Erin Brockovich

[nitro]

It just keeps getting worse. WTF do we taxes for?

Study: Public water supply is unsafe for millions of Americans

(CNN)Millions of Americans may be drinking water with unsafe levels of industrial chemicals, according to a study published Tuesday in the journal Environmental Science & Technology Letters. These chemicals, known as polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl substances or PFASs, have been linked to high cholesterol, obesity, hormone suppression -- and even cancer.

Introduced more than 60 years ago, PFASs are a category of man-made chemicals that degrade very slowly, if at all, in the environment.

"I do think that Americans should be concerned about these chemicals," said Susan M. Pinney, a professor in the department of environmental health at University of Cincinnati. Pinney, who did not participate in the new research, explained that not enough time has elapsed to understand all the long-term health effects of these toxins.

Persistent chemicals
...

http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/09/health/contaminated-water/index.html

 

[Ricter]

It's awful, but nothing we can do about it. Regulations are job killers. Better to be poisoned and dead than unemployed and dying.

 

[piezoe]

In the U.S. almost anything can be "linked" to high cholesterol and obesity, which are endemic among the U.S. population, particularly in the Southern States. The irresponsible headline is designed to catch your attention. The CNN report is mostly about lead in drinking water. High levels of lead are dangerous, but the dangers of low levels likely to be encountered are exaggerated of course. That's just a natural consequence of "news" being driven by advertising revenue and hence audience share.

Any one born in the era of tetraethyl leaded gasoline has some lead in their urine. Depending on their exposure to engine exhaust they may have quite a bit of lead in their urine. We've seen the reports of inexcusably high levels of lead in the Flint Michigan water, but it would be interesting to see the lead levels in the urine of Flint residents, especially children, compared to the urine levels in U.S. Citizens older than 50.

 

[nitro]

Your drain on drugs: Amphetamines seep into Baltimore's streams

(CNN)You shouldn't put illegal drugs in your body, and you shouldn't let neighborhood bodies of water ingest them, either. A new study suggests that aquatic life in Baltimore is being exposed to drugs, and it's having an impact.

And these aren't soft drugs; they include methamphetamine and amphetamine. They're messing with the growth and development of organisms in local streams.

It appears aquatic life -- the moss that grows on rocks, the bacteria that live in the water and the bugs that hatch there -- are the unexpected victims of Americans' struggle with drug addiction.

The study is published in the latest edition of the journal Environmental Science and Technology.


Don't dump old pills; here's how to dispose of them safely
The water was tested by scientists working with theCary Institute of Ecosystem Studies who looked at six streams in and around Baltimore. The residue was particularly high in the water they tested in urban settings.

Since the researchers wanted to know whether these drugs had a direct impact on life in these waters, they created an artificial stream, complete with rocks and plants, and exposed it to the same level of amphetamine residue they found in natural waters...

http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/25/health/meth-fish-baltimore/?iid=ob_homepage_deskrecommended_pool