Excess copper can accumulate in the liver and impair its capacity for detoxification, which can result in chemical sensitivities. Copper is carried in the blood by a specific protein called ceruloplasmin. Some patients have low levels of ceruloplasmin and thus have a large percentage of unbound copper in their blood.

What to Know About Copper Toxicity

Copper toxicity can be caused by genetic conditions or exposure to high levels of copper in food or water.

Copper is a heavy metal that’s perfectly safe to consume at low levels. You have about 50 to 80 milligrams (mg) of copper in your body that’s mostly found in your muscles and liver, where excess copper is filtered out into waste products like pee and poop.

The normal range for copper levels in the blood is 70 to 140 micrograms per deciliter (mcg/dL).

Your body needs copper for a number of processes and functions. Copper helps develop tissues that make up your bones, joints, and ligaments. You can get plenty of copper from your diet.

Copper toxicity means you have more than 140 mcg/dL of copper in your blood.

Reverse osmosis will remove 97 – 98% of the copper in the water supply. Activated carbon filtration will also remove copper by adsorption.