Water Filtration

By Lisa J. Wolf

CRESCENT VALLEY, Nevada

The community of Crescent Valley in Eureka County, with a population of just over 200 residents, has a drinking water arsenic level of 15 parts per billion, ppb, according to the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection.

This level is five ppb above the 2006 federal Safe Drinking Water Standard and since Eureka County presently has no exemption to this standard, it seems the county is not in compliance with the federal and state arsenic rules.

Eureka County is not alone - 26 arsenic exemption applications remain pending, including water systems in Lander and Elko counties, until the State Environmental Commission meets again this fall to consider these applications.

There are those in the mining and ranching community of Crescent Valley who are concerned about the effects of arsenic on themselves, their children, and senior citizens. They wish to find out their arsenic levels and to determine whether their current health problems are due to arsenic poisoning.

People are wondering whether their nausea, diarrhea and headaches are linked to arsenic ingestion and what kinds of diseases the elderly could be exhibiting that are linked to arsenic.

But to get a comprehensive assessment and survey of the population’s arsenic levels and health by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, will literally require Congressional intervention.

Although the 2001 report “EPA Rule National Primary Drinking Water Regulations; Arsenic and Clarifications to Compliance and New Source Contaminants Monitoring” shows that the agency agreed with the National Research Council that studies of subpopulations such as children, teenagers, pregnant and nursing women and the elderly have been inadequate, the EPA has not commissioned or contracted out such studies.

Tulbir Bakshi of the National Research Council, NRC, said the council has called on the EPA for additional studies of arsenic on sub-populations, but until they receive a contract from the EPA, the NRC cannot move forward. Bakshi said, “Call your senators,” to get Congress to require the EPA to contract new arsenic health studies.

The EPA has declared itself not subject to “Executive Order 13045: Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks.” The agency states that this is because it “does not have reason to believe the environmental health risks or safety risks addressed by this action present a disproportionate risk to children.”

The EPA permits states to grant exemptions to the arsenic standard based on a determination that such a “variance will not result in an unreasonable risk to health (URTH) to the public served by the public water system.”

However, as subpopulation studies have been deemed necessary and have not been performed, how the EPA can offer such an assurance to the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection, the Nevada Environmental Commission, municipalities, the residents of Crescent Valley and the general public is unclear.

The EPA itself states on the back of its CD, “Interactive Workshop on Arsenic Removal From Drinking Water,” that “Studies have linked long-term exposure to arsenic in drinking water to cancer of the bladder, lungs, skin, kidney, nasal passages, liver, and prostate. Non-cancer effects of ingesting arsenic include cardiovascular, pulmonary, immunological, neurological and endocrine (e.g., diabetes) effects. Short term exposure to high doses of arsenic can cause other adverse health effects.”

The EPA specifies that the public must be notified of the health risks regarding arsenic in their water system. After the new federal arsenic Safe Drinking Water Standard became effective on January 23, 2006, water providers “must provide public notification to consumers for any violations.”

Ask people in Crescent Valley the last time they were notified about arsenic in their drinking water or that they currently have no exemption, and they cannot remember.

The Arsenic Water Technology Partnership program, supported with $7 million in congressional appropriations through the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, moves technologies from bench-scale to demonstration. It enables water utilities, particularly those serving small, rural communities and Indian tribes, to implement the most cost-effective solutions to arsenic treatment needs. While this is essentially good news, Washington’s red tape is keeping things from progressing fast enough for most residents. Many in Crescent Valley are buying bottled water or installing water filters at home to avoid arsenic. A point-of-use filter that addresses arsenic is available from numerous on-line suppliers for $100 -$300, which is not an excessive amount but an expense some seniors and low-income families can ill-afford.

ENS-Newswire Article

You must be logged in to post a comment.