CAPE COD TIMES
By Cynthia McCormick
An environmental organization today released a database of pollutants in public drinking water supplies across the U.S. — including Cape Cod — that show widespread evidence of contaminants in tap water.
The Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. said in a press release that the new Tap Water Database gathered and analyzed data from almost 50,000 public water systems to create “the most complete source available on the quality of U.S. drinking water.”
People using the database can type in a zip code or utility name — or touch on their state on a U.S. map — to see what kind of contaminants are in local public drinking water supplies, why the contaminants are considered dangerous and what kind of water filter they can use to purify their drinking water.
While most public water utilities were found to be compliance with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations, EWG officials said they took a stricter view of contaminants than either the federal or state government. The environmental agency establishes a health risk based on what it says is the latest science, including a federal one-in-a-million-cancerrisk data and the California public health goal.