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Fluoride Added to Children's Milk in SchoolsBy Dr MERCOLA, Fluoride is being added to children’s milk in 42 schools throughout the city of Sheffield in the UK, despite the chemical’s known links to liver and kidney damage, cancer and the lowering of IQ. Fluoride has been proven to have a minimal effect in the prevention of tooth decay, but according to several medical studies, the negative effects of the chemical are legion, far outweighing any positive aspects. A recent study concluded that fluoride can subtly alter endocrine function, especially in the thyroid -- the gland that produces hormones regulating growth and metabolism.
Bottled Water Not So PureBy Dr MERCOLA, Bottled water isn't necessarily any purer than the water you get from your tap - it's just more expensive. The Environmental Working Group tested 10 major bottled-water brands. Thirty-eight low-level contaminants turned up in the water, with each brand containing an average of eight chemicals. Disinfection products, caffeine, Tylenol, nitrate, industrial chemicals, arsenic and bacteria were all detected. In fact, the Wal-Mart water and a brand sold on the East Coast by the Giant supermarket chain were “chemically indistinguishable from tap water.” The United States sold 2.6 billion cases, not bottles, of bottled water in 2006, according to Beverage Digest, which equates to U.S. consumers spending about $15 billion on bottled water in one year. Worldwide sales top out at more than $35 billion. However, the market for bottled water may be drying up. Brands like Aquafina and Poland Spring are now experiencing a sales drought. After almost a decade of triple and then double-digit growth, sales volume grew less than 1 percent for the first half of 2008, Beverage Digest reports. Personally, I feel this is good news. Not only is paying for bottled water like paying for gravity, but the plastic chemicals leaching out of the bottles have now been proven highly toxic to your body, and our landfills are overflowing with plastic bottles that do not biodegrade. Last but not least, paying premium prices for bottled water, thinking it’s more pure than your local water supply, has also been proven to be a complete fallacy. The Questionable Safety of Bottled Water The fact that water is bottled is NOT an assurance of purity. In fact, about 40 percent of bottled water IS regular tap water, which may or may not have received any additional treatment. Most municipal tap water -- though generally far from pure -- must actually adhere to stricter purity standards than the bottled water industry. In a previous study, a third of more than 100 bottled water brands tested for contaminants were found to contain chemicals like arsenic and carcinogenic compounds at levels exceeding state or industry standards for municipal water supplies. Read the rest of the article here.
Low level Arsenic in drinking water linked to Type 2 DiabetesBy CARLA K. JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer CHICAGO - A new analysis of government data is the first to link low-level arsenic exposure, possibly from drinking water, with Type 2 diabetes, researchers say. The study's limitations make more research necessary. And public water systems were on their way to meeting tougher U.S. arsenic standards as the data were collected. Still, the analysis of 788 adults' medical tests found a nearly fourfold increase in the risk of diabetes in people with low arsenic concentrations in their urine compared to people with even lower levels. Previous research outside the United States has linked high levels of arsenic in drinking water with diabetes. It's the link at low levels that's new. The findings appear in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association. "The good news is, this is preventable," said lead author Dr. Ana Navas-Acien of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore. New safe drinking water standards may be needed if the findings are duplicated in future studies, Navas-Acien said. She said they've begun a new study of 4,000 people. Arsenic can get into drinking water naturally when minerals dissolve. It is also an industrial pollutant from coal burning and copper smelting. Utilities use filtration systems to get it out of drinking water. Seafood also contains nontoxic organic arsenic. The researchers adjusted their analysis for signs of seafood intake and found that people with Type 2 diabetes had 26 percent higher inorganic arsenic levels than people without Type 2 diabetes. How arsenic could contribute to diabetes is unknown, but prior studies have found impaired insulin secretion in pancreas cells treated with an arsenic compound. The policy implications of the new findings are unclear, said Molly Kile, an environmental health research scientist at the Harvard School of Public Health. Kile wrote an accompanying editorial in the journal. "Urinary arsenic reflects exposures from all routes — air, water and food — which makes it difficult to track the actual source of arsenic exposure let alone use the results from this study to establish drinking water standards," Kile said. Also, the findings raise a chicken-and-egg problem, she said, since it's unknown whether diabetes changes the way people metabolize arsenic. It's possible that people with diabetes excrete more arsenic. The United States lowered arsenic standards for public water systems to 10 parts per billion in 2001 because of known cancer risks. Compliance was required by 2006, years after the study data were collected in 2003 and 2004.
Council prosecutes meat company over effluent spill- 22 August 2007Environment Waikato has filed a charge against Te Kuiti Meat Processors Ltd in Te Kuiti District Court relating to an effluent spill that contaminated the town's water supply in March. Te Kuiti residents had to boil drinking water for several days after a sinkhole developed in the meatworks' effluent pond, allowing 500,000 litres of untreated waste to leak. "Although we regret having to take this step, this was a serious incident with a high profile and significant impact on an entire town for several days," Rob Dragten, Environment Waikato's complaints and enforcement manager, said. He said the failure of the pond was foreseeable and could have been provided against by the company. "Our investigation identified that the company had been aware for some time of the risks associated with the ongoing use of their effluent system and though steps were being taken to address the problems, it did not act promptly enough." Holding ponds at the company's Te Kuiti site ruptured in the early hours of March 10, allowing meat processing effluent to discharge into the Mangaokewa Stream. The effluent entered the Te Kuiti town water supply, which is fed by the stream. Mr Dragten said the company had made significant efforts to remedy the effects of the spill after it occurred.
Warkworth residents conserve water after diesel spill- 10 August 2007Water is being trucked into Warkworth while the town's water source recovers from a major diesel spill in the Mahurangi Stream. Auckland Region Council complaint response team leader Rowan Carter said residents alerted council to the 13,000-litre spill on Wednesday morning. The diesel came from Gubbs Motors, an auto workshop about 3km upstream from the township, Mr Carter said. It was still unclear how the fuel escaped. The spill happened upstream of the Warkworth water treatment plant, and the plant had been shut down as a precaution. The council was working with the plant to test the stream's water quality each day, and Mr Carter said he hoped the plant would be able to re-open within a matter of days, not weeks. In the meantime tankers were bringing water to a reservoir in Warkworth from Wellsford and Snells Beach to keep supplies going, but locals were being urged to use as little water as possible. Mr Carter said the diesel was being contained by inflatable river booms, and sucked off the surface of the stream by "sucker trucks" with portable vacuums. Some diesel was also evaporating, which was being helped by today's sunny weather. Council staff had searched the river for wildlife which had been harmed by the spill. "We haven't come across any dead or dying birds; a couple we saw a few days back were partially oiled but they were fine. We've got mangroves down there too so we're keeping an eye on those." Mr Carter said the council was grateful for the calls it received to its water pollution hotline, which raised the initial alarm. "If we hadn't received those as early as we did it would have been hours before we got out there and put the booms up. You've got to praise the local residents of Warkworth - their prompt response has minimised the impact on the environment."
Water Bill Back With Amendments- 03 Aug 2007Wellington, Aug 3 NZPA - A bill aimed at improving the quality of drinking water in New Zealand has been amended to try and dilute concerns it would increase costs to ratepayers and disadvantage smaller providers. The Health (Drinking Water) Amendment Bill was reported back by Parliament's health committee today. The government bill aimed to ensure adequate and safe supplies of drinking water by amending the Health Act.
Chemicals found in groundwater- 02 Aug 2007High levels of naturally occurring arsenic, manganese and boron have been found in the Wairau Valley west of Blenheim. The rural area, including the Wairau Valley township is home to about 500 people and has been the subject of a Marlborough District Council ground water study over the past year. Council hydrologist Peter Davidson said there were particular concerns about the high levels of the three chemicals, some of which were 15 times higher than the Health Ministry's drinking water standards. He said it was too early to say how widespread the problem was but it could have implications for future residential developments taking water from the deep Wairau Valley aquifer. The chemicals were thought to leach from the alpine fault line running the length of the Wairau Valley. Boron and manganese were a low health risk but arsenic could cause cancerous lumps if consumed over a long period. Arsenic was measured at almost 2½ times the health standard at a new council well on Mill Road near the Wairau Valley township. The Wairau Valley was developing rapidly with new lifestyle subdivisions. Davidson said there was no problem with the town water supply. He said developers were required to test drinking water in new subdivisions.
Rain, rising river blamed for Otago boil-water warning- 04 Jul 2007Heavy rain and a rising river are to blame for residents in four Otago townships being urged today to boil all water for drinking and cooking. Dunedin City Council advised today that the Waikouaiti water treatment plant was "struggling to treat water to acceptable levels". About 1600 residents in Waikouaiti, Karitane, Merton and Seacliff, north of Dunedin, were advised to boil all water until further notice. Council water and waste services team leader Gerard McCombie said today filtration technology at the treatment plant "struggles a bit" when the Waikouaiti River rose and became dirty. "We've had a bit of rainfall in the catchments over the last couple of days and we just haven't been able to comply with the clarity rule for New Zealand drinking water standards," McCombie told NZPA. "So periodically we have to issue boil-water notices." McCombie said the council planned to upgrade the Waikouiti plant and install new equipment late in 2008. "Hopefully the consumers will only have to put up with boil-water notices for another 18 months or so." Since the Waikouaiti plant was commissioned in the 1990s, drinking water standards had tightened considerably, making performance targets more difficult to achieve, McCombie said. "When we don't meet those targets we issue notices as a precautionary measure." Council officers were made aware of the latest problem yesterday afternoon.
Algae in city water 'Not Going Anywhere'- 26 June 2007A potentially dangerous algae in Palmerston North's water supply is here to stay. But the algal bloom that struck the dams holding the city's main water supply early last year was under control, said Palmerston North City Council water supply manager Chris Pepper.
OECD urges NZ to improve water, waste management- 5 April 2007OECD urges New Zealand to improve water and waste management New Zealand has improved its environmental performance over the past decade, but should reinforce water and waste management, energy efficiency and climate protection efforts. The OECD's Environmental Performance Review of New Zealand makes a number of recommendations. Among other things, it calls on New Zealand to: . Better protect surface and ground waters. The report shows that the water quality of streams, rivers and lakes is declining due to diffuse pollution, and irrigation is taking a toll on some aquifers. The OECD recommends introducing baseline regulations on water quality, and economic approaches to water allocation among users, to avoid problems in the future. . Clarify and strengthen climate protection policy. The suspension of the climate protection policy package in 2005, in particular the planned carbon tax, has created great uncertainty about how New Zealand will meet its Kyoto target. The OECD calls on the country to use economic approaches to encourage energy efficiency and carbon dioxide sequestration. It also recommends more use of the "Kyoto flexible mechanisms", including emissions trading. . Upgrade waste management. The OECD notes improvements in waste management policies, but urges that landfill sites be run on a full cost recovery basis, country-wide, to help finance needed infrastructure improvements. The report also points out the need for systematic tracking of movements and treatment of hazardous wastes. . Improve environmental reporting at the national level. The OECD points to the need for better coordination of regional-level monitoring to enable the development of national-level indicators to track progress towards environmental sustainability goals. Among achievements during the review period, the report notes that New Zealand has: . Kept environmentally harmful subsidies among the lowest in the OECD in the agriculture and fisheries sectors. Associated environmental benefits include the conversion of large tracts of marginal agricultural lands to forest or conservation parks. Fisheries management through individual tradable quotas has helped avoid stock collapses; . Improved drinking water quality. Thanks to investment in distribution and treatment infrastructure, and better management, the proportion of the public water supply that fully complies with drinking water guidelines increased from 50% in 1994 to 84% in 2004. To enable further progress, OECD recommends introducing nationally consistent and legally binding drinking water quality standards. . Improved integration and balancing of environmental and social concerns. Under the Resource Management Act, stakeholder input to environmental management and policy formulation has increased, through public participation and consultation, and through confirmation of Maori natural resource interests. . Expanded its network of protected areas to include formerly under-represented ecosystems (e.g. marine areas, indigenous forests). Protected areas now cover 32% of the country's land area, and 7.5% of the territorial sea, significantly higher than in most OECD countries.
Water still not safe- 01 April 2007Tap water in the Bay of Islands is still not safe to drink, and raw sewerage is still flowing in to Whangarei Harbour. Bay of Islands Treatment plants knocked out by the last few days' floods are running again but it is taking a while for the water to reach the taps. Haruru Falls, Paihia, Waitangi, Opua and Kawakawa are all affected. Far North District Council spokesman Rick McCall says residents in these areas should keep boiling their drinking water until tomorrow night. He says the water is not yet of good enough quality to drink without boiling. Raw sewage is leaking into Whangarei Harbour after this week's floodwaters put pressure on a mains pipe. The main at Okara just outside central Whangarei burst early this morning and has been leaking into the upper harbour ever since. It is adding to the contamination caused during Thursday's flooding. Whangarei District Council spokeswoman Pauline Rose says crews are working to fix it but it could take the rest of the day. She says traffic diversions have been set up to speed up the repairs.
New health warning issued for King Country water supply- 14 March 2007Waikato's Medical Officer of Health this morning issued a health warning for the water supplies at the King Country community of Benneydale. Heavy rain yesterday damaged the filtration process at Benneydale's water treatment plant. The source water is muddy from rain over the past few days, and the treatment process is no longer removing suspended material. Disease-causing bacteria, viruses and protozoa has washed off surrounding land and is contained in the suspended organic material. All water for drinking, food preparation, and brushing teeth must be boiled to be safe, said Dr Dell Hood. Benneydale is a community of about 500 people 36.5kms south east of Te Kuiti, where a warning was imposed last weekend due to contamination of the source by a local meat works plant. Dr Hood had not received any reports of illnesses at Benneydale, although it was still too early for negative effects to have taken place in affected people. "The incubation time for chryptosporidium and giardia is about two to three days, and even campylobacter can take some time so the earliest we would see effects is 24 hours." Benneydale had gone through similar problems "off and on for sometime" so residents may not be reporting illnesses, she said. "It could be that they're dealing with it at home, so we would not necessarily know unless we went out looking for the information." Chlorine disinfection would kill bacteria and viruses, but filtration was needed to remove the protozoa (cryptosporidium and giardia). Benneydale's water is chlorinated but due to the absence of filtration the water is not safe to drink. Boiling for one minute would kill all disease causing organisms, Dr Hood said. After boiling, the water might still be taste unpleasant and appear brown, but it would not spread disease. Emergency supplies of clean, safe water are being arranged for Benneydale people by the Waitomo District Council. Using the town's water for washing laundry, showers and cleaning would be safe, and would not spread disease, Dr Hood said. The Waikato District Health Board yesterday lifted the health warning on Te Kuiti's water. However, the ban could be reinstated if ground at the meat works becomes unstable. |
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