Jun 22, 2009
Water
by Jerry Jaker
The American Public Health Association (APHA) convenes its annual conference in Philadelphia this November, and the subject is Water.
Since fifth grade we’ve known the drill about water: it’s 70% of the earth’s surface, 60% of our body weight, and the most precious natural resource on the planet. We can’t live without it. The APHA calls Water and the public health the “21st Century Challenge”. It calls attention to the threats to our water including chemical contaminations, waterborne diseases, supply shortage issues, water treatment and sanitation issues, and outdated infrastructures. Worldwide, over a billion people lack access to safe drinking water.
MIPH recently concluded a four-year grant project with the Bush Foundation to institutionalize chronic disease awareness and prevention among pesticide applicators and rural residents of the Red River Valley in Northwestern Minnesota.
Pesticides application was the issue, and groundwater aquifers was the route of contamination for most affected families. Ninety-five percent of all freshwater on planet earth is groundwater. Proud to say, we made a difference in the study, the training and the social marketing outreach in that area to begin to stem the over-representation of thyroid cancer, birth defects and endocrine disruption in that region.
Friend and former MIPH staffer Joan Nephew, now with the Freshwater Society, informs us that “An emerging public health concern is the detection of chemicals from personal use products that are not effectively treated by wastewater plants or septic systems. These chemicals, called endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs), mimic or block normal hormonal functions in animals and humans.
Last week, the Endocrine Society, a 92-year-old organization devoted to research on hormones and the clinical practice of endocrinology, issued a 50-page statement (download) on EDCs that said, in part:
“…we present the evidence that endocrine disruptors have effects on male and female reproduction, breast development and cancer, prostate cancer, neuroendocrinology, thyroid, metabolism and obesity, and cardiovascular endocrinology. Results from animal models, human clinical observations, and epidemiological studies converge to implicate EDCs as a significant concern to public health.”
Many of these compounds are being found in our streams, lakes and aquifers and have also been found in treated drinking water in homes throughout the nation. They include pharmaceuticals, personal care products, pesticides and other common items. There is growing evidence that EDCs can hurt humans, wildlife and fish. EDC affect growth, development and reproduction, changes in behavior, immune suppression and cancer. In animals, impacts have included reduced reproductive success, reduced survival, altered sex ratios, occurrence of intersex and developmental abnormalities.
Minnesotans are committed to fresh, clean and healthy water. In an unprecedented move in the November 2008 elections, they overwhelmingly voted to increase taxes to support outdoors, clean water and cultural heritage. The recently completed legislative session allocated almost $1million for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to install water-quality monitors in public waters adjacent to wastewater treatment plants across the state. The PCA was directed to assess and report on the levels of EDCs, antibiotics and pharmaceuticals found at the sites by June 2010."
On a local level, I took a look at where I live, and challenge you to do the same. In Elk River, an annual Water Quality Report is issued to residents by the local Municipal Utilities. This fast-growing community of just under 30,000 residents, is typical in how much and how well it uses water. The city has a water storage capacity of 4 million gallons supplied for eight wells that are from 225 to just over 400 feet deep. The Elk River water system contains over 70 miles of water mains that serve over 4500 households, supplying 850 million gallons of clean drinking water each year. Though like most cities Elk River is proud of its water supply meeting the EPA regulations for purity and safety, similarly like many cities there are trace substances possible such as microbial contaminants (viruses and bacteria), inorganic contaminants (salts, lead, and metals), pesticides and herbicides (from lawns and agriculture), organic chemical contaminants (synthetic chemicals), and radioactive contaminants (from oil, gas, mining).
As with most precious natural resources in our lives, water deserves our respect and our best practices to preserve use and value it. First century Roman poet Juvenal said it best: “Never does Nature Say One Thing, and Wisdom Another”.
What’s in YOUR water? And, how are YOU treating IT?
-JJ
Since fifth grade we’ve known the drill about water: it’s 70% of the earth’s surface, 60% of our body weight, and the most precious natural resource on the planet. We can’t live without it. The APHA calls Water and the public health the “21st Century Challenge”. It calls attention to the threats to our water including chemical contaminations, waterborne diseases, supply shortage issues, water treatment and sanitation issues, and outdated infrastructures. Worldwide, over a billion people lack access to safe drinking water.
MIPH recently concluded a four-year grant project with the Bush Foundation to institutionalize chronic disease awareness and prevention among pesticide applicators and rural residents of the Red River Valley in Northwestern Minnesota.
Pesticides application was the issue, and groundwater aquifers was the route of contamination for most affected families. Ninety-five percent of all freshwater on planet earth is groundwater. Proud to say, we made a difference in the study, the training and the social marketing outreach in that area to begin to stem the over-representation of thyroid cancer, birth defects and endocrine disruption in that region.
Friend and former MIPH staffer Joan Nephew, now with the Freshwater Society, informs us that “An emerging public health concern is the detection of chemicals from personal use products that are not effectively treated by wastewater plants or septic systems. These chemicals, called endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs), mimic or block normal hormonal functions in animals and humans.
Last week, the Endocrine Society, a 92-year-old organization devoted to research on hormones and the clinical practice of endocrinology, issued a 50-page statement (download) on EDCs that said, in part:
“…we present the evidence that endocrine disruptors have effects on male and female reproduction, breast development and cancer, prostate cancer, neuroendocrinology, thyroid, metabolism and obesity, and cardiovascular endocrinology. Results from animal models, human clinical observations, and epidemiological studies converge to implicate EDCs as a significant concern to public health.”
Many of these compounds are being found in our streams, lakes and aquifers and have also been found in treated drinking water in homes throughout the nation. They include pharmaceuticals, personal care products, pesticides and other common items. There is growing evidence that EDCs can hurt humans, wildlife and fish. EDC affect growth, development and reproduction, changes in behavior, immune suppression and cancer. In animals, impacts have included reduced reproductive success, reduced survival, altered sex ratios, occurrence of intersex and developmental abnormalities.
Minnesotans are committed to fresh, clean and healthy water. In an unprecedented move in the November 2008 elections, they overwhelmingly voted to increase taxes to support outdoors, clean water and cultural heritage. The recently completed legislative session allocated almost $1million for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to install water-quality monitors in public waters adjacent to wastewater treatment plants across the state. The PCA was directed to assess and report on the levels of EDCs, antibiotics and pharmaceuticals found at the sites by June 2010."
On a local level, I took a look at where I live, and challenge you to do the same. In Elk River, an annual Water Quality Report is issued to residents by the local Municipal Utilities. This fast-growing community of just under 30,000 residents, is typical in how much and how well it uses water. The city has a water storage capacity of 4 million gallons supplied for eight wells that are from 225 to just over 400 feet deep. The Elk River water system contains over 70 miles of water mains that serve over 4500 households, supplying 850 million gallons of clean drinking water each year. Though like most cities Elk River is proud of its water supply meeting the EPA regulations for purity and safety, similarly like many cities there are trace substances possible such as microbial contaminants (viruses and bacteria), inorganic contaminants (salts, lead, and metals), pesticides and herbicides (from lawns and agriculture), organic chemical contaminants (synthetic chemicals), and radioactive contaminants (from oil, gas, mining).
As with most precious natural resources in our lives, water deserves our respect and our best practices to preserve use and value it. First century Roman poet Juvenal said it best: “Never does Nature Say One Thing, and Wisdom Another”.
What’s in YOUR water? And, how are YOU treating IT?
-JJ
Posted on June 22, 2009 - 9:09am by Jerry Jaker
Re: "Water"
Fresh water: Our 'sea of diamonds' - June 28, 2009 Star Tribune
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