Latest news with #watercontamination
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Dear Abby: My coworker has been filling the office drinking fountain with lead-filled water
DEAR ABBY: The floor I work on has a cluster of offices surrounding a central kitchen area. Fifteen of us share the appliances, including a hot water reservoir with a tap. The building is old and has lead pipes, so a service brings in large plastic bottles for a water cooler. Usually, whoever arrives first in the morning fills the tank on the water heater from the cooler, and we all use it to make hot drinks during the day. I just found out that a new employee has been filling the tank from the contaminated tap! When I asked her about it, she said that the microplastics in the water jugs were more dangerous than the lead in the pipes. She's very committed to this idea and is not going to budge. I don't think this is right. I will heat my own water from now on, but how should I warn the others in the office? The source of our tea water seems like a silly thing to start an office tiff over, but I also think people need to know their water is unsafe. — NOT DRINKING IN NEW YORK DEAR NOT DRINKING: I agree the employees in your office should know about this. At least they will be on notice about which 'poison' they are consuming. Report this to HR or your employer, so the announcement can come from on high and you can stay out of the line of fire. DEAR ABBY: I have spent 40 years serving the public and my country, putting other people first and feeling guilty if I didn't. However, I am becoming resentful of the demands for my time. I'm retired, and my husband still works. We have always split the expenses 50-50, even though I make less than 40% of his income. Once I retired, my share of the household chores and errands increased from 75% to 90%. I wanted to make life easier for my husband, but now he expects me to run personal errands for him, too. All the wear and tear and gas usage is borne by my car, which is considerably older than his. I have a friend and walking partner who has been having different issues she needs help with. She has always talked about the close friends she has known for decades and sees regularly. They all live about 20 minutes away and are retired, in good health and able to drive. I offered her my help in the past, but now she and her friends think I should be her go-to person since I live closer to her than they do. I have my own schedule and routine now. I like having some days free to do what I feel like and not have to fulfill demands from others. How do I let people know my time is valuable and discourage them from expecting me to help them? — TOO NICE AND HELPFUL DEAR TOO NICE: It is not a crime to tell someone you don't have time to do what they want you to do. It's time to sign up for some assertiveness training so you can learn how to say no. (No, I'm not kidding.) If you do as I suggest, it might even improve your marriage. Your doctor or health insurance company can refer you to someone qualified. Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.
BBC News
7 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Stoke Park paddling pool reopening delayed over unsafe water
Contaminated water has delayed the reopening of a paddling pool in Stoke Park paddling pool was expected to open on Saturday ahead of the half term school final water testing after resurfacing works revealed it was not yet safe to open the facility, according to Guildford Borough McShane, leader of the local authority, apologised to families, adding: "Your safety and your children's safety is our utmost priority." In a video posted on Facebook, McShane explained: "In the last phases of the water testing, we discovered the water has been contaminated..."So we have taken the decision that it isn't safe to open the paddling pool."I'm really sorry, we are all devastated."McShane said the council had "worked so hard" to get the pool resurfaced and the staffing in place for the scheduled opening but said it would look into what had happened and "put things right". Maksim Fedosov, who has a two-year-old child, told BBC Radio Surrey his family used the pool last said: "It's quite disappointing, especially in the hot weather. It's quite useful."Adrian Fuller, 71, said: "When you start getting the good weather it gets very, very busy down there with the kids. It's a very popular thing."It's absolutely choc-a-block in the good weather." The paddling pool, which typically opens annually from May until September, also suffered opening delays in 2024 due to staffing last underwent a refurbishment in 2022.
ABC News
18-05-2025
- Science
- ABC News
Blue Mountains drinking water possibly contaminated for more than 30 years
Two separate petrol tanker fires have been identified as the likely sources of forever chemicals found in catchments in the NSW Blue Mountains. Water NSW released the first stage of its investigation on Friday afternoon, citing two accidents in 1992 and 2002, where fire fighting foam - containing PFAS - was used. The Medlow and Greaves Creek Dams have been disconnected from the drinking water supply since August and Water NSW says they'll remain disconnected until mitigation measures can be put in place. It's left residents assessing their legal options. Guest Ian Wright, Associate Professor in Water Science at the Environmental School of Science Western Sydney University
The Guardian
16-05-2025
- The Guardian
Anglian Water fined record £1.42m for contaminating water supply
Anglian Water has been fined a record £1.42m for contaminating the water supply. The company, which covers the east of England, received the fine at Northampton crown court after a prosecution brought by the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) for failures that affected 1.3 million people. An investigation found that between June and December 2021 the company used unapproved materials in drinking water tanks at sites across its network. Anglian was found to have used unauthorised plastic-based products to externally coat pipework submerged within tanks. These coatings later broke down into flakes and powder and entered the water supply. Anglian reported the failures to the DWI and pleaded guilty in court. Last year thousands of people in Devon became unwell after the cryptosporidium parasite was detected in the water supply. South West Water warned about 16,000 households not to drink the water without boiling it until the issue was resolved. Schools and businesses temporarily closed, and some households had to boil their tap water for a month to remove the contaminant. Marcus Rink, the chief inspector of the DWI, said: 'We've taken firm action in the public interest to ensure the company has removed all non-compliant material so that customers can remain confident in their water supplies.' The environment secretary, Steve Reed, said: 'Contamination of drinking water on any scale is scandalous and a complete disgrace. 'The record £1.4m fine handed down sends a clear signal that this criminal behaviour is unacceptable.' All of the problems noticed across Anglian's network have now been rectified. The investigation highlighted further issues with the company's management, including a lack of staff training, poor oversight of the supply chain, and in some cases, water tanks continued to be used even after the firm knew they contained unapproved products. The company pleaded guilty to five offences under regulation 31 of the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 2016. An Anglian spokesperson said: 'We apologise for and regret breaching regulation 31 and accept the judgment for the five sites in 2021. The procedures we had in place fell short and as a result, we have since invested significantly to improve these and have shared our learnings across the water industry. 'Protecting the water supply of our customers could not be more fundamental to our business, this is reflected in the fact we have not had a drinking water prosecution in over 20 years. Despite the breach, there was no evidence of any contamination of the water supply and the judge agreed based on independent expert reports that the risk to customers was very low. This view was supported by DWI-appointed experts, UKHSA. We continue to work with our regulator to ensure best practice is followed at all times.' The Guardian recently revealed the safety of the UK's tap water could be jeopardised as there are now no treatment facilities that are accredited to test the materials used to clean the water. During a Commons committee hearing on Tuesday, the chief executive of Thames Water, Chris Weston, said the company's desalination plant was out of order as there was no testing facility in the UK that would allow it to test new membranes.
Daily Mail
16-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Residents set to sue NSW government and Sydney Water over 'Erin Brockovich-level scandal'
Residents in a tourist hotspot want free tests for cancer-causing 'forever chemicals' in their blood after a major investigation revealed they had been drinking from a contaminated water supply for decades. PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of 15,000 highly toxic, synthetic chemicals resistant to heat, stains and grease, dubbed 'forever chemicals' because of their inability to break down. High-level contamination was detected in the drinking water catchment serving 30,000 people in the Blue Mountains in NSW in mid-2024. PFAS levels were found to be about 300 times higher than Sydney 's main drinking water source but they still met Australian guidelines for safe drinking water. An eight-month WaterNSW investigation released on Friday zeroed in on three potential sources of contamination, dating as far back as 33 years ago. John Dee, a veteran environmental activist, described the fallout as an 'Erin Brockovich-level scandal'. He's leading a group called Stop PFAS that will sue the NSW government and Sydney Water to get free PFAS blood testing for local residents and compensation for those affected. 'People in the Blue Mountains have been drinking toxic tap water for 32 years,' he told AAP. Results of tests paid for by some residents have found PFAS in the bloodstream nearly 50 times the level considered safe by chemicals manufacturer 3M. Local resident Nick A'hern had 46 nanograms per millilitre of PFAS, contained in firefighting foam and considered carcinogenic. While the value of individual blood tests is debated among scientists, exposure to PFAS increases the risk of testicular and kidney cancer, affecting the immune system and causing developmental damage in children. Mr A'hern has had prostate cancer while his wife has had bowel cancer and their 33-year-old son was diagnosed with testicular cancer. 'None of the cancers we've had have been in our family lineage,' he told AAP. 'It's a pretty insane coincidence. 'All the kids used to swim in the dams and the water catchments. We just want to know if they're safe.' A spokesperson for Sydney Water said it would work with other agencies to ensure it met the proposed Australian Drinking Water Guidelines. Health authorities say current drinking water meets existing guidelines and is safe to drink. The WaterNSW investigation found contamination of two dams used for Blue Mountains' drinking water may have occurred after separate motor vehicle accident sites on the Great Western Highway in 1992 and 2002 near the Medlow Bath township. The town's fire station was also a possible source of contamination. Test samples at all three sites revealed the chemical compound signature consistent with the historical use of PFAS-containing fire-fighting foam, banned nationwide in 2007. Medlow Dam and Greaves Creek Dam will remain disconnected from the water supply system until permanent mitigation measures are in place. Steep terrain, potential PFAS spread over a wide geographical region and extensive disturbance of high-value ecological habitat are all flagged as barriers to remediation. The report did not quantify the current rate of PFAS discharge from potential source areas in surface water and groundwater, nor the total mass of PFAS previously discharged. Risks to human health and the environment from exposure to PFAS at the source areas have also not been quantified. After community pressure, Sydney Water installed a $3.4 million mobile PFAS treatment plant at the Blue Mountains catchment in January. University of Western Sydney water scientist Ian Wright accused water agencies of having 'pretty average governance of water contamination'. The National Health and Medical Research Council drafted new drinking water guidelines in October, reducing the benchmark for the PFOA group of chemicals.
