At Benchmark Environmental Engineering in San Jose, we can help with testing for some of the top heavy metal contaminants that may be concerning you. These substances may be lurking in your soil or water. Having your environment professionally inspected can help you understand your risk or put your mind at ease.
Common Heavy Metal Hazards
Heavy metals in your water or soil are hazards that can’t be seen, smelled, or tasted. While the metals listed below do occur naturally in soils and the water supply, they rarely reach toxic levels. When that does happen, however, it can put your health and wellbeing at risk.
What’s On Tap?
Everyone became more aware of the dangers of contaminated drinking water when the Flint, Michigan water crisis made national headlines in 2014. Don’t let your home or place of business become the next heavy metals cautionary tale.
Make It Safe To Play Outside
Your soil can also become contaminated. Dust containing heavy metals settles invisibly onto residential yards, gardens, and the grounds outside your place of business. Our soil testing can help to uncover hidden dangers.
How Soil & Water Get Contaminated
High levels of heavy metals in soil, like chromium and arsenic, can sometimes be a result of natural erosion. However, human pollution — dust and runoff from mining, manufacturing, and industry — is a more likely culprit.
The fertilizers and pesticides used in large-scale agriculture sink into the soil and are carried away with rainwater. Even mundane pollution, like car exhaust and tobacco smoke, can build up and contaminate the top layers of soil over time.
Plumbing corrosion is the most common cause of drinking water contamination. Many of us know that lead is a problem in older buildings, specifically those built before 1986. Even newer buildings, however, can have copper and manganese contamination as plumbing ages and degrades.
How Dangerous Are Heavy Metals?
Heavy metal toxicity isn’t a simple thing to define. Some heavy metals, like lead and arsenic, are always toxic to humans. Other heavy metals, like manganese and copper, are healthy in small doses, but long-term exposure to high concentrations can cause severe health problems.
Signs Of Heavy Metal Poisoning
Stomach pain, vomiting, and diarrhea are common symptoms of acute (short-term) heavy metal poisoning. Call a doctor if you or someone in your family suddenly develops these symptoms. Once the doctor confirms that you are suffering from heavy metal poisoning, count on our environmental testing service. We can assess both your home’s drinking water and soil.
A professional inspection can help you identify the source of the problem and plan your next steps. We can even retest to be sure no toxic levels remain.
Heavy Metals Testing In California
Grow vegetables in your garden knowing they’ll be safe to eat. Move into that older San Jose home without worries over the water flowing through your pipes. At Benchmark Environmental Engineering, our team can get you the answers you need with professional heavy metals testing. Contact us today to get a quote and make your inspection appointment.