博學課堂：國家水質危機引發美國人民思考，如何擁有一個安全用水居家環境？

8月在美國被定為「水質月」，但新一輪報道顯示，美國人所消耗的自來水並不如他們想的那麼健康。

August is designated Water Quality Month in the United States, yet a wave of new reports reveal Americans cannot take for granted that their tap water is healthy for consumption.

世界尖端水處理品牌Bluewater說道：「不斷惡化的水利基礎設施讓飲用水含鉛量、PFC和農藥污染日趨嚴重，快速的發展讓美國人不得不依靠自身去保護自己。」

The nation』s drinking water passes through a deteriorating water infrastructure and contains increasing lead, PFC and pesticide contamination. These developments are putting the personal responsibility on Americans to protect themselves, says Bluewater, a leading water purification brand.

「從小農村到大城市，美國人越來越害怕水污染帶來的健康危害，這些污染已經影響了密歇根州和紐約市的多個社區，在這些社區的飲用水中發現了高濃度的PFOA。」Bluewater駐美國代表郭女士如是說。

「From small rural communities to large cities, people across the United Statesare increasingly fearful about their health in the wake of drinking water contamination that has hit communities like Flint, Mich., and Hoosick Falls, N.Y., where high levels of PFOA were found in drinking water,」 said Lin Guo, U.S. head of Overland Park-based Bluewater.

郭女士指出，2017年4月的全國民意調查發現，近三分之二的美國人對飲用水的污染表示極度地擔心。郭女士表示，通過先進的水處理工藝凈化水中污染物需要花費數年時間。

Noting how a nationwide Gallup poll in April 2017 found that nearly two-thirds of Americans worry 「a great deal」 about pollution of drinking water, Ms. Guo said advanced water treatment processes able to tackle the newly emerging contaminants may take years.

「在解決方案到位之前，關心自來水安全問題的人們最大的希望是安裝一個定點的反滲透系統，它可以去除自來水中大量的藥物分子、鉛和其他有毒的污染物。」郭女士說。

「Until a solution is in place, the best hope for anyone concerned about their tap water is to install a point-of-use RO system, which can remove large pharmaceutical molecules, lead and other toxic contaminants from drinking water before it comes out of the faucet,」 Ms. Guo said.

在夏季之前，自然資源保護委員會（NRDC）發布了一份報告，稱大約佔美國總人口的四分之一、遍布五十個州的美國人使用了違反2015年安全飲用水法案的水系統，從鉛超標到砷和硝酸鹽污染，並且經常誤測誤報污染等級，美國正面臨的是遠遠超過鉛污染的全國飲用水危機。

Before the summer,the Natural Resources Defence Council (NRDC) issued a report saying 77 million people—roughly a quarter of the U.S.population—spread across all 50 states 『were served by water systems reporting violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act in 2015』. The offenses ranged from arsenic to nitrate contamination, and included often-serious failures to test or report contamination levels, according to the NRDC, which said America is facing a nationwide drinking water crisis that goes well beyond lead contamination.

聯邦USGS科學機構已經警告說，越來越多文獻證明「許多在歷史上被認為是污染物的化學成分和微生物存在於全球環境範圍中」。這些污染物包括在海灘、植物表面和土壤中存活的耐抗生素細菌，以及其他污染如殺蟲劑和藥物。

The Federal USGS science agency has warned that research is 『documenting with increasing frequency that many chemical and microbial constituentsnot historically considered as contaminants are present in the environment on a global scale』. Those contaminants encompass antibiotic-resistant bacteria that survive on beaches, on plant surfaces, and in the soil, as well as other pollution such as insecticides and pharmaceuticals.

科學家已經證實在人類飲用水中發現殺蟲劑新煙鹼。美國地質調查局、聯邦機構和愛荷華大學的化學家和工程師在「環境科學與技術信函」上發表的一份研究報告里提到，在經過艾奧瓦城處理設備處理過的飲用水中發現了三種新煙鹼。

Scientists also report finding bug-killing neonicotinoids in the human drinking water chain. A study, published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters by chemists and engineers from the U.S. Geological Survey, a federal agency, and the University of Iowa, identified the presence of three neonicotinoids in drinking water delivered from an Iowa City treatment facility despite treatment.

新型煙鹼是一種殺蟲劑，自20世紀90年代以來在美國廣泛應用於殺死對農作物毀滅性威脅的昆蟲，但後來因造成蜜蜂種群數量的下降而被質疑。雖然改良過的新煙鹼對鳥類和哺乳動物帶來較少的毒性，但它們會帶來環境污染，而這一點也得到越來越多專家學者的認同。

Neonicotinoids, a class of insecticides used widely in the United States since the1990s by farmers to fight crop damaging insects, have been blamed for an alarming decline in honeybee populations. Although engineered to cause less toxicity in birds and mammals than targeted insects,neonicotinoids have seen growing scientific consensus that they spark environmental damage.

那麼美國人可以做些什麼來保護自己呢？

So, what canAmericans do to protect themselves?

疾病控制和預防中心（CDC）表示，反滲透系統可以降低飲用水中常見化學物質的含量，如鉛、揮發性有機化合物和細菌。美國水務協會（AWWA）也表示反滲透技術在消除對消費者健康產生威脅的工業用料全氟化合物（PFCs）如不粘塗料和消防泡沫上的效果是顯著的。

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says reverse osmosis systems can reduce the levels of common chemicals such as lead, volatile organic compounds and germs in drinking water. And the American Water Works Association (AWWA) also says reverse osmosis is 『excellent』 for removing the health-threatening perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) used for industrial and consumer applications such as non-stick coatings and fire fighting foams.

BluewaterPro純水機每分鐘可提供高達5.7升的純水，有效去除自來水中的有毒金屬如鉛以及化學物質、微生物和藥物衍生物。並且比傳統反滲透凈水器節水達80%。Bluewater純水機被廣泛應用於家庭和企業中例如美國的餐廳、醫療環境，以確保自來水沒有威脅健康的污染物。

A Bluewater Prowater purifier can generate up to 5.7 liters of purified tap drinking water each minute, efficiently removing toxicmetals such as lead as well as chemicals, microorganisms and pharmaceutical by-products from drinking and bathing water. Using up to 82% less water than a traditional reverse osmosis water purifierand highly energy efficient, Bluewater water purifiers are used by homeowners and in local businesses such as restaurants, medical surgeries and water dispensing operations across America to help ensure tap water is free of health harming contaminants.

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