Invisible threats in our glass

Chloride Compounds

CHLOROPHORUM, bromodichloromethane and chloropicrin are some of the dangerous pollutants contained in the water consumed by more than 4 million Athenians.

Asbestos tubes

THE UNLIMITED NETWORK of EYDAP facilitates the release of asbestos in drinking water, through the perforation of the pipes for new supplies but also the corrosive capacity of the water.

We drink chlorine and asbestos

Toxic substances that pass into the water through the chlorination process combined with the corrosion of the asbestos pipes of EVDAP...serve us a carcinogenic cocktail.

An invisible threat... is the chloride compounds and asbestos that penetrate drinking water through the floraυ and corrosion of asbestos-cement pipes. Chlorinated hydrocarbons that contaminate water during the chlorination process are implicated by the international scientific community in causing incurable diseases.

They affect the kidneys, liver, large intestine and can cause carcinogenesis, mutations and damage to the embryo's body. Chlorination may be the most widespread method for the microbial disinfection of drinking water in EU countries, but it involves the use of special filters that 'trap' chlorine by-products, which is not the case in the Greek capital.

The water is not filtered. In Athens, the necessary filters are not used, as it was found by the ten-year research conducted in the EYDAP network by the Department of Environment of the University of the Aegean, led by Professor Themistocles Lekkas, who pointed out in "Ethnos of Kyriakiaki" that: "in the absence of filters in the EYDAP network we detected chlorine by-products, the concentrations of which are below the maximum permissible limits".

But, as Prof: "in toxic substances the maximum safety limits are indicative, since the quantities detected in the human body are harmful only if they are present". At the same time, 65% of the total length of the EYDAP pipelines consists of Tubes most of them are 80 years old (1927), while in the network of the Thessaloniki Water Supply and Sewerage Company (EYAΘ) the 50% is approximately asbestos pipes. It is estimated that there are currently about 44 000 km of asbestos-cement pipes installed in the Greek territory for the transport of drinking water, without knowing the corrosive capacity of the water they carry. No laboratory analyses are carried out at national level with regard to the corrosivity of the water and the presence of asbestos fibres in the water. In Athens, EYDAP does not carry out measurements for asbestos in drinking water, because, as the company's Assistant General Manager for Installations, Katerina Konstantopoulou, told the newspaper "Ethnos of Kyriakiaki": "the World Health Organization (WHO) has ruled that asbestos ash is not dangerous for human health". However, the WHO in its official text takes a cautious position on the issue, concluding: "... certainly the hypothesis that deposited asbestos fibres cause cancer cannot be ruled out today".

Measurements in Aliakmonas. In Thessaloniki, one of the rivers - aquifers is the Aliakmonas, in whose waters billions of asbestos fibres per litre of water have been measured. The Aliakmonas flows through the Zidaniu area of the Kozani district, which is the largest asbestos deposit in Greece. Some 906 000 tonnes of asbestos were extracted from Zidani between 1981 and 2000.

In a communication we had with the CEO of EYAΘ, Mr. George Skodra, he said: "EYAΘ in cooperation with Aristotle University and accredited laboratories abroad carry out measurements for asbestos in drinking water and according to the measurements the asbestos value is zero. Furthermore, the water supplied by EYAΘ to the major area of the Thessaloniki municipality is not corrosive, so there is no reason for public health concern. Ethnos of Kyriaki asked EYAΘ for the results of the quality tests of Thessaloniki's water, but the company refused to provide them...

ENVELOPE "INVISIBLE THREATS IN OUR CUP"

WHAT INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC STUDIES ON CHLORINE SHOW

Responsible for carcinogenesis and miscarriages

Studies by the Medical College of Wisconsin and Harvard University School of Medicine have shown that chlorine used to purify drinking water is responsible for a large number of cases of stomach, colon and gallbladder cancer. At the same time, of 47 000 bladder cancers per year, 14 200 are caused by water chlorination, while of 44 000 colorectal cancers, 16 500 are caused by the use of chlorinated water.

The New York Times even published a study by the American Public Health Inspectorate showing an increased risk of bladder and colon cancer in areas where water is chlorinated compared to those where it is treated otherwise.

At the same time, a series of recent studies conducted by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) showed that 137,000 pregnant women in the United States are at risk of miscarrying or giving birth to children with birth defects and central nervous system problems from over-chlorinated drinking water. In its investigations, the EPA also pointed out that chlorine and its derivatives are also absorbed through the skin during bathing or showering, but also through inhalation

Insidious chemicals in the water Athens drinks

Chlorination by-products create chemical compounds that are associated with cancer, kidney disease and other diseases

MEASUREMENTS of Professor Th. Lekka demonstrate the existence of chemical compounds that are toxic. The installation of filters is the first step to improve the water of Athenians.

Carcinogenic, hepatotoxic, nephrotoxic and mutagenic are described by the international scientific community as "organic by-products of water chlorination". Chlorine, which saved us from past diseases such as cholera, typhoid and gastroenteritis, is now seriously suspected of being linked to serious diseases such as cancer, kidney disease and many other degenerative diseases.

When chlorine enters water, it combines with other existing chemical compounds and through interactions creates dangerous compounds, such as chloroform, which are largely responsible for the long-term development of serious diseases.

According to research carried out for more than a decade - co-funded by EYDAP - by the Department of Environment of the University of the Aegean under Professor Themistocles Lekkas, at least 12 of the approximately 30 chemicals detected in the water that Athenians drink, although below the globally established limits. However, no one can know what causes the continuous intake of such substances by the human body, as so far no epidemiological research has been carried out in our country. A necessary evil. "Of the 24 by-products of water chlorination that we have measured in total, we have identified at least 12 chemicals," Themistoklis Lekkas tells Ethnos of Kyriaki. These are chemical compounds known to experts, such as trihalogenated methane derivatives (THMs), halogenated acetic acids (HAAs) and others that have been linked to serious human diseases. "Chlorination of water is necessary to protect water consumers from microorganisms. However, it creates unwanted chlorinated hydrocarbons, which are dangerous to human health," explains the professor. "To improve the quality of drinking water, the University of the Aegean has proposed to EYDAP the installation of activated carbon filters to drastically reduce the concentrations of these substances, which will exceed 60%," the professor stresses.

In developed countries, disinfection is a mandatory method of water treatment to avoid possible contamination of water by microorganisms (e.g. bacteria). In Greece it has been used since 1936. Only that already in many of the drinking water supply networks special filters have been installed to clean the by-products of chlorination. "The contamination of water with a high microbial load and the attempt to disinfect it through over-chlorination creates a serious pathogenic factor for the body, with steadily increasing statistical morbidity rates in the general population for specific diseases", stresses the Public Health Doctor, Yannis Tsantiris, President of the Panhellenic Association of Public Health Doctors. A bell for health. "As it has been shown after repeated chemical tests, the existence of a high content of chlorine by-products creates a large and powerful pathogenic agent, responsible for the creation of serious diseases such as chronic kidney failure, carcinogenesis, heart disease, circulatory disorders, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, immune system damage, fertility problems, premature ageing, severe degenerative diseases and many other diseases such as kidney cancer, which has been increasing at an alarming rate of 85% per year over the last 10 years.