DANGER IN L.A. WATER? ARSENIC LEVELS CALLED UNSAFE.Byline: Donna Huffaker and Jason Kandel Staff Writers Los Angeles' water supply contains levels of arsenic that exceed safe limits and steps should be taken immediately to reduce the danger of cancer, a study by the National Resources Defense Council said Thursday. The environmental group said it will file a lawsuit forcing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), independent agency of the U.S. government, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1970 to reduce and control air and water pollution, noise pollution, and radiation and to ensure the safe handling and to update its 58-year-old arsenic standard, maintaining that the agency allows thousands of people to be exposed to unhealthy levels of the cancer-causing chemical. ``What will it take for the EPA EPA eicosapentaenoic acid. EPA abbr. eicosapentaenoic acid EPA, n.pr See acid, eicosapentaenoic. EPA, n. to do something about this enormous health risk?'' said Erik Olson, a water quality specialist at the NRDC NRDC Natural Resources Defense Council NRDC National Research and Development Centre (Institute of Education, London) NRDC National Realty & Development Corp. , a leading environmental advocacy group. The NRDC wants the maximum arsenic content in water to be no more than 3 parts per billion. Currently, the EPA standard is 50 parts per billion while the international standard is 10 parts per billion. Glendale, Palmdale and areas served by the Metropolitan Water District are below or near the NRDC-recommended level. But Los Angeles' water - provided by the Department of Water and Power - has had an average arsenic level of 6.9 parts per billion, according to the NRDC, and hit 73.3 parts per billion during a survey in April 1993. A report by the National Academy of Sciences released last year determined that arsenic in drinking water drinking water supply of water available to animals for drinking supplied via nipples, in troughs, dams, ponds and larger natural water sources; an insufficient supply leads to dehydration; it can be the source of infection, e.g. leptospirosis, salmonellosis, or of poisoning, e.g. causes bladder, lung and skin cancer and could cause kidney and liver cancer. The EPA agreed with the report's findings, and agency officials said a new arsenic standard for drinking water was being developed. The agency had hoped to get a new standard out by January, but did not meet the deadline. Officials still hope for a new standard this year. DWP DWP Department of Work and Pensions (UK) DWP Drinking Water Program DWP Dynamic Weapon Pricing (gamin, Counter-Strike: Source) DWP Department of Water & Power DWP Drinking Water Protection officials criticized the NRDC's readings, saying the DWP's water currently has only 4.5 parts per billion. ``We are well within current EPA standards (of 50 ppb),'' said Pankaj Parekh, the DWP director of water quality compliance. ``The city has, for the last 10 years, been lowering the level.'' DWP spokeswoman Darlene Battle said the department has been working with the EPA to reduce arsenic in its water and would support a move to tighten the requirements. ``The city of L.A. doesn't have a problem if the standard is lowered,'' Battle said. Most other areas around Los Angeles had a lower level of arsenic in their water systems. In Glendale, which gets most of its water from the Metropolitan Water District, there are nondetectable amounts of arsenic, said Martin Nixt, a principal civil engineer for the city. Officials at the Palmdale Water District recorded 2 parts per billion of arsenic in water levels during a 1998 sampling, well under the NRDC's goal of 3 parts per billion. ``We're in an area where arsenic is not a factor,'' said Dennis LaMoreaux, general manager of the Palmdale district, whose area covers 35 square miles near the southern end of Palmdale. The nearby North Edwards Water District, however, has an average of 27.9 parts per billion, one of the highest levels in the state. ``In this valley, most of the arsenic problems are under Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base, U.S. military installation, 301,000 acres (121,805 hectares), S Calif., NE of Lancaster; est. 1933. It is one of the largest air force bases in the United States and has the world's longest runway. ,'' said LaMoreaux. Base officials at Edwards did not return calls late Thursday. Bob Muir, spokesman for the Metropolitan Water Department, said he believes it's encouraging that the NRDC and the EPA seem to agree the federal standard for arsenic in drinking water needs to be re-evaluated and reduced. The MWD MWD Metropolitan Water District of Southern California MWD Measurement While Drilling (oil drilling) MWD Morgan Stanley Dean Witter (stock symbol) MWD Molecular Weight Distribution MWD Military Working Dog , which imports water from the Colorado River and Northern California and then delivers it to more than 27 million people statewide, has analyzed its arsenic content for years, Muir said. Muir said arsenic levels vary between 2 to 4 parts per billion; the NRDC said the water district averages 3.2 parts per billion, according to water test samples taken between 1980 and 1998. He said he expects the EPA in April to propose reducing the arsenic standard to 5 parts per billion, placing the MWD well within the range. ``As California's main water importer, Metropolitan takes the responsibility of protecting water at its source so consumers can trust us from the tap,'' Muir said. The American Water Works Association American Water Works Association (AWWA) is an international nonprofit professional organization dedicated to the improvement of drinking water quality and supply. It was founded in 1881 and, as of 2007, there are approximately 60,000 AWWA members world-wide. said that if the international standard of 10 parts per billion is adopted, it could cost more than $1 billion per year to put into place. The group estimated that 2,200 of the 56,000 U.S. water supply systems would be affected by such a rule change. The EPA has estimated that a 5 parts per billion standard would cost $686 million a year to implement and that a 2 parts per billion standard would cost $2.1 billion a year, according to the NRDC report. < Arsenic in your water Based on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's data on water sample results, the Natural Resources Defense Council The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is a New York City-based, non-profit non-partisan international environmental advocacy group, with offices in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Beijing. Founded in 1970, NRDC today has 1. calculated the following estimates of arsenic in drinking water (figures are in parts per billion.) The NRDC wants the allowable level to be set at 3 parts per billion. Water System Name Best Est. of Average Arsenic Level (ppb) LOS ANGELES COUNTY ANTELOPE VALLEY-EAST KERN WATER AGENCY 1.8 BURBANK WATER DEPT dept department . 4.8 CASTAIC LAKE WATER AGENCY 2.6 CRESCENTA VALLEY CWD CWD chronic wasting disease. 2.0 LAS VIRGENES MWD 3.3 LOS ANGELES DEPT. OF WATER & POWER 6.9 COUNTY WATERWORKS DIST DIST Distribution DIST Distance DIST District DIST Distinguished DIST Distinct DIST Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources (Australia) DIST Digital Image Scaling Technology 21-KAGEL CANYON 4.4 COUNTY WW DIST 24,27,33-PEARBLSM 5.3 COUNTY WW DIST 37-ACTON 5.2 COUNTY WW DIST 4 & 34-LANCASTER 14.5 LOS ANGELES CITY POWER PLANT #1 24.1 METROPOLITAN WATER DIST. 3.2 NEWHALL CWD-PINETREE 2.2 PALMDALE WATER DIST. 3.9 SHERIFF'S PITCHESS HONOR RANCHO 6.3 SAN FERNANDO, CITY WATER DEPT 2.6 SANTA CLARITA WATER CO. 2.5 VALENCIA HEIGHTS WATER CO. 3.4 VALENCIA WATER CO. 2.6 VENTURA COUNTY CALLEGUAS MUNI. WATER DIST 5.1 CAMARILLO WATER DEPT 5.3 CAMROSA WATER DISTRICT 4.3 CITY OF SANTA PAULA 3.8 CONEJO TRAILER PARK 2.0 CRESTVIEW MUTUAL WATER CO 4.7 LIMONEIRA RANCH #1 3.0 OXNARD WATER DEPT 4.0 SANTA ROSA MUTUAL WATER CO 3.5 SILVER WHEEL TRAILER PARK 2.0 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WATER CO - SIMI SIMI Sea Ice Mechanics Initiative SIMI Search for Intelligent Monkeys on the Internet SIMI Students Islamic Movement in India SIMI Society of Irish Motor Industry SIMI Smallholder Irrigation Markets Initiative 3.6 U.S. NAVY - POINT MUGU 2.6 U.S. NAVY - SAN NICOLAS ISLAND San Nicolas Island (sometimes shortened as San Nic or SNI) is the most remote of California's Channel Islands. It is part of Ventura County. The 14,562 acre (58.93 km² or 22. 4.5 UNITED WATER CONSRV DIST 4.5 VENTURA RIVER CWD 3.9 VENTURA WATER DEPT 8.0 KERN COUNTY ANTELOPE VALLEY E KERN WTR WTR Water WTR Writer WTR Wait To Restore WTR Wireless Technology Research WTR Walker, Texas Ranger (TV show) WTR Western Test Range WTR With-The-Rule Astigmatism WTR Working Time Regulation (UK) AGY AGY Agency 3.1 BUTTONWILLOW CWD 7.4 DELANO GROWER'S GRAPE PRODUCTS 7.6 DELANO, CITY OF 22.9 EDWARDS AFB AFB abbr. acid-fast bacillus AFB Acid-fast bacillus, also 1. Aflatoxin B 2. Aorto-femoral bypass - MAIN BASE 10.0 EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE-PHILLIPS LAB 24.5 INDIAN WELLS VALLEY W.D. 22.6 NORTH EDWARDS WD 27.9 RIDGECREST CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP 17.0 ROSAMOND MOBILEHOME PARK 10.0 ROSAMOND MUTUAL 18.0 The Associated Press contributed to this story. CAPTION(S): box Box: Arsenic In Your Water (see text) |
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