Could they be equally as dangerous?
Generally when people think of contaminated water, they picture people in third world countries having water at their disposal but not being able to drink it because it is not sanitary. Lacking the proper sanitation and filtration systems it is true that many of the poorer regions of the world run into problems when trying to find water that is sanitary to drink, however, there are also places in the United States that are drinking contaminated water without even knowing it. In Wake Forrest, North Carolina, city officials knew that the water the public was drinking possibly contained chemicals that could be dangerous and potentially lethal, however, they continued to let the residents know without warning them for six years. Exposure to the water they were drinking can cause serious health side effects such as Parkinson’s disease. “The EPA called families in the community this past summer, saying their water is contaminated with a cancer-causing chemical called trichloroethylene, or TCE, and to not drink, bathe or cook with the water”. Being unknowingly exposed to water which contains dangerous chemical such as TCE is potentially more dangerous than those who are knowingly drinking contaminated water. Earlier in the semester we looked at how countries like Bangladesh struggled with problems related to the consumption of contaminated water. “The characteristic health effects that result from ingestion of arsenic-contaminated drinking-water are slowly manifested, and the diagnosis is usually straightforward. Skin lesions, i.e. diffuse melanosis followed by spotted melanosis, hyperpigmentation, and keratosis, are common and are the first recognized health effects”. The side effects from the contaminated water were different than those in North Carolina but they were equally as dangerous
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