About six million Americans are drinking poor-quality drinking water

A team of scientists from the Harvard School of Public Health found that drinking water, which is used by millions of Americans, contain high amounts of chemicals. At risk are people living near big cities, businesses and military bases, reported in the journal Environmental Science & Technology Letters.

The scientists tested 36 thousand. Of water sources for the presence of the six most common chemicals. As a result, it was found that approximately 6 million Americans from 33 states drink water in which harmful substances exceeds the standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency. The highest level of contamination is registered in California, New Jersey and North Carolina.

According to lead author of the study, Xindi Hu, "the actual number of people whose health is threatened, it may be higher than with the fact that we have we." Until now, the US government has no information on the quality of water that they drink about 100 million people, or one in three Americans. According to the Center for Control and Prevention of diseases, some found in the study of substances are the cause of high cholesterol, changes in immune system abnormalities in fetal development, and may cause cancer.