10/06/2006
Water Testing Finds Arsenic In California Public Drinking Water System
The U.S. EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has ordered the city of Hanford, CA to comply with its limit of allowing no more than 10 PPB (Parts Per Billion) of arsenic in the drinking water it provides to its customers.
Unfortunately, the 42,000 residents in this town are currently drinking tap water with high levels of arsenic.
Water Testing of this public water system found that the arsenic levels ranged from 10 ppb- 50 ppb, depending on which well the water testing was performed on.
That means that water testing found that some of the Hanford drinking water wells contain 5 times the levels of arsenic in the water that even the EPA says are safe.
Sadly, these residents have been drinking this contaminated water for years, and all during that time they had no idea their tap water was contaminated. How is this even possible? Because their water looks, tastes, and smells 100% safe. You see, arsenic is a tasteless, odorless, and colorless toxin.
And even though the EPA has ordered this company to remove the high levels of arsenic that were detected by water testing in the drinking water supplies, the fact of the matter is that:
a) Most residents in Hanford, CA still to this day, do not realize the
terrible problem that exists with their drinking water.
b) The EPA's order does not mean that these dangerous levels of
arsenic are going to be immediately removed from this town's
water supply. To the contrary,
1. The first drinking water well may possibly have the
levels of arsenic in the water it produces lowered by
the
end of 2006
2. Then the remaining 18 water wells will not be in
compliance with the EPA standard for arsenic in
drinking
water until the end of 2009 (more than 3
years further
into the future)
It's deplorable that the residents of Hanford, CA have to deal with this contaminated tap water situation when you consider that the EPA adopted their new drinking water standard for arsenic in January of 2001. It was at that time that the EPA told public water utilities that they had A Full 5 Years to reduce the level of arsenic in their tap water supplies.
This water company, and others have not done so and the residents are left to pay the price.
That's why AquaMD advises U.S. residents to use water testing or other accurate water analysis services to test for contaminants in their tap water at least once a year.
The fact of the matter is that you must take personal responsibility for the safety of your tap water by having it analyzed regularly. As this event proves, no one, no one is looking out for the safety of your tap water, but you.
Although a naturally occurring mineral, arsenic is a poison. It is typically found in groundwater by water testing. Drinking high levels of arsenic increases the chance of lung, bladder, and skin cancers, as well as heart disease, diabetes, and neurological damage. Arsenic inhibits the body's ability to fight off cancer and other diseases.
For more information on arsenic visit the EPA's web page at:
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/arsenic/basicinformation.html#seven
|
Contact Us
