2007-12-102011-05-192007-12-102011-05-191977-03http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/6290The long-observed relationships of an influence of drinking water mineral content on heart-circulatory deaths are developed to indicate that sodium -- when present in sufficiently high concentrations -- may be detrimental to human health. An hypothesis is presented that suggests that drinking water sodium contributes more to the health effects picture than is ordinarily attributed to this normally minor avenue of ingestion by virtue of its influence on taste behavior. Mechanisms of action for metals as they relate to cancer and for sulfates as they relate to urinary calculi were also observed in the literature.en-USTechnical Report