have seeped into the ground near the University of Memphis, but the Environmental Protection Agency and Memphis Light Gas and Water both claim the drinking water has not been affected.
Federal and Tennessee agencies are holding meetings to update the public on the superfund site.
The former dry cleaner site has five testing wells driven into the soil to gauge the flow of the toxins in the soil and if it seeped into the ground water below.
Trending stories: The EPA collected data beginning July and told us the toxins in the superfund site have contaminated the top of ground water.
Ken Mallary of the EPA told FOX13, "We will continue to investigate the size of the ground water and we think in a couple of years to determine the size of the ground plum of ground water contamination.
FOX13 asked Ken Mallary if the toxins have spread to the aquifer where we get our drinking water.
Mallary told MLGW tests show the water is safe.
"There is no PCE contamination in any of these wells which is good news," said Mallary.
"Certainly we will continue to work with MLGW to ensure the local drinking water is safe," said Mallary.
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Toxins have seeped into the ground near the University of Memphis, but the Environmental Protection Agency and Memphis Light Gas and Water both claim the drinking water has not been affected. Federal and Tennessee agencies are holding meetings to update the public on the superfund site. The former dry cleaner site has five testing wells driven into the soil to gauge the flow of the toxins in the soil and if it seeped into the ground water below. Trending stories: The EPA collected data beginning July…

This time, lab results from a sample collected on Nov. 30 show high levels of microcystin, according to a news release from Thurston County.
“Microcystin is a liver toxin which accumulates over time,” the news release stated.
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Children shouldn’t use the water for teeth brushing either, officials say.
“Our primary concern is for public safety,” said Thurston County Health Officer Dr. Rachel Wood.
The health warning will remain in effect until samples are within safe levels for two weeks in a row.
A water station is open at Camp Thunderbird, 11740 Summit Lake Road NW.
Residents can bring containers to fill at the water station from 4 to 7 p.m. Last spring, the lake had an outbreak of Anatoxin-A, which is a neurotoxin, prompting Thurston County Board of Health to declare a state of emergency at the lake in May.
Lisa Pemberton: 360-754-5433, @Lisa_Pemberton

They are considered ’emerging contaminants’ because of limited data on their health impacts.
(TNS) – Manmade toxins that likely came from foams used years ago in firefighting have been found in 26 drinking-water wells near Fairbanks International Airport, according to the airport.
Of 33 tested wells serving residences and businesses, 19 had levels of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances — PFAS for short — above the health advisory level set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the airport said.
The chemicals were found in another seven wells, but in amounts below the health advisory limits.
These chemicals may hurt the ability of children to learn and grow, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
They can hurt the ability of women to get pregnant, interfere with a body’s natural hormones and affect the immune system, the CDC said.
The offer goes to those in the area "whether they have been tested yet or not," she said.
Testing through contractor Shannon & Wilson is continuing, the airport said.
Homes and businesses with PFAS levels above the EPA health advisory will be connected to the area’s water utility, she said, though that work cannot be done until after breakup.
Chemical foam isn’t used in training anymore though the airport must use it in required annual inspections to prove its firefighting system is in order, she said.

The city of Toledo and nearby communities have earned the dubious distinction of being the first to report outbreaks of human illness due to algae toxins in municipal drinking water, according to a report published Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Both areas take their drinking water from Lake Erie.
Not to mention they can cause dead zones in bodies of water, killing marine life.
In September 2013, microcystin toxin was detected in the water treatment facility for Carroll Township, Ohio, at 3.5 times the safety threshold for drinking water.
This time around, 110 people got sick, and almost half a million people had to quit drinking tap water until they got the all clear.
It’s too early to know whether drinking water problems due to algae are becoming more common, says Jonathan Yoder, a CDC epidemiologist and one of the report’s authors.
"The bottom line is that we can’t say whether they are increasing or not, we know that the conditions that lead to algal blooms — nutrient pollution and warm water — are present in these freshwater lakes," Yoder says.
"I think there’s a continual risk in some of these areas for algal blooms and for some of them to be the type that have toxins that cause human illness."
Kathy Benedict, lead author of the paper and an epidemiologist with the CDC’s Waterborne Disease Prevention Branch, points out that the cases in Ohio in 2013 and 2014 were not necessarily the first — they were just the first to be reported.
The CDC report, which was published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, found than in 2013-2014, 42 outbreaks were reported in 19 states, resulting in 1,006 illnesses and 13 deaths.

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Low levels of harmful algae toxins were detected in some drinking water distributed from Skaneateles Lake, according to a statement from the state Department of Health, Onondaga County Health Department and the city of Syracuse Department of Water on Wednesday. Meanwhile, toxin and chlorophyll levels in Owasco Lake’s blooms are high, though the city of Auburn and town of Owasco’s treatment systems appear to be keeping the drinking water clear.
The toxin detection came from the village of Skaneateles’ water sample.
Cayuga County Health Department Director Kathleen Cuddy said seven households in the town of Sennett on Depot Road get their water from a public supply through the lake, too.
Water operators are working closely with DOH to not only monitor the algae but also the levels of chlorine.
Cuddy said while it’s unfortunate that Owasco Lake was the first to experience harmful algal bloom toxins in the drinking water, her department has been able to share its knowledge with surrounding county health departments, including Onondaga County.
Meanwhile, water from Owasco Lake entering the city of Auburn’s treatment plant showed detectable levels of the toxin at 0.18 micrograms per liter, according to the Cayuga County Health Department’s latest test results from samples collected on Monday.
Cuddy said the department is sticking to testing the water three times per week, only going to daily testing if toxins were detected in the drinking water.

Tests find no detectable levels of toxins in drinking water.
Tests on drinking water revealed no detectable traces of arsenic and lead after the toxins were found in groundwater at a coal-fired power plant in Tennessee, a utility company said Thursday.
Memphis, Light, Gas & Water said in a statement that tests conducted by an independent lab on 10 wells that supply water to a pumping station near the Allen Fossil Plant came up below detectable limits for the toxins.
The Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation asked the utility to test water at the pumping station after excessive levels of arsenic and lead were found in wells that monitor pollution from coal ash ponds at the Allen plant, operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority.
Memphis, Light, Gas & Water said initial test results had some traces of lead in two of the 10 wells at the pumping plant.
Spokesman Scott Brooks said the TVA, the nation’s largest public utility, doesn’t know the source of the toxins and is cooperating with state’s instructions.
The Sierra Club demanded for tests to be done after high levels of toxins at the Allen plant were revealed last week.
The Sierra Club and U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, a Memphis Democrat, have expressed concerns about the deep aquifer wells the TVA plans to use to cool the new gas plant.
"The operation of these high-powered wells in such close proximity to these materials that are contaminating our shallow aquifer could lead to contamination of the Memphis Sand, should there be any holes or breaches in the clay in the vicinity, which we just don’t know," Banbury said in a phone interview.
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Tests find no detectable levels of toxins in drinking water.
Tests on drinking water revealed no detectable traces of arsenic and lead after the toxins were found in groundwater at a coal-fired power plant in Tennessee, a utility company said Thursday.
Memphis, Light, Gas & Water said in a statement that tests conducted by an independent lab on 10 wells that supply water to a pumping station near the Allen Fossil Plant came up below detectable limits for the toxins.
The Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation asked the utility to test water at the pumping station after excessive levels of arsenic and lead were found in wells that monitor pollution from coal ash ponds at the Allen plant, operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority.
Memphis, Light, Gas & Water said initial test results had some traces of lead in two of the 10 wells at the pumping plant.
Spokesman Scott Brooks said the TVA, the nation’s largest public utility, doesn’t know the source of the toxins and is cooperating with state’s instructions.
The Sierra Club demanded for tests to be done after high levels of toxins at the Allen plant were revealed last week.
The Sierra Club and U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, a Memphis Democrat, have expressed concerns about the deep aquifer wells the TVA plans to use to cool the new gas plant.
"The operation of these high-powered wells in such close proximity to these materials that are contaminating our shallow aquifer could lead to contamination of the Memphis Sand, should there be any holes or breaches in the clay in the vicinity, which we just don’t know," Banbury said in a phone interview.
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Congressman wants answers on toxins at TVA coal-fired plant.
Department officials said last week that the TVA has measured excessive levels of arsenic and lead in shallow wells that monitor pollution from coal ash ponds at the aging Allen plant.
Coal ash is the dirty byproduct of burning coal.
A layer of clay lies between the groundwater and the aquifer.
Still, the monitoring wells’ proximity to the deeper wells dug into the aquifer has raised concerns among officials and Memphis residents about the safety of the city’s drinking water.
The environment and conservation department, through spokesman Eric Ward, said it is "confident the contaminants found in TVA wells at the Allen Fossil Plant are not impacting drinking water."
However, the department has asked Memphis Light, Gas & Water — the city’s water utility — to test treated drinking water.
"We share the congressman’s concerns about the recent monitoring results at the TVA Allen Fossil Plant and are in the process of preparing answers to his questions," Ward said Monday.
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