Water Filtration - Manganese in Drinking Water Lowers Children"s IQ
A disturbing study from the University of Quebec in Montreal, Canada recently found that increasingly higher levels of manganese in our water supply could actually be affecting the intellectual development of young children.
The study examined 362 children in Quebec who lived in homes whose wells were supplied by groundwater.
Manganese occurs naturally in soil and may travel into ground water sources that supply wells.
If the well water is left unfiltered, metals such as manganese concentrations remain absorbed in all the water coming into the home.
Researchers collected tap water in these types of homes and analyzed the water for its percentages of manganese and other metals.
Then they put the children through a series of tests to measure their IQ.
Here's what they found: the more manganese in the water supply, the lower the IQ.
Homes with an upper 20% concentration of manganese in their water supply scored 6 IQ points lower than children whose water contained little or no manganese.
Scientists and health agencies like Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have known for a long time that inhaling manganese at elevated levels may cause serious neurological damage.
It was observed that chronically exposed workers, like those involved in the production of steel or dry-cell batteries, developed symptoms such as weakness, respiratory problems, lethargy, tremors and uncoordinated hand/eye movements.
Impotence and loss of libido in males were also noted.
But until now, few health authorities even suspected that drinking water containing manganese was a serious developmental risk to children.
After all, dietary levels of manganese are essential for normal body functioning.
Also, many of the foods we eat contain trace amounts of the metal - and it hasn't seemed to have caused any problems.
The study speculates that maybe manganese in water is handled differently by the body when it's in water than when it's in food.
Manganese becomes a different chemical form when mixed with water and, as a result, might be absorbed more efficiently in the digestive tract-especially when it involves young children.
The greater absorption means more of the metal accumulates in young, growing bodies, stunting cognitive development over a period of time.
Fortunately, this is one problem that has a simple solution.
Manganese can be easily removed or substantially reduced by installing a whole house water filtration system containing a mixture of resins, activated carbon and a micro screen filter level of 0.
1 microns or less for drinking water.
The study examined 362 children in Quebec who lived in homes whose wells were supplied by groundwater.
Manganese occurs naturally in soil and may travel into ground water sources that supply wells.
If the well water is left unfiltered, metals such as manganese concentrations remain absorbed in all the water coming into the home.
Researchers collected tap water in these types of homes and analyzed the water for its percentages of manganese and other metals.
Then they put the children through a series of tests to measure their IQ.
Here's what they found: the more manganese in the water supply, the lower the IQ.
Homes with an upper 20% concentration of manganese in their water supply scored 6 IQ points lower than children whose water contained little or no manganese.
Scientists and health agencies like Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have known for a long time that inhaling manganese at elevated levels may cause serious neurological damage.
It was observed that chronically exposed workers, like those involved in the production of steel or dry-cell batteries, developed symptoms such as weakness, respiratory problems, lethargy, tremors and uncoordinated hand/eye movements.
Impotence and loss of libido in males were also noted.
But until now, few health authorities even suspected that drinking water containing manganese was a serious developmental risk to children.
After all, dietary levels of manganese are essential for normal body functioning.
Also, many of the foods we eat contain trace amounts of the metal - and it hasn't seemed to have caused any problems.
The study speculates that maybe manganese in water is handled differently by the body when it's in water than when it's in food.
Manganese becomes a different chemical form when mixed with water and, as a result, might be absorbed more efficiently in the digestive tract-especially when it involves young children.
The greater absorption means more of the metal accumulates in young, growing bodies, stunting cognitive development over a period of time.
Fortunately, this is one problem that has a simple solution.
Manganese can be easily removed or substantially reduced by installing a whole house water filtration system containing a mixture of resins, activated carbon and a micro screen filter level of 0.
1 microns or less for drinking water.
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