Keep Your Employees Safe From the Effects of Heavy Metal Exposure

How aware are you of the threat that heavy metal contamination in your drinking water poses to your business’s employees? Heavy metal pollution effects are not immediate but include cancer, brain and organ damage. One of the big problems is that heavy metals cannot be seen, smelled or tasted. But they can be detected with quality water testing.

Dangerous heavy metals are elements that have a high density, specific gravity, or atomic weight and are poisonous to humans and animals. These elements are part of the natural composition of the earth’s crust. But through various human activities like mining, manufacturing, refining and the use of these elements in numerous products through the years have led to them entering our drinking water supply.

In trace amounts, a few of these heavy metals are essential to human health. However, excessive amounts of cobalt, copper, zinc, and manganese can cause health problems.

When drinking water becomes contaminated with heavy metals such as lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, nickel, chromium and zinc they become major public health concerns. Exposure can be through the skin, inhalation or by consumption all of which are dangerous. The main health risk factor is how much of the metal gets into the body and accumulates in the brain and other organs. Some of these heavy metals can harm human organs even at low exposure levels.

Heavy metal poisoning is simply the reaction of the human body to excessive levels of heavy metals. These poisonous metals are not naturally removed from the body so they build up in vital organs including the brain and over time cause serious human health issues.

One common instance is when drinking water is contaminated by lead primarily through old decaying lead pipes or lead soldering in the pipes. However there are a wide range of heavy metals that enter our water supply through applications of herbicides, rodenticides, paints, improperly disposed batteries and pesticides. The chemicals are carried by water runoff into our surface and groundwater sources where they get into drinking water that we drink and cook our food with. Consuming too much of any of these heavy metals can lead to a variety of problems resulting from heavy metal poisoning.

It is a big problem – our bodies cannot naturally remove these metals once they have been ingested, instead they continue amassing in our bodily organs. As levels in the body increase, the effects of heavy metals in the body may not show up quickly or symptomatically. But over time, they can cause serious and long-lasting effects to the function of the brain, liver, kidneys, lungs and other vital organs. Impairment of mental and central nervous functions are some of the early signs of heavy metal poisoning. Heavy metals are also known to cause cancer.

Because children are smaller, they are more susceptible to the harmful effects of heavy metals. As their brains and organs develop, heavy metal accumulation in children’s bodies causes nervous system problems and can lead to learning difficulties, memory impairment  and behavioral issues like aggression and hyperactivity.

Symptoms of how heavy metals affect the body vary depending on the metal and on overall exposure. Early symptoms include:

• Abdominal pain
• Low body temperature/ chills
• Diarrhea
• Body weakness
• Vomiting and nausea
• Numbness in your hands and feet

As the effects of heavy metals on human health become more severe they can be life threatening and include:

• Arrhythmia or abnormal heartbeat
• Anemia
• Brain damage and memory loss
• Kidney damage
• Liver damage
• Miscarriages during pregnancy
• Cancer

There are excellent water purification systems available to ensure that your drinking water is free of these dangerous heavy metals. However, purification systems are very costly to purchase and install and are not inexpensive to maintain properly. Which means your business probably does not want to pay for one or more of these if they are not necessary.

This is where excellent water testing is an essential first step for your business when protecting employees and clients from heavy metal pollution effects. Torrent Laboratory offers businesses the most reliable testing results from our state of the art laboratory. Our experienced chemists and cutting edge equipment and technology will provide you with fast and exceptionally accurate test results.

If any heavy metal pollutants are detected in your drinking water that exceed or come close to the established dangerous levels, then your business will know that the investment in a water purification system is necessary in order to protect your people from the negative effects of heavy metals on human health. Torrent is your business’s testing partner for protection against heavy metals in your drinking water.