Water & Oceans

"CDC: Pregnant Women Should Have Been Warned About Water Sooner"

"CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- West Virginians should have been given clearer information that the 1-part-per-million screening level for the toxic chemical "Crude MCHM" was not a "bright line" between what exposures are safe and unsafe, a top U.S. Centers for Disease Control scientist said Wednesday."

Source: Charleston Gazette, 01/23/2014

Drinking Water Crisis Reveals Knowledge Gaps

You read about the 300,000 West Virginians who don't know if they are drinking safe water — and ask "Could it happen here?" The answer is "You betcha!" Environmental journalists have many tools for discovering drinking-water disasters-waiting-to-happen in their own bailiwicks.

SEJ Publication Types: 
Visibility: 

Ten Questions Ken Ward Jr. Is Waiting for EPA to Answer

  1. How is the 1 ppm "safe level" calculated? What was EPA's involvement, and how does this method match EPA's standard approach to such things?
  2. EXACTLY what is being done to contain and remediate the site? What is the process going forward for dealing with that?
  3. How is EPA's response to Sen Rockefeller's letter asking for a long-term study?
Visibility: 

SEJ, SPJ Urge EPA, CDC to End Press Office Obstacles in Public Health Crises

Reporters scrambling to inform the 300,000 citizens of Charleston, West Virginia, about why they could not drink their tap water, what health threats it presented, and who was responsible faced a stone wall from most of the responsible government agencies in the early days of the crisis.

SEJ Publication Types: 
Visibility: 

Perry Nuclear Power Plant Is Leaking Radioactive Water; Danger Minimal

"The Perry nuclear power plant is leaking tritium, a radioactive form of water with a half-life of more than 12 years. The radioactive water has been found in groundwater at concentrations more than twice the
federal drinking water limit outside of a building where the leak was discovered Monday. No other, more dangerous radioactive isotopes were found." John Funk reports for the Cleveland Plain Dealer January 21,
2014.
 

Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer, 01/22/2014

Christie Vetoes Bill Requiring Public Notice of Raw Sewage Overflows

"Governor Christie declined to sign a bill that would have required public notification whenever sewer-outfall pipes dump raw sewage into local rivers and bays, legislation that had received overwhelming support by both parties in the state legislature."

Source: Bergen Record, 01/22/2014

Pages

Subscribe to RSS - Water & Oceans