In February, our friend Dr. Oz dedicated an entire show to the safety of the nation's drinking water. On the air, he revealed the results of the 'Dr. Oz National Tap Water Test' - a hands-on water testing experiment undertaken to answer this important question:
Dr. Oz's staff consulted with EWG to identify which chemicals to test for and where to collect samples. Ultimately, they recruited volunteers in 19 cities to collect tap water from their kitchen faucets in a process similar to the one EWG used in its recent testing for chromium-6. The cities Dr. Oz sampled included Norman, Okla., Omaha, Neb. and Riverside, Calif. The water samples were sent to a lab in California to be tested for chromium-6, perchlorate and heavy metals such as lead and arsenic.
EWG has been educating the public about these tap water contaminants - and a host of others - for years. In our own report, we tested tap water from 35 U.S. cities for chromium 6, a substance that government scientists have said shows clear evidence of being carcinogenic, and found it in almost 90 percent of our samples. The highest concentration was in the sample from Norman, Okla. Not surprisingly, Dr. Oz's tests also detected chromium-6 in its Norman sample - in amounts even higher than EWG found.
Dr. Oz and EWG have the same message for U.S. water drinkers:
If you're wondering what's in your water and how best to filter it, check out EWG's water filter buying guide. And if you have a few minutes, see what Dr. Oz and his guests have to say about toxic contaminants in our drinking water (click the image below):
Catch the rest of the show in Part 2 and Part 3.
Get EWG's complete drinking water tips.
[Thanks to Flickr CC & Darwin Bell for the bubbler pic]
