Mercer County NJ - Baseline Water Test

This is a special water test designed for private wells in Mercer County, NJ. It includes the most common contaminants that affect wells in the area: arsenic, manganese, iron, gross alpha, and boron.  Protect your Family. Find Out What's in Your Water. Our water testing is as easy as 1, 2, 3... We send you the water sample bottles. You fill the bottles and ship them back with our pre-paid shipping. In two weeks we email you personalized easy to understand results directly from Dr. Spayd with an explanation of any problems detected. Water testing cannot be easier. If you already have a water filter, test the treated water to be sure the filter is working. This test includes a long list of elements that commonly affect wells. Most of these problem elements are a result of the geology that the well has been drilled into. It also tests for lead, copper, and zinc, which can affect the water from plumbing. This testing package is also ideal for annual testing of contaminants that you may be treating your water for. Arsenic water treatment is common in Mercer County, especially in Hopewell Township. Gross alpha water treatment is common in Hopewell, East Windsor, West Windsor and Robbinsville Townships where some areas have 50% of the wells failing for gross alpha.  This test includes: Elements Aluminum, Antimony, Arsenic, Barium, Beryllium, Boron, Cadmium, Calcium, Chloride, Chromium (Total), Copper, Fluoride, Iron, Lead, Lithium, Magnesium, Manganese, Mercury, Molybdenum, Phosphate (ortho), Selenium, Silver, Sodium, Strontium, Thallium, Titanium, Uranium, Vanadium, and Zinc. Radioactivity Gross Alpha and Radon in Water Bacteria Total Coliform. E. Coli Other Parameters Alkalinity, Conductivity, Hardness, Nitrate, Nitrite, pH, Phosphate (ortho), Sulfate, Total Dissolved Solids, Turbidity This water test package, will be shipped to you by mail or UPS. It will include all required materials to properly collect and submit your water sample for certified laboratory testing. Examples - Why test your water for these common contaminants? Arsenic is naturally occurring in most of the bedrock formations in Mercer and neighboring counties and is commonly found in well water, especially in Hopewell Township. It is known that people who drink water containing elevated levels of arsenic have an increased risk of a wide variety of adverse health effects including bladder, lung, liver, kidney, skin, and prostate cancers. Chronic exposure to high levels of arsenic is also associated with a range of serious health problems including skin lesions, cardiovascular disease, neuropathy, and diabetes. Studies have also shown that arsenic as low as 5 micrograms per liter (mcg/L) in drinking water has an association with negative effects on children’s intelligence. Learn more about arsenic in a presentation: Arsenic in Well Water. Boron, like arsenic, also occurs naturally and they can co-occur in Mercer County wells. In 2008, the U.S. EPA set the boron Longer-Term Health Advisory for children at 2 mg/L or 2,000 μg/L. The primary health concerns from exposure to boron are testicular toxicity and infertility in males, and developmental effects for unborn babies, infants, and children (EPA). In water, arsenic and boron are colorless, odorless, and tasteless, and testing is the only way to identify their presence.  Lithium A new USGS study reports that about 37% of U.S. domestic supply wells have concentrations of lithium that could present a potential human-health risk. Although useful for treating mental health disorders, pharmaceutical use of lithium at all therapeutic dosages can cause adverse health effects—primarily impaired thyroid and kidney function. Presently lithium is not regulated in drinking water in the U.S. The USGS, in collaboration with the EPA, calculated a nonregulatory Health-Based Screening Level (HBSL) for drinking water of 10 micrograms per liter (µg/L) or parts per billion to provide context for evaluating lithium concentrations in groundwater. A second “drinking-water-only” lithium benchmark of 60 µg/L can be used when it is assumed that the only source of lithium exposure is from drinking water (other sources of lithium include eggs, dairy products, and beverages such as soft drinks and beer). This higher benchmark was exceeded in 9% of samples from public-supply wells and in 6% of samples from domestic-supply wells (USGS). Manganese can be a neurotoxin in cases of chronic overexposure and can cause neurological disorders of which the most striking is Parkinson's syndrome. Studies in children have suggested that extremely high levels of manganese exposure may produce undesirable effects on brain development, including changes in behavior and decreases in the ability to learn and remember. In some cases, these same manganese exposure levels have been suspected of causing severe symptoms of manganism disease (including difficulty with speech and walking). We do not know for certain that these changes were caused by manganese alone. We do not know if these changes are temporary or permanent. We do not know whether children are more sensitive than adults to the effects of manganese, but there is some indication from experiments in laboratory animals that they may be. (EPA) Iron is mostly an aesthetic problem for staining fixtures orange. Lead can enter drinking water when plumbing materials that contain lead corrode, especially where the water has high acidity or low mineral content that corrodes pipes and fixtures. The most common sources of lead in drinking water are lead pipes, faucets, and fixtures. Lead is a toxic metal that can be harmful to human health even at low exposure levels. Lead is persistent, and it can bioaccumulate in the body over time. Young children, infants, and fetuses are particularly vulnerable to lead because the physical and behavioral effects of lead occur at lower exposure levels in children than in adults. A dose of lead that would have little effect on an adult can have a significant effect on a child. In children, low levels of exposure have been linked to damage to the central and peripheral nervous system, learning disabilities, shorter stature, impaired hearing, and impaired formation and function of blood cells. Even low levels of lead in the blood of children can result in behavior and learning problems, lower IQ and hyperactivity, slowed growth, hearing problems, and anemia (EPA). Uranium: Exposure to radionuclides from drinking water results in the increased risk of cancer. The radioactive particles (alpha, beta and gamma particles) emitted by radionuclides are called "ionizing radiation" because they ionize ("destabilize") nearby atoms as they travel through a cell or other material. In living tissue, this ionization process can damage chromosomes or other parts of the cell. This cellular damage can lead to the death of the cell or to unnatural reproduction of the cell. When a cell reproduces uncontrollably, it becomes a cancer. Certain elements accumulate in specific organs: radium (like calcium) accumulates in the bones. For uranium, we must consider not only the carcinogenic health effects from its radioactive decay and the decay of its daughter products ("radiotoxicity"), but also damage to the kidneys from exposure to the uranium itself ("chemical toxicity"). Exposure to elevated uranium levels in drinking water has been shown to lead to changes in kidney function that are indicators of potential future kidney failure (EPA). Gross alpha is a measure of radioactivity from elements such as radium and uranium. These elements are naturally occurring in many New Jersey geologic formations and aquifers. Gross alpha is the most common contaminant to exceed its MCL in New Jersey private wells. People who drink water containing radioactive elements above an MCL have an increased risk of adverse health effects as all radioactive elements are considered carcinogenic (NJDEP) (Private Well Conference). Radon in Water: While radon in home air is a commonly known problem, radon is also very soluble in water, and well water is highly vulnerable. Radon is a known carcinogen with a particular impact on the stomach from ingestion and the lungs from inhalation. Radon escapes from your water into the house air, especially from showering, dishwashers, and washing machines.