Thousands of Buildings Lack Required Water Valve, New York Records Show
As many as 85,000 large residential and commercial buildings in New York City lack special valves on their water connections that could prevent hazardous substances from being sucked into the public water system, according to city records.
In investigating the presence of a chemical, tetrachloroethylene, in the drinking water supply in parts of Queens last week, city officials identified a car wash as having contributed to the contamination at least partly because it did not have the valve installed on one of its water supply lines. The amount of the contaminant was considered too low to pose a serious health problem.
The records also show that about 26,000 buildings in the city represent an especially high risk because factories, gasoline stations or businesses that handle hazardous materials housed in those buildings have not installed the device, called a backflow prevention valve.
For more information, please visit: The New York Times
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Scientists Link World's Big Dams To Methane And Global Warming
Brazilian scientists say they have found evidence that the planet's large dams emit nearly 115 million tons of methane every year, a figure that would put the water-control structures among the top contributors of human-caused greenhouse gases.
In a study released earlier this month, the scientists claim the world's 52,000 dams contribute more than 4 percent of the warming impact linked to human activities. The study even suggests that dams and reservoirs are the single largest source of human-cased methane, a gas that traps heat in the atmosphere.
Environmental groups have rallied against dams for years, arguing that they destroy rivers and riparian habitat and wastewater through evaporation. The claim that the structures also cause global warming is new and is certain to be disputed by the hydropower industry as well as water supply managers.
For more information, please visit: AZcentral.com
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U.S. Congress Examines Drinking Water Crisis in Africa
Millions of people in Africa are stricken with preventable diseases every year because they lack what the developed world takes for granted -- clean drinking water.
The why, how and where of providing what many in the West see as the bedrock of sustainable development were examined at a May 16 hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa.
"Africa is one of the most water-impoverished regions ... and the lack of clean water claims the lives of 4,900 children every day," Subcommittee Chairman Donald Payne said.
Lack of clean water worldwide, but especially in Africa, is "a global crisis," Payne said.
For more information, please visit: U.S. Department of State
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Chromium 6 In Drinking Water Causes Cancer In Lab Animals
Researchers announced recently that there is strong evidence a chemical referred to as hexavalent chromium, or chromium 6, causes cancer in laboratory animals when it is consumed in drinking water. The two-year study conducted by the National Toxicology Program (NTP) shows that animals given hexavalent chromium developed malignant tumors.
"Previous studies have shown that hexavalent chromium causes lung cancer in humans in certain occupational settings as a result of inhalation exposure," said Michelle Hooth, Ph.D., NTP study scientist for the technical report. "We now know that it can also cause cancer in animals when administered orally."
The study findings were announced at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) after the NTP Board of Scientific Counselors Technical Reports Review Subcommittee completed its independent peer review of the sodium dichromate dihydrate research report. Sodium dichromate dihydrate is an inorganic compound containing hexavalent chromium that was used in the NTP studies. The NTP is located at the NIEHS, part of the National Institutes of Health.
For more information, please visit: ScienceDaily
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NCSD Mulls Feasibility Of Desalination Plant
In its search for supplemental water, Nipomo Community Services District is questioning the feasibility of a desalination plant as a possible answer to Nipomo's water woes.
During the educational presentation by Boyle Engineering, the district's board of directors Wednesday received a crash course in two popular forms of desalination used throughout the United States.
They are electrodialysis reversal, used frequently with brackish water treatment, and reverse osmosis, the preferred method for sea water.
If the district considers using water from the Pacific Ocean, the reverse osmosis process would yield the best results, according to Ernie Kertinen of Boyle Engineering.
For more information, please visit: Santa Maria Times
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