Tag Archives: lead poisoning

Infrastructure, Sustainability

Aging Infrastructure Is National Public Health Issue

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pipes-573482_640At RainBank, we’ve been talking about how aging infrastructure will affect public water systems. Now, we have to change that conversation to how aging infrastructure IS affecting public water systems.

The poisoning of the population in Flint, MI is an issue that Erin Brockovich has been alerting us about since the public water system changed sources in 2014.

According to NPR, in an article titled Beyond Flint, MI, St. Joseph, Louisiana has been experiencing problems with its aging water system for ten years. The article quotes a local resident as saying: “What’s happening here in St. Joseph got the attention it’s gotten because Flint has made water a public issue,” he says. “And what I try to tell people is, this isn’t just happening in St. Joseph or in Flint. It’s happening in Louisiana, it’s happening in Kentucky and Tennessee and Mississippi and in areas of poor and disenfranchised communities across the country.”

Now, Ohio gets added to the mix, as Two Ohio EPA staffers on leave over lead in village’s water. According to CNN, State Rep. John Boccieri and state Sen. Joe Schiavoni said late last month that the Ohio EPA knew lead was leaking into Sebring’s water supply as far back as August, citing reports from Ream & Haager Laboratory, a state-certified vendor that conducted water tests.

This is a national public health issue. Do you know what levels of toxins are in your water?

Environment, Infrastructure

Heavy Metals Spill into Colorado River

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People kayak in the Animas River near Durango, Colo., Thursday, Aug. 6, 2015, in water colored from a mine waste spill. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said that a cleanup team was working with heavy equipment Wednesday to secure an entrance to the Gold King Mine. Workers instead released an estimated 1 million gallons of mine waste into Cement Creek, which flows into the Animas River. (Jerry McBride/The Durango Herald via AP)
People kayak in the Animas River near Durango, Colo., Thursday, Aug. 6, 2015, in water colored from a mine waste spill. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said that a cleanup team was working with heavy equipment Wednesday to secure an entrance to the Gold King Mine. Workers instead released an estimated 1 million gallons of mine waste into Cement Creek, which flows into the Animas River. (Jerry McBride/The Durango Herald via AP)

This week, the Environmental Protection Agency accidentally dumped 1 million gallons of heavy metals from an inactive mine into the Cement Creek in Colorado. A tributary of the Animas River, the sludge, which turned the water an eerie orange color, could be seen snaking toward New Mexico on Wednesday.

The Denver Post reports EPA workers caused the spill while they were investigating acid discharge from Gold King and three other mines in the area. The paper also quotes Dave Ostrander, the EPA’s regional director of emergency preparedness assessment and response, as saying, “We are very sorry for what happened. This is a huge tragedy. It’s hard being on the other side of this. Typically we respond to emergencies; we don’t cause them. … It’s something we sincerely regret.”

According to the NY Times, “E.P.A. officials confirmed the leak contained heavy metals, including lead and arsenic, but said it was too early to know whether there was a health risk to humans or animals. The river was closed for recreational and other uses, but officials said water sources should be safe.”

Now this writer is no expert, but it’s difficult to imagine that wastewater in the river will not affect the river’s eco-system. Further questions arise as to how will this tragedy impact the plants, fish and wildlife that depend on the river to survive?

The EPA is evaluating the human health risk, but it is reported that at least two of the heavy metals in this spill can be “lethal for humans in long-term exposure. Arsenic at high levels can cause blindness, paralysis and cancer. Lead poisoning can create muscle and vision problems for adults, harm development in fetuses and lead to kidney disease, developmental problems and sometimes death in children”.

This is serious stuff. Residents along the river are being asked to “minimize water usage”.  At least seven water utilities shut down their intake valves ahead of the plume to keep it out of their systems and farmers also closed the gates on their irrigation ditches to protect crops.

With news of toxic algae stretching from California to Alaska, fracking chemicals contaminating wells in Pennsylvania and now heavy metals dumped into the Animas in Colorado, just how safe are our water supplies?