twinutero

Something that connects my previous posts on toxic substances and outdoor activities: the garden hose. I bought a new one last week so I could water the garden and fill the kids’ wading pool without dodging spray from the various holes in our old hose.

The new one worked wonderfully. As I was gathering the packaging for recycling, however, I read the back of the label. It carried the following warning, “This product contains one or more chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm. Wash hands after handling.” The warning lends a whole new meaning the company’s slogan, “The last hose you’ll ever buy.”

I searched the web and learned that most garden hoses carry similar warnings, and unless it is clearly stated otherwise, they are not designed for drinking. Adults generally don’t drink from the hose. Kids, on the other hand, can’t resist. Even if they don’t slurp from the hose, they gulp from the pool. Once again, lead is the culprit. It leaches from the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) used to make most garden hoses. I suspect that the fungicides used to protect hoses from rotting also contributes to their carcinogenicity.

Here are a couple of good websites on the topic:
Consumer Reports. 2003. Dare you drink from a garden hose?

Ann Lovejoy. June 2007. Do you know what’s really in that hose? Seattle Post Intelligencer

Both of these sites are based on U.S. information. I went in search of a “safe for drinking” garden hose here in Canada. The major hardware box-stores (Home Depot, Rona, Canadian Tire) had no idea what I was talking about. Locally owned shops (an environmental store, an organic gardening center, and our neighbourhood hardware store) were no wiser. I checked the labels on half-a-dozen hoses for sale in these shops. All carried warnings against drinking – and all of the warnings were printed on the back of the label (which I had to rip off to read). It is unlikely that anyone would see this before buying, if at all.

I finally found a drinking-water safe, FDA-approved hose at a marine supply shop. The hose is meant for RVs and boats but works just as well for the garden. About thirty seconds after hooking up and turning on our new non-toxic hose, the water was flowing straight into Jon’s mouth….

Okay. Enough on toxins. My next post is on family mealtimes. With three kids under three years old, the only thing toxic about mealtimes is the dining room floor.

In my earlier post on nursing and bottle feeding, I wrote that we use only Medela bottles, largely because they are made from polypropylene rather than polycarbonate. The latter contains bisphenol-A, a chemical that mimics estrogen and has links to developmental and neurological abnormalities as well as cancer.

Since that post, the Globe and Mail has published several articles on bisphenol-A and sales of glass baby bottles in Canada has soared. It’s still a fringe market – you won’t find glass bottles at Babies ‘R’ Us. Yet the growing popularity of non-polycarbonate bottles is a clear sign that many parents are concerned about bisphenol-A.

Feeling somewhat vindicated (I have been called neurotic about such issues), I scanned the kitchen for more polycarbonate. The Brita pitcher. We filter all of our drinking water through the Brita. In part, it’s habit. Brita’s advertising has been so effective that it now seems reckless to fill a water glass straight from the tap. We also use Brita because our house was built in 1909. We replaced lead water pipes inside the house when we renovated, but the pipes from the city mains into our house are still lead. There may be controversy over the health effects of bisphenol-A but there’s no controversy over lead. Its neurological effects, especially on children, are well documented. Brita claims that their filters remove 90% of lead.

So, with my vast amount of spare time, I tried to determine (1) if Brita pitchers are made from polycarbonate and (2) if we really need to filter our drinking water.

Answering the first question was not straightforward. Brita should get the most-annoying-website award. I emailed them, explaining my concerns about bisphenol-A and asking what tests had been done on Brita pitchers. They responded (within 48 hours as they promise) that “the reservoirs and pitchers are made either from NAS (a Styrene based plastic) or SAN (Styrene Acrylonitrile).” I am not a chemist; I assumed they were trying to tell me that the pitchers do not contain bisphenol-A but wasn’t sure. I asked for clarification. The second response came by regular mail about ten days later. The cover letter stated that the information I requested was enclosed. It wasn’t. Other than the cover letter, the envelope was empty. I emailed once again and got a quick response: “Brita pitchers do not contain bisphenol-A”. Seemed like a lot of work for an answer that Brita should have been happy to provide.

READ APRIL 2008 UPDATE ON BISPHENOL A

The second question, whether or not we should filter our drinking water, was easier. Our city tests household water as a free service. We provided samples of flowing tap water, as well as water that had been sitting in the pipes for half an hour. The results took about a week. Turns out that the lead level in our water is 1.2 parts per billion. The maximum acceptable concentration set by Health Canada is 10 ppb, and water leaves our city treatment plant at 0.5 ppb. So, while our water is considered safe, the old lead pipes are adding to the amount of lead that we are consuming.

Is it still worth running our water through (rather expensive) Brita filters? According to the city employee who tested our water, yes. While there are guidelines for “safe” levels of lead in our bloodstream, toxic effects of lead have been reported in children at well below these levels. For infants and children there is essentially no safe dose. Drinking water is only one source. For families living in older homes like ours, lead paint is no doubt a more significant source. I could write a long and repetitious book about my efforts to rid our house of lead paint. Ask my husband. The bottom line is that any reduction in lead exposure is worth the effort if you have young children. According to our helpful city employee, under normal circumstances, Brita removes about 60%, not 90%, of lead, and only if the filter is changed regularly. If the filter is old, the lead content of the water in the pitcher could actually be higher than that in the tap.

And what about the safety of NAS and/or SAN plastic? And PVC water pipes? And bisphenol-A in the lining of baby formula cans? No wonder I am – not – neurotic.

Some useful reading:
Having Faith. An Ecologist’s Journey to Motherhood. 2001. Sandra Steingraber.

In Harm’s Way. 2000. Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility

August 9, 2007 article on bisphenol-A and phthalates in baby bottles from ENN.