365 Ways #328–Tongues in cheeks

#328--We're lucky to have the EPA looking out for our health. They have set the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for 90--count them--90 different chemicals that are used in the United States. These incredibly stringent standards were based on a 175lb adult. Since so many of us are well over that weight, we have a built in, hefty margin of error. And the studies were done using only one chemical at a time. Thus, combining these toxins probably won't magnify any negative health effects. There are over 74,000 other chemicals that never get scrutinized, so I'm sure at least one of them will cancel out all the possible damage from some of the others. Besides, of the 2100 toxins which have been found in our water supply, most of them are below the maximum level as set by the EPA. Yeah, maybe the National Cancer institute told the Surgeon General ""No level of exposure to a chemical carcinogen should be considered toxicologically insignificant to humans." But, personally, I think we'd evolve better as a species if we had two heads instead of just this measly one.