Major US Cities Underreporting Heavy Metals In Its Water

[josephpalazzo]

Report: ‘Every Major US City East of the Mississippi’ Is Underreporting Heavy Metals In Its Water

Just when the news about lead poisoning the drinking water of Flint, Michigan, couldn’t get any worse. A report from The Guardian says many US cities are systemically and purposely downplaying the amounts of lead and copper in municipal water systems.



A scientist who was part of an Environmental Protection Agency taskforce disclosed documents to The Guardian which shows how water boards are distorting tests to make their water appear safer, a practice confirmed by an anonymous source:

<blockquote>The controversial approach to water testing is so widespread that it occurs in “every major US city east of the Mississippi” according to an anonymous source with extensive knowledge of the lead and copper regulations. “By word of mouth, this has become the thing to do in the water industry. The logical conclusion is that millions of people’s drinking water is potentially unsafe,”he said.

</blockquote>Specific cities named included Detroit and Philadelphia, and the entire state of Rhode Island.






The documents in question were obtained via FOIA by Dr. Yanna Lambrinidou, who sat on the Environment Protection Agency taskforce that recently proposed revisions on the federal rules for lead. Lambrinidou told The Guardian that more rigorous oversight will reveal more offenders: “There is no way that Flint is a one-off.”


This does not mean the Environment Protection Agency is being lax in its regulations, necessarilyâ€"rather it’s the agency’s guidelines that are being ignored by those who are contracted to administer the tests. For example, in Philadelphia and Michigan, testers were instructed by local water boards to run the water for two minutes or until cold before testing for lead, a practice called “pre-flushing,” which is seen as controversial.





Even if the incidences of lead and copper are not as high as the anonymous source claims, Lambrinidou’s assertion that Flint is not an isolated case is probably right. With corroded pipes to blame, there are many American cities suffering from similar infrastructural neglect. Pair that with a testing system that’s so easily gamed, and it may take years for some cities to figure out if their water is truly safe.

[AllPurposeAtheist]

This is the result of people voting for the austerity party. They think like this:  Car has a flat tire.. Wait until the car is sent to the recycling plant and shredded up into little pieces then fix the tire because it's too expensive to fix the tire when it'll actually do any good..

[GSOgymrat]

This reminds me I should have the water at my house tested. It gets pumped from a well in my front yard, goes through a sediment filter and I drink it straight from the tap.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

We have lots of Metallica in the waters here. I give those reports much Creedence.

[stromboli]

I live West of the Mississippi. Biggest problem with our water is animal poop.

[Hydra009]

I live NE of Mississippi.  I'm fine.  :P

But seriously, the local water lead content is reported as <3 parts per billion (15 parts per billion is the action level).  How worried should I be?

Also this whole Flint thing has me rethinking my position regarding tap water VS bottled water.  Previously, I'd say that the tap water is generally fine - obviously, there are exceptions - but our water quality is pretty good.  One of the better countries in this area, in fact.  So people who see some bottled water commercial and shell out $1.50 for 20 fluid ounces of trumped up crystal-super-smart aguafreshment bottled straight from the Northern Faerûn mountains are complete morons.  Apparently, in Flint, the moron is the one drinking from the tap.  This incident hasn't completely changed my mind - bottled water quality might not be any better, maybe actually worse due to less regulations - but it has given me pause.

[stromboli]

Some/much of the lead was mined West and used East. I know this because my late brother lived in a town where they mined it.

That settles it. West of the Mississippi or not, I'm putting in a water filtration system.

[josephpalazzo]

For those who are laboring for smaller governments, how's that working for you?

[Hydra009]

For those who are laboring for smaller governments, how's that working for you?

The raiders and the deathclaws and the radioactive water isn't too bad.  But thank God we got rid of taxes.

[Hakurei Reimu]

Also this whole Flint thing has me rethinking my position regarding tap water VS bottled water.  Previously, I'd say that the tap water is generally fine - obviously, there are exceptions - but our water quality is pretty good.  One of the better countries in this area, in fact.  So people who see some bottled water commercial and shell out $1.50 for 20 fluid ounces of trumped up crystal-super-smart aguafreshment bottled straight from the Northern Faerûn mountains are complete morons.  Apparently, in Flint, the moron is the one drinking from the tap.  This incident hasn't completely changed my mind - bottled water quality might not be any better, maybe actually worse due to less regulations - but it has given me pause.

It's extremely likely that your bottled water is actually tap water that has been bottled, a fancy name pasted on, on sold to you at an inflated price. That shit about it being "bottled straight from the Northern Faerûn mountains"... is just that: shit. Think about how cumbersome it would be to capture water from that source, truck it over undeveloped transportation infrastructure to port, ship it, and then sell it in stores, all the while keeping it (or even making it) as fresh and pure as they claim, and then consider how much water could be recovered that way to be sold. It would be FUCKTONS more expensive (and a lot scarcer) if they were telling the truth of where it came from. It actually wins you nothing in terms of safety.

[stromboli]

Costs about 18 bucks




http://www.amazon.com/Sawyer-Products-SP128-Filtration-System/dp/B00FA2RLX2/ref=sr_1_5?s=outdoor-recreation&ie=UTF8&qid=1453602843&sr=1-5&keywords=water+purifier

will purify mucho amounts of water. I have one in my vehicle and another around just in case there are water issues where I live.

[Jason Harvestdancer]

For those who are laboring for smaller governments, how's that working for you?

For those who think Flint is an example of smaller government, how's your problem with reality working for you?

[Baruch]

Agenda 21 ... y'all need to die already, so the rest of us can attend your wake ;-)

[josephpalazzo]

Last time I checked, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder was a REPUBLICAN... oops, still is.

Mr. Snyder was asked Friday morning on MSNBC whether Flint residents were victims of “environmental racism,” and he replied, “Absolutely not.”

“Flint is a place I’ve been devoted to helping,” said Mr. Snyder, a Republican. “Look at all the work we’ve done in Detroit. Several cities â€" Detroit, Flint, Pontiac, Saginaw â€" I’ve made a focused effort since before I started in office to say, ‘We need to work hard to help people that have the greatest need.’ ”

An interviewer, Mika Brzezinski, cited a New York Times article that asked, “If Flint were rich and mostly white, would Michigan’s state government have responded more quickly and aggressively to complaints about its lead-polluted water?” Many Flint residents, and Democratic politicians including Hillary Clinton and Flint’s mayor, Karen Weaver, have said the answer is yes.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/23/us/flint-water-crisis-michigan-governor-rick-snyder.html?_r=0


Whenever a Republican says, "I'm working hard for the people", if you're not a rich white guy, run away as fast as you can.

[drunkenshoe]

My sister's post graduate thesis (Turkey) was on aliminium in water and its consequences, a decade ago. I think she got published.

It's a common trait of city administrations. We have the same problem.