Water Quality & Your Health
In the News

Links to most current reports on water quality, filtration & health concerns.

 

-New WVU-Va Tech study links water quality and cancer deaths in West Virginia coalfields (Charleston Gazette, 4/21/10)
West Virginians who live near streams polluted by coal mining are more likely to die of cancer, according to a first-of-its kind study published by researchers at West Virginia University and Virginia Tech. The study provides the first peer-reviewed look at the relationship between the biological health of Appalachian streams and public health of coalfield residents. -Entire Article Here

-As U.S. Congress and EPA Consider New Mercury Removal Standards, Nalco Announces New Service (CNN Money, 3/29/10)
Many states are already taking steps to limit mercury discharges, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Congress are considering new federal regulations as well. Nalco (NYSE:NLC), providing essential expertise for water, energy and air, has expanded its capability to help industry, especially power generators, meet current and pending regulations by reducing mercury emissions. -Entire Article Here

-Fontana Water Co. wants expanded perchlorate study (Contra Costa Times, 3/29/10)
Contaminated water in this city is a problem the federal government continues to ignore, water officials say. "We have an emerging public safety crisis on our hands," said Michael L. Whitehead, president of Fontana Water Co., a division of San Gabriel Valley Water Co. Whitehead contends the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is not doing enough to solve perchlorate contamination in the water supply here. Perchlorate is a rocket fuel additive that some scientists say can affect the thyroid gland if consumed in large doses. -Entire Article Here

-EPA Chief: To Tighten Standards For Four Water Contaminants (Wall Street Journal, 3/22/10)
The Environmental Protection Agency is planning to tighten standards for four water contaminants that can cause cancer as part of a new strategy to toughen drinking water regulation, the head of the agency said Monday. The agency said it will start rulemakings to revise standards for two contaminants used in industrial or textile processing, tetracholorethylene and trichloroethylene, within the year. The EPA will follow that rulemaking by setting stricter standards for epichlorohydrin and acrylamide, which can contaminate drinking water through the water-treatment process. -Entire Article Here

-State Warns Wells May Be Contaminated (Boston Area News, 4/2/10)
The DEP's website says wells should be tested after heavy rainstorms if there's been a water quality change. Things well owners should test for include radon, arsenic, uranium, and other minerals. -Entire Article Here

-UN: Polluted water killing, sickening millions (Washington Post, 3/22/10)
More people die from polluted water every year than from all forms of violence, including war, the U.N. said in a report Monday that highlights the need for clean drinking water. The report, launched Monday to coincide with World Water Day, said an estimated 2 billion tons of waste water - including fertilizer run-off, sewage and industrial waste - is being discharged daily. That waste fuels the spread of disease and damages ecosystems. -Entire Article Here

-Citizens deserve protection from dangers of coal ash (NJ.com, 3/15/10)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is preparing a new rule to ensure the safe disposal of coal ash - the byproduct of burning coal for power. As expected, the coal industry is fighting to maintain the status quo on coal ash, backing a proposal that ensures coal ash is treated less responsibly than household trash. The nearly 130 million tons of coal ash generated each year is full of harmful toxins like arsenic, lead and mercury. People living near the coal ash sites have a staggering 1 in 50 risk of cancer. -Entire Article Here

-Health officials address tainted drinking water concerns (Chicago Tribune, 3/14/10)
Crestwood residents who unknowingly drank contaminated water for years unleashed a wave of criticism Saturday toward public health officials who were there to explain a new study that showed cancer rates are "significantly elevated" in the south suburb. -Entire Article Here

-ExxonMobil ordered to resume well tests, free water deliveries in Baltimore County (Baltimore Sun, 3/13/10)
ExxonMobil must resume testing 130 residential wells in the Jacksonville area that were affected by a huge underground gasoline leak in 2006, according to a directive from the Maryland Department of the Environment. The groundwater was contaminated by gas station leak in 2006. -Entire Article Here

-A Better Vintage of Tap Water (Wall Street Journal, 3/10/10)
The war for your tap—and shower, ice maker and water bottle—is on. Manufacturers are pitching a bevy of new products that filter water in the home promising to deliver everything from safer sipping and bathing, to more youthful skin. -Entire Article Here

-Fluoride: Friend Or Foe? Opponent Says Chemical Is Harmful To Our Health (CBS Atlanta, 3/8/10)
It's in the tap water we drink and many of the foods we eat. For decades, we've been told that it helps fight cavities, but there are critics who say this chemical is doing more harm than good. "I've worked with a lot of dangerous things in my career. I don't get real worked up over chemicals or I could have never done my job -- this one scares me," said Daniel Stockin, a health advocate whose background includes toxics assessment. What could it be? Arsenic? Lead? No, it's fluoride. -Entire Article Here

-Andrews residents grateful for arsenic-cleansing water filters (My West Texas, 3/4/10)
When Permian Basin Regional Medical Center spokeswoman Tasa Watts was notified she would get a reverse osmosis water unit installed in her home, she was extra surprised. While she had been chosen at random for one of the systems, which are part of an Andrews pilot project to see how the units work to reduce arsenic and fluoride in its water, she had not signed up for the drawing. -Entire Article Here

-Mass. to consider a limited BPA ban, baby products with chemical could be affected (Boston.com, 3/3/10)
Governor Deval Patrick has asked state health officials to look into placing a limited ban on bisphenol A, a chemical found in food and drink containers that the state last summer warned parents of young children to avoid. “We are taking this action as a precaution to protect vulnerable children in the light of evidence about potential dangers of BPA,’’ Patrick said in a statement yesterday. -Entire Article Here

-Tap water contaminant 'castrates' frogs (USA Today, 3/1/10)
An herbicide that contaminates the tap water consumed by millions of Americans has been found to produce gender-bending effects in male frogs, "chemically castrating" some and turning others into females, a study shows. Frogs in the experiment were exposed to amounts of the weedkiller atrazine that are comparable to the levels allowed in drinking water by the Environmental Protection Agency, says lead researcher Tyrone Hayes of the University of California-Berkeley. -Entire Article Here