Cancer-Causing Contaminants In Montco Water: 2017's Top Stories

One of 2017's more concerning studies found numerous cancer-causing contaminants in the water supply of many Montgomery County towns. The study was published in late July and covered in Patch at that time.

A study released in July by an environmental nonprofit reveals that a number of cancer causing chemicals have been found in unsafe levels in water systems across Pennsylvania, including Montgomery County.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) reports that Pennsylvania American's Norristown facility contains six cancer causing chemicals which exceed recommended health guidelines: chromium, bromodichloromethane, chloroform, dibromochloromethane, total trihalomethanes, and one radiological contaminant: Radium-226. Horsham also had six, Abington had five, Lansdale had nine, and Royersford had seven.

The chemicals in the water were within legal limits as established by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), but not those established by leading scientists, according to EWG.

"Just because your tap water gets a passing grade from the government doesn't always mean it's safe, EWG President Ken Cook said in a statement. "It's time to stop basing environmental regulations on political or economic compromises, and instead listen to what scientists say about the long-term effects of toxic chemicals and empower Americans to protect themselves from pollutants even as they demand the protective action they deserve from government."

The information in the database comes from federal and state reports. Most water authorities in the region have a number of cancer causing chemicals, according to EWG. In Norristown, one of those authorities, Pennsylvania American Water, disputes the numbers.

"We have reviewed the Environmental Working Group's Report and have identified some inconsistencies between the information in the report and the results in our files," Terry Maenza, a spokesperson for PA American Water, said in an statement emailed to Patch. "Without seeing the underlying data and related calculations, we are not able to comment on specific aspects of the report."

EWG spokesperson Monica Amarelo said that it is "unclear what inconsistencies they are referring to" and noted that PA American Water's recently published reports contain similar numbers to the federal and state numbers used in the EWG study.

"Pennsylvania American Water takes water quality and safety very seriously," Maenza added. "The U.S. EPA sets water quality standards intended to protect public health, and Pennsylvania American Water treats and delivers water that meets or surpasses all EPA drinking water standards."

The North Penn Water Authority, covering the Lansdale area, says that they "fully stand behind" their water, that they trust the federal regulations, and that EWG's characterization of these numbers is "misleading."

"Our water is safe to drink," Anthony J. Bellitto Jr., executive director of North Penn Water Authority, told Patch. "It is not getting anybody sick and is not causing cancer. We use the best available water treatment technology and our system operators, treatment plant operators and team of water quality professionals are highly trained and experienced individuals who work every day to make sure that NPWA water meets or exceeds all Federal EPA and State PA DEP drinking water standards."

Bellito said that the health guidelines used by EWG comes from the state of California's maximum contamination level goal, which is not a standard that any water supplier in the nation is required to meet.

Across Pennsylvania, ten of the contaminants were detected above health limits, and five contaminants were measured above legal limits. Several of the contaminants were linked to cancer, developmental issues in children, problems in pregnancy and other serious conditions.

"There are chemicals that have been linked to cancer, for example, that are found above health-based limits, or health guidelines, in the water of more than 250 million Americans," said Nneka Leiba, director of Healthy Living Science at the Environmental Working Group, or EWG, an independent nonprofit organization that released a detailed account of the contaminants.

Of further concern, EWG added, are emergent chemicals, often from industrial processes, that are not added to the EPA's list of regulated contaminants. In fact, it's been 20 years since new contaminants have been added to the EPA's list. That means that water authorities are not legally obligated to even test for these chemicals.

The inspection of Norristown's water also revealed nine other contaminants, although the level of those substances were within the range of standards considered safe by health professionals and federal regulators.

To minimize health risk, EWG has identified a series of water filters to use in your home. They do not recommend bottled water.

Contaminants in your water: EWG has released a public database cataloguing contaminants in water systems in every state in the country — the first comprehensive database of its kind that took two years to build. First select the state where you live, and you'll see state-level data. For more local information, enter your zip code. After you enter your zip code, you'll be directed to a page showing the water utilities in your county. Select your town to see which contaminants put your families at risk. No single group has collected all this information for all 50 states in an easily searchable database — until now. And it's incredibly easy to use it to see what contaminants are coming through your faucet.

Patch file photo