| What are some effects of drinking contaminated water? |
| Acute effects of drinking contaminated water can occur within hours or days of the time that a person consumes the contaminated drinking water. People can suffer acute health effects from almost any contaminant in drinking water if they are exposed to extraordinarily high levels (as in the case of a spill). In drinking water, microbes, such as bacteria and viruses, are the contaminants with the greatest chance of reaching levels high enough to cause acute health effects. Most people's bodies can fight off these microbial contaminants the way they fight off germs, and these acute contaminants typically don't have permanent effects. Nonetheless, when high enough levels occur, they can make people ill, and can be dangerous or deadly for a person whose immune system is already weak due to HIV/AIDS, chemotherapy, steroid use, or another reason. Chronic effects of drinking contaminated water occur after people consume a contaminant at levels over the Environmental Protection Agency's safety standards for many years. The drinking water contaminants that can have chronic effects are chemicals (such as disinfection by-products, solvents, and pesticides), radionuclides (such as radium), and minerals (such as arsenic). Examples of the chronic effects of drinking contaminated water are cancer, liver or kidney problems, or reproductive difficulties. Home Page | FAQs | Glossary | Contact Us |