Showers could be presenting manganese risks
July 6, 2005
According to U.S. researchers, regularly showering in manganese-contaminated water could pose a health risk, potentially resulting in brain damage. Dr. John Spangler of Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, says breathing even small amounts of manganese dissolved in the water may harm the nervous system, even when the manganese is present in levels normally considered safe.
Manganese levels in public water supplies are monitored, but Spangler says government regulators have not considered the long-term effects of inhaling vaporized manganese while showering. Based on Spangler's study, nearly nine million people in the U.S. are exposed to manganese levels that may cause toxic effects. The inhalation of manganese, versus eating or drinking it, presents a greater risk of delivering manganese to the brain, Spangler says.
Although everyone is exposed to small levels of manganese, at higher levels it is toxic to the central nervous system, sometimes resulting in learning and coordination disabilities, behavioral changes and a condition that is similar to Parkinson's disease. Even with fairly low doses of manganese in the water supply, Spangler says the highest at-risk population for manganese toxicity has developed manganese poisoning. Children, pregnant women, the elderly and patients with liver disease are at the highest risk for manganese toxicity.
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