SAFE TO TAKE A LONG DRINK PALMDALE WATER DISTRICT LOWERS CONTAMINANT LEVELS.Byline: Charles F. Bostwick Staff Writer PALMDALE - Palmdale Water District officials said Monday the district has lowered contamination 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. caused by a group of chemicals linked to health problems. The presence of contaminants known as total trihalomethanes was reduced by blending more well water with California Aqueduct water, officials said. From July through December, total trihalomethane tri·hal·o·meth·ane n. A chemical compound containing three halogen atoms substituted for the three hydrogen atoms normally present in a methane molecule. contamination tests showed a lower annual average, to 73.3 parts per billion - below the maximum standard of 80 parts per billion. According to test results announced last summer, total trihalomethanes had measured 85.1 parts per billion for April, May and June. In December, the U.S. EPA EPA eicosapentaenoic acid. EPA abbr. eicosapentaenoic acid EPA, n.pr See acid, eicosapentaenoic. EPA, n. ordered the water district to meet the standard by March 31. The 80 parts per billion standard was a new one. The previous standard was 100 parts per billion. Trihalomethanes, commonly called THMs, are a byproduct by·prod·uct or by-prod·uct n. 1. Something produced in the making of something else. 2. A secondary result; a side effect. Noun 1. of the treatment plant disinfection disinfection, n the process of destroying pathogenic organisms or rendering them inert. disinfection, full oral cavity, n a procedure used to reduce active periodontal disease, usually completed within a certain short time frame. process. They form through reaction of chlorine, used as a disinfectant, with organic material in the water. Using less aqueduct water and more well water helped lower the number of ppb of THMs - because well water does not contain the organic and inorganic matter that reacts with chlorine, officials said. Palmdale Water District is one of five or 10 California water suppliers that have exceeded the 80 ppb THM limit, which was enforced beginning in 2002, EPA environmental engineer Michelle Moustakas said. THMs have been linked to bladder cancer bladder cancer Malignant tumour of the bladder. The most significant risk factor associated with bladder cancer is smoking. Exposure to chemicals called arylamines, which are used in the leather, rubber, printing, and textiles industries, is another risk factor. and reproductive harm in laboratory animals, Moustakas said. As the standard is now set, one additional case of cancer will occur in 10 million people who drink the water for 70 years, Moustakas said. A federal study linked THMs in drinking water to a birth defect birth defect Genetic or trauma-induced abnormality present at birth. A more restrictive term than congenital disorder, it covers abnormalities that arise during the formation of an embryo's organs and tissues and does not include those caused by diseases (e.g. called spina bifida, in which the infant's spinal cord spinal cord, the part of the nervous system occupying the hollow interior (vertebral canal) of the series of vertebrae that form the spinal column, technically known as the vertebral column. is not properly enclosed by bone. A 1998 California study found that miscarriages increased more than 60 percent for women drinking daily five or more glasses of water containing more than 75 ppb THMs. Palmdale Water District officials hope to make changes at the water treatment plant so in the future they won't have to limit the use of aqueduct water. Engineers are designing improvements to the Palmdale water treatment plant as well as evaluating different treatment processes that could be used to reduce THMs in water from this facility. The cost of the improvements is expected to be known by April, LaMoreaux said. Evaluating new treatment processes will take longer because they must be tried out on Palmdale's water, he said. Charles F. Bostwick, (661) 267-5742 chuck.bostwick(at)dailynews.com |
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