H2O contaminants include heavy metals, harmful chemicals, sewage, biological agents, and more. These substances make water unsafe for drinking and usage. Quality testing is a crucial step to ensure the safety of the water used in a community.
It provides an essential evaluation of H2O purity and safety for consumption. H2O testing is necessary for health and well-being and is a critical step to maintaining the right environment for all living things. In this article, we will look at some contaminants and why quality testing matters. Some of the pollutants that can be found in water include:
Arsenic
This is a naturally occurring element that can be found throughout the environment. Acute arsenic intoxication is uncommon and can present mainly as gastroenteritis with symptoms like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain. Long-term exposure can lead to palmar and plantar hyperkeratosis.
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Fluoride
This is another naturally occurring inorganic ion of fluorine. In low concentration, it’s considered beneficial to dental health, but in higher concentration, it can lead to fluorosis, which affects dental enamel, making it porous, mottled, and opaque. It can also cause bone and joint deformities with joint pain and stiffness.
Iron
Iron is abundant in nature and combines with sulfur—and oxygen-containing compounds to form sulfides, carbonates, hydroxides, and, most commonly, oxides. Natural iron from man-made sources of h20 poses a risk to health, but drinking iron-containing water is unlikely to cause health issues.
Ammonia
Ammonia is primarily used in the production and manufacturing of fertilizers, animal feeds, and other products. It’s also used as a cleaning agent and as a food additive. It’s mostly present in h20 due to disinfection with chloramines or the release from cement mortar.
Chromium
In its various oxidation states, chromium is found throughout nature in soil and rocks. It’s also utilized for industrial usage during the production, textile and leather tanning. It has various applications and is found in h20. Contamination due to chromium can lead to gastrointestinal irritation, sperm damage, and anemia.
Lead
Lead is one of the naturally occurring heavy elements found on Earth. Lead H2O contamination mostly happens due to the dissolution of natural sources, but mainly through leaching from old household plumbing that contains lead.
Lead exposure can cause central nervous system problems such as headaches, fatigue, muscle weakness, delirium, seizures, polyneuropathy with wrist or foot drop, encephalopathy, and paresthesia’s. In severe cases, it can cause kidney disease.
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Now let’s look at some of the importance of quality testing.
Importance of Quality Testing
Health Protection
Quality testing is important to ensure that our H2O supply and the general public are safe. It helps eliminate dangerous pollutants, protecting people from the possibility of health damage due to drinking contaminated H2O.
Many pollutants, such as chemicals, heavy metals, viruses, and bacteria, threaten public health. Water testing in London makes it easy to identify these harmful organisms even in trace amounts. Bacteria like E. coli indicate the presence of fecal matter, which can lead to waterborne diseases.
It also identifies chemicals like lead, mercury, and arsenic, as these substances, even in smaller quantities, can cause severe health damage. Regular water testing is a preventative measure, and authorities will deal with contamination problems promptly. The test result can help implement measures to purify the H2O and prevent the further spread of diseases.
Safe Drinking Water
Quality testing helps reduce the risk of waterborne disease by making sure that the H2O circulating in homes is safe for drinking. Ideally, drinkable water should meet many standards set by regulatory bodies to ensure its safety for consumption. Quality testing will check whether these standards are met and give you insight into the health level of the water you take.
The testing is to check for contaminants like bacteria, chemical substances, and parasites. Normally, the presence of bacteria indicates fecal contamination, and drinking that H2O can result in gastrointestinal illnesses. What’s more, the testing can detect the amount of bacteria present, so it will be easy to take the appropriate measures to get rid of them and clear everything.
Compliance with Regulations
Regulations have set specific standards to guard public health. The standards include the acceptable level for various contaminants. This will protect consumers from diseases caused by contamination.
Conclusion
Many contaminants are present in H2O, which can lead to severe health issues if consumed. This is where quality testing comes into the picture. It serves as an essential pillar in protecting our most precious resource, water.
