Millions in U.S. Drinking Dirty Water, Records Show

[Octafish]

Source: The New York Times

By CHARLES DUHIGG

More than 20 percent of the nation’s water treatment systems have violated key provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act over the last five years, according to a New York Times analysis of federal data.

That law requires communities to deliver safe tap water to local residents. But since 2004, the water provided to more than 49 million people has contained illegal concentrations of chemicals like arsenic or radioactive substances like uranium, as well as dangerous bacteria often found in sewage.

Regulators were informed of each of those violations as they occurred. But regulatory records show that fewer than 6 percent of the water systems that broke the law were ever fined or punished by state or federal officials, including those at the Environmental Protection Agency, which has ultimate responsibility for enforcing standards.

Studies indicate that drinking water contaminants are linked to millions of instances of illness within the United States each year.

In some instances, drinking water violations were one-time events, and probably posed little risk. But for hundreds of other systems, illegal contamination persisted for years, records show.


Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/08/business/energy-environment/08water.html

---

You ever hear of fluoridation, Mandrake?

[HCE SuiGeneris]

1. The GOP "system" of government in action.

Why do we allow this?

[Octafish]

5. It's like Groundhog Day, but it keeps getting worse and worse and worse...

What's worse than "The Worst"? How do you spell J-E-B-T-H-R-O?

[Bobbieo]

2. The Navajos have been drinking radioactive water for years, now

from the seepage from uranium mines that have never been cleaned up.

[Octafish]

6. In America, that should be grounds for criminal prosecution.

At least, it used to be that way in the United States, before the Nazis took over.



Know your BFEE: American Children Used in Radiation Experiments

Thank you for the heads-up, Bobbieo.

[SpiralHawk]

3. "Too bad about you noisy American proles. Smirk." - Republicon Homelander Fatcats

[Octafish]

11. Booze has been safer than water for aeons.

It's why alky is tradition and property is so damn important.

[izquierdista]

4. Fines and punishment?

I'd like to shove a Tesla coil up the ass of the people whose only solution to any problem is punishment, more punishment and lots and lots of punishments. Maybe 50,000 volts in their asshole would permanently short circuit their punishment neuron.

Water quality is not a speed limit to be enforced by cops hiding behind billboards. It is a goal to be attained, and with good quality control, it should be possible for it to pass muster six sigma of the time. As with all quality control, the desired quality is only obtained through a process of continuous improvement, and once reached, the quality control methods are not relaxed. More funding and more training and more resources will do far, far better than fines and punishment in achieving high quality tap water.

[Octafish]

13. I like the 'tude for Justice. Ever been to Paraguay?

Smirko and his extended relations may be buying a nice size spread there.



Why shouldn't they? It's Rev Moon's new home.

[Iowa]

7. I drink distilled water - have for years.

I just don't have the expertise to know whether or not the tap-water in our town is safe. And I don't trust our corporatist government enough to rely on them for the information. Years ago an otolaryngologist told me that he didn't drink the tap water in our town, and that the safest bet is to go with distilled water. I have done it ever since.

[Octafish]

14. There's solid-rocket propellant in mother's milk.

It's gotta be coming from somewhere. Bill Moyers says there are more than 250 chemicals coursing through our arteries and veins that didn't exist in our grandparents' generations. It's almost understandable that no one's been brought to justice in regards to Bhopal.

[Iowa]

18. Thanks. Those were interesting articles...

It's impossible to avoid all of it, but I try to limit as much poison from my diet as I can. I really don't know what I'm doing though; I just trying to eat things as close to nature as possible, and as pure as possible. But the poisons are all around us.

[Altoid_Cyclist]

19. Speaking of which, I just received this from the EDF.

Toxic Ignorance is Not Bliss
December 7, 2009

Why I'm Outraged About BPA and Other Chemicals, and What We Can Do

We are exposed to thousands of synthetic chemicals all day long. It would be next to impossible to avoid them; they lace our lives. We sleep on chemical fire retardants in the fabrics covering our mattresses. We wake and wash with chemical soaps, and slather chemical-rich moisturizers on our bodies, shampoos on our heads, cosmetics on our faces. We cuddle our babies in plush armchairs, upholstered in fabric that is treated with stain-resistant coatings. Our toddlers cut their teeth chewing plastic toys that contain chemicals to make them soft.

We live in a society that, if anything, seems too full of rules and regulations. But that means we can trust the products that come to market; they’ve been analyzed and researched and exposed to exhaustive, long-range testing, right?

Wrong. Most of the synthetic chemicals we live with—and some are so pervasive that they are now in the bodies of virtually all Americans—are under-tested and under-regulated. Those bottles, those non-stick pans, shampoos and lotions, those cleaning products—so much of the stuff of everyday life—may, in fact, be harmful to our health. All those times I nestled a warm bottle into my hungry child’s mouth, I may have been exposing him to toxic substances.

Long article, but interesting in a disturbing way.

Rest of article:

http://blogs.edf.org/personalnature/2009/12/07/toxic-ignorance-is-not-bliss/

I would have thought that after the crimes that American Cyanamid committed for years that somebody would have cracked down on the blatant disregard for human life shown by so many corporations. I doubt that anything substantive will ever happen to these companies though. Money gets you out of almost any situation sorry to say.

[jtrockville]

8. Are we still considered a developed nation?

[Octafish]

15. Just a few of us.

Know your BFEE: Goldmine Sacked or The Best Way to Rob a Bank Is to Own One

Know your BFEE: Phil Gramm, the Meyer Lansky of the War Party, Set-Up the Biggest Bank Heist Ever.

The rest of us are the mopes left holding the bag. And it's worse than empty, we're stuck with these crooks' I.O.U.s.

[RufusTFirefly]

9. It's an incredible scam

Public drinking water and public discourse have been polluted, both for remarkably similar reasons: Why provide something for "free," the wealthy ask, when you can make money selling it? That's why local TV has replaced news in the public service with paid political ads and why governments have let our infrastructure (including our water supply) deteriorate: it's lucrative.

Upon edit: What's more, the mere perception of unsafe drinking water (whether or not it has any basis in reality) is a bonanza for businesses who use fear to boost their bottom lines.

[Octafish]

12. ENRON was working on it.

Kenny Boy dreamed of being the middle-man for just about everything.
He'd started on water and probably considered the very air,
were it not for his cash-call problem.

World Bank, WTO, and corporate control over water

Absolutely: For too long, "Fear" has been the last name of the United States.

[RufusTFirefly]

17. There are occasional rays of hope though.

In 2000, the people of Cochabamba, Bolivia, successfully beat back Bechtel's attempt to privatize their water supply.

But, of course, that was in a country where citizens still give a shit. What's on TV tonight?

[DemReadingDU]

10. This is part of a series

Toxic Waters
http://projects.nytimes.com/toxic-waters

[Octafish]

16. Outstanding work.

Clean water is big at The New York Times. So was Whitewater. Too bad they missed the boat on other water-related stories, though, from privatizing water infrastructure to waterboarding to Blackwater. I'd add Moonwater, too.



BTW, my Friend: The OP just popped up on the GOOGLE...

[Blue_Tires]

20. i've been saying for a long time we're only seeing the tip of the iceberg

of what 8 years of a toothless and pro-industry EPA is costing us...