Those in West Virginia Aren't the Only Ones who Must Worry About their Water

The area in West Virginia that saw the latest chemical spill (there have been 3 in the past year, according to the news) is known as, "Chemical Valley."  The consensus is that because all the large and well-known chemical companies have their operations located in WV, the politicians have been slow and loath to regulate these businesses.  One must also ask why, in twenty years, the EPA has not inspected the latest site of the offending chemical company's spill, once.  Perhaps, both local politics and EPA fund-cutting politicians in Congress are to blame, as well as the chemical companies.

At any rate, we have little to cheer about concerning the unregulated substances found in our water supplies, according to new, unpublished research by government scientists.  Traces of 18 unregulated chemicals were found in the water of one-third of the utilities sampled across the U.S.  Included are 11 perfluorinated compounds, an herbicide, two solvents, caffeine, an antibacterial compound, a metal and an antidepressant.

This does not even include the hundreds (251) of "regulated" chemicals that are found in everyone's drinking water on a daily basis.  Chemicals aren't the only substances found in our water; radiation (strontium), heavy metals, bacteria, viruses and microbes (all not "naturally occurring") also are in all ground water.  The most pervasive contaminants are from agricultural run-offs...pesticides, herbicides and synthetic fertilizers.  So much so that the agricultural run-off has created a "dead zone" in a very large area of the Gulf of Mexico.

Scientists have concluded that there is a "probable link" between perfluorinated compounds (PFOA) and such problems as: high cholesterol, ulcerative colitis, thyroid disease, testicular cancer, kidney cancer and pregnancy-induced hypertension.  These findings were based on symptoms exhibited by people in Mid Ohio Valley communities whose water is polluted with PFOA by DuPont.

Other studies done in Europe show a correlation between these perfluorinated compounds and attention disorders in children and thyroid disease in men.  These chemicals were banned in 2002....but not in this country.

We could eliminate many of these hazardous substances from our water supply by using activated carbon, ozone and UV treatments, but these are more costly than simply adding chlorine (which is also a toxic chemical), but people appear to resent paying more for their water.  I know that's what is reported to have happened, here, in Westerly.  What a shame.  I have to wonder if any community has the will to clean up its water supply, safely. 

The information in this blog can be read in its entirety in, "Environmental Health News."

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