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DEET in Your Drinking Water?
What Everyone Needs to Know
by www.SixWise.com
Every year, 100 million Americans slather on insect repellant
to enjoy their outdoor barbecues, picnics and activities without
getting
bitten or stung. However, in the repellants used by about
one-third of the U.S. population is a powerful chemical commonly
known as DEET.
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DEET, a neurotoxin, has been detected in lakes and
rivers.
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And as soon as you come inside and wash DEET from your skin
and clothing (something the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) recommends you do right away), that DEET gets
washed down the drain, and is now showing up in rivers and
lakes.
According to testing done for the Chicago Sun-Times, DEET
is also present in your drinking water.
Thought the amounts detected were low -- 8.3 parts per trillion
-- the testing was done during March, when insect repellant
use was still low. And according to some experts, this is
still cause for alarm.
"This raises a red flag. [When] you have so many people
using it, the risk is there," Mohamed Abou-Dania, a professor
at Duke University, told the Sun-Times.
DEET is a Neurological Toxin
What makes the finding of DEET in drinking water so concerning
is the fact that DEET is potentially very toxic, particularly
to children. While the EPA maintains that the chemical is
safe when used correctly, studies have shown that when used
in high amounts, or for long periods of time, DEET is far
from safe.
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Up to one-third of the U.S. population uses DEET-containing
insect repellants.
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DEET has been shown to cause nervous-system damage, including:
And according to studies by Abou-Dania, while lab rats had
no reaction to DEET when it was used for 30 days, after 60
days their brain cells started to die.
Adding to the problem is the fact that DEET does not degrade
quickly, nor does it breakdown much as it passes through sewage
or drinking-water treatment plants.
Scientists are worried that DEET may collect in the sediment
of streams and prove toxic to birds, fish and other wildlife.
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 All-Natural
Flea
'n Tick B Gone repels insects from your backyard
using only natural plant resources; it contains NO DEET.
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"A little bit seems to go a long way in the environment,"
said Dana W. Kolpin, a research hydrologist with the Geological
Survey in Iowa City, Ia., in the Sun-Times.
How Can You Protect Your Family and Remove DEET From Your
Drinking Water?
To start, you can consider avoiding all insect repellants
that contain DEET. There are others on the market that use
only natural essential oils to repel insects, and these do
not pose the potential to harm the environment or your health.
All-Natural Flea
'n Tick B Gone is an ideal alternative because it's an
enzyme-based formula made naturally from plant resources that
you can use as an entirely non-toxic, insect repellant for
your backyard. Just mist the area and you'll be tick- and
bug-free for at least three hours!
As for your drinking
water, the U.S. government doesn't have standards for
DEET in your water, though public officials maintain that
the water supply is safe.
If you want to be sure, you can have your tap water independently
tested to find out what, if any, contaminants exist.
Next, you can use:
1. A high-quality Wellness
Kitchen Filter for your home.
The Wellness Kitchen is tested to reduce VOCs, pesticides,
and herbicides -- including DEET -- below detectable levels
for the life of the filter.
The Wellness Kitchen combines the best filtration and enhancement
technologies to deliver the purest and most natural tasting
water available. It effectively reduces harmful contaminants,
while at the same time enhancing the water with delicate ions
and minerals.
2. The Wellness
Wand when you're on the go (at restaurants it's both a
great conversation piece and healthy for you and others --
all with just a swish through the water in your glass).
The Wellness Wand is a pen-sized water purifier that reduces
harmful free radicals like chlorine and chloramines. Simply
swirl the wand in your glass for 15 seconds, and you can have
peace of mind that it is free of harmful levels of chlorine.
Next, do not overlook one of the primary routes of exposure
to tap water contaminants: your shower.
"Taking long hot showers is a health risk," a study
in New Scientist reported. "Showers, and to a lesser
extent baths, lead to a greater exposure to toxic chemicals
contained in water supplies than does drinking it."
Fortunately, chlorine and other chemicals can be easily removed
from your family's shower with The
Wellness Shower Filter.
As for the DEET, only time will tell just how bad the situation
could become.
"The challenge is it's at such a minute level right
now that we're trying to forecast what it might become and
how we can prevent any further chemicals from getting into
our water sources," Suzanne Malec-McKenna, Chicago Environmental
Commissioner, told ABC News.
Recommended Reading
Pharmaceutical
Pollution: What it is, and How Pharmaceutical Pollution Threatens
Your Health
Is
There Radon in Your Drinking Water?
Sources
Chicago
Sun-Times April 21, 2008
ABC
News April 21, 2008
U.S.
EPA: The Inset Repellant DEET
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