More than 300,000 residents of West Virginia have been forced to use bottled water since a chemical spill contaminated the water supply in the Elk River. A Freedom Industries plant had a 40,000 gallon tank of 4-methylcyclohexane methanol next to the river. Officials say that about 7,500 gallons leaked into the river, but no one … Read more
After the massive flooding in Colorado, the state and several cities and municipalities warned residents to avoid flood water and issued boil orders. Now E. coli bacteria has been found in the water system in Lyons, Colorado. The town is in the foothills north of Boulder. The news was streamed over the internet on the … Read more
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has posted updates about the serious flooding and water safety. They are advising people to avoid potentially contaminated flood waters, since contaminants such as raw sewage and chemicals from homes, businesses, and industry may be in the water. If you come into contact with floodwaters, wash frequently … Read more
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has issued a health advisory and is advising residents to avoid contact with rivers and streams after massive flooding followed heavy rains this week. Rivers and streams may be contaminated with partially treated sewage and other wastewater because of power failures and damage to wastewater treatment systems. … Read more
Those of us in the United States tend to think of illnesses caused by drinking water as a third world problem. But believe it or not, people in the United States are getting sick after consuming water from public treated systems. The MMWR news synopsis for September 5, 2013 reports that contamination of untreated ground water … Read more
Three cases of E. coli O157:H7 illness in Minnesotans linked to swimming in the Big Island area of Lake Minnetonka, according to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH). All three cases of E. coli O157:H7 infection have the same DNA fingerprint. One person was hospitalized but has since recovered. The connection to Lake Minnetonka was … Read more
Is ice food? Yes. Whether it’s shaved, cubed, or crushed, ice is food according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and it’s regulated. That means, packaged ice must be produced in accordance with the agency’s Current Good Manufacturing Practices in Manufacturing, Packing, or Holding Human Food. Translation? Ice manufacturers “must produce, hold, and transport ice … Read more
Broward County has issued a boil water notice for its water customers, since E. coli has been found in the municipal system. The cities affected by this notice include the City of Dania Beach, the City of Hallandale Beach, the City of Hollywood, and Broward County WWS customers in service area 3A and 3BC. That … Read more
The theme of this year’s Drinking Water Week is: What Do You Know About Your H2O? For many Americans, the answer to that question is not much, but it’s never too late to learn and it’s the goal of Drinking Water Week. Created 35 years ago by the American Water Works Association (AWWA), Drinking Water … Read more
The Minnesota Department of Health has been studying East Metro residents’ exposure to perfluorochemicals (PFCs) in a Biomonitoring Project. Drinking water was the major source of exposure to the chemical for most people. Groundwater contamination caused the problem. The first East Metro PFC Biomonitoring Project studied the levels of PFCs in the blood of 196 … Read more