Water Pollution For Drinking Water

Resident Bethany Hazard states that when she filled up her water from the faucet it came out not only brown but smelling of a sewer (Semuels). The river itself has been a source of considerable pollution with a dead body being found in the river in addition to an abandoned car as well as abnormally high levels of trihamlomethanes, and copper (Semuels). The mere fact, however, that such findings were only accidentally leaked underscores a lack of concern for the safety of Flint’s residents. The first tests on the water confirmed that indeed, something was quite wrong. The Environmental Protection Agency, for instance, leaked in a memo that in the water were trace amounts of the E. Coli bacteria, a serious health hazard for people of all ages

To begin with, the problem was the water contained elevated levels of iron and lead. The problem was such a huge issue because it affected every resident in Flint. Water is a major essential to one’s daily life and dozens of families were using the water supply for several purposes such as showering, drinking, cooking, washing one’s car or home, and watering plants. Furthermore, worried parents are going to the doctor because of rashes and hair loss, it also affected children by dropping their IQ, affecting their behavior, and it has also been inked to criminality and has multigenerational impacts. As a result, the fault of the problem lies with the state DEQ. It was said that the state ignored federal law and didn’t use an anti-corrosive agent to treat the water.

The issue is that people can't drink this water because the governor stopped doing the same process of cleaning the water . He wanted to save money and because of this he forgot to add a major chemical in the water. People had concerns about this water but the governor really didn't pay no mind to them , he just told them don't worry the water is safe keep drinking it not knowing

Incidents such as the May 2000 contamination at Walkerton, Ontario, which resulted in widespread illness and loss of life, have raised public awareness of the risks of poor water quality. After debate over the issue of water export, the Canadian government acted to prohibit bulk water removal from natural

In the article “What If This Was Your Water?” By Kristin Lewis and the article “Little Miss Flint” by Allison Friedman state how unsafe water is affecting the health of people who live in Flint. People were unaware that the water was poisoned at first. To show, “ Officials assured everyone the water was safe. But that was not true.

According to the Canadian Council of Social Justice, poor water quality and unsanitary living conditions have cause over 1000 residents to be evacuated in some cases and over 21 communities are considered high-risk for water contamination (Safe Water for First Nations, n.d.). There are different levels of risk within the accessible water issue which are a boil water advisory, do not consume and advisory (Eggerston, 2015). Within Ontario specifically, there were 158 water systems that were tested and 46% were considered high-risk and 16% are low overall risk (Dupont et al., 2014). Within in Canada there is a slew of

River water near the spill showed elevated levels of lead and thallium, Mercury and arsenic cadmium and lead exceeding Clean Water Act standards designed to protect aquatic life as well as humans who come in contact with the water. Which can cause birth defects and nervous and reproductive system disorders?

The people of Flint did not keep their mouths shut when they seen all the worrisome problems that popped up. Flint can thank one woman in particular for bringing the nation’s attention to what was happening. LeeAnne Walters is a thirty-seven year old mother of four who was not going to sit around while her family was withering away. She knew there was a serious problem not being dealt with in the summer of 2014. Her three-year-old twins got a rash when they had a bath. She could no longer leave them in the tub to soak. One of her twins had extreme reactions to the water. Gavin’s skin would become scaly and red where the water line stopped. Later her water turned brown and her family avoided tap water as much as possible. The twins got a bath in bottled water each week and bath with baby wipes the other days. Over time, the symptoms slowly disappeared (Lurie). Simple tasks like brushing their teeth, bathing, and cooking were incredibly complicated and expensive. Gavin and Garrett were not the only ones being affected. Her son had numerous trips to the hospital for abdominal pain, all the members of her family were losing hair, and at one point she lost her eyelashes. In January 2015, Flint declared that the city's water had dangerous levels of trihalomethanes. That came from the disinfectant that was supposed to treat the water. Exposure to these chemicals can cause liver, kidney, and nervous system

Imagine living in an area where tap water looked darker than a glass of cola. Imagine living in an area where water that looked and smelled like sewage earned the name of “the most expensive water in the nation.” Imagine living in an area where poisoned and carcinogenic water was unwittingly being sold to residents. This is what the residents of Flint, Michigan have, and are still, facing since 2014. Flint, Michigan, a city earning fourth place on “America’s Most Dangerous Cities” by Forbes.com, is facing trouble distributing clean water to residents, something many Americans take for granted. After a cost-cutting switch from water sources, residents have been bombarded with various health and financial damages.

On January 9, Charleston, West Virginia residents began to smell a strong odor in the air. There were several complaints and something was obviously wrong. Inspectors soon came upon a 40,000 gallon tank that had been leaking from a chemical storage unit. The object was an oily substance. It had run into the Elk River just upstream from an intake of a drinking water supply for 300,000 people. The chemical that leaked into the river was used for washing mined coal. “ At 6 p.m., after residents had been using their tap water all day, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin declared a state of emergency, ordering people in nine counties not to drink, cook with or bathe in the contaminated water.” (Weeks) If there isn't any water to drink from the faucet then how do you get any water? People quickly went for stores to get bottles of water so they could at least drink. After some test the government said the water was okay to use. Yet people were still filling up the hospital with unknown rashes, nausea, and other symptoms. The spill revealed the flaws and uncertainty of the federal and state laws. This time the water linked the people of Charleston to the government. The government didn't take the right precautions and told the people the water was safe to drink. But people kept getting sick. So they thought maybe there is still something wrong in the water and then told people that the water might not be very

The water crisis in Flint, Michigan shocked and outraged many Americans. It was true, a simple water source change from one source to another in the city of Flint turned into a State of Emergency as declared by the governor. Toxic water from the Flint River had filtered into thousands of homes in the town near Detroit. Keeping lead out of the drinking water is something modern society view as a fundamental and common sense action. As such, countless citizens wondered how something like this could ever happen in the United States. Indeed, the missteps by the city of Flint, Michigan must be examined in terms of both decision-making and chemistry in order to make appropriate adjustments for the future.

In January of 2015, Flint was found to be in violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act after disinfection byproducts were detected at alarming rates (NPR, 2016). Water was somehow still deemed safe for consumption, as the city was very passive in its advisories. Although E. coli, coliform bacteria, and disinfection byproducts were very serious and harmful substances found in the water supply, they would not be the main issue.

Tap water should be considered a gift to citizens from their government. It provides a necessity that all humans need. However, the US government has been recently negligent about the tap water being distributed to the people. The water contains several contaminants including chemical ones that pose severe health risks. Thus, this once given gift is a sword with two sharp ends, and people must be weary of what they’re drinking and the quantity. Tap water dates back to the early 1930’s and no serious regulation has been introduced since. The U.S government must regulate and look into tap water health risks as severe illness cases have been reported ranging from the common flu to various fatal cancer diseases.

People come into contact with numerous chemicals every day that are in our food, water, air, and household products. Many of these can be a threat to our health and in some cases have been caused to invoke death. For scientists, trying to find the volume of exposure that is acceptable or unacceptable is a painstaking process. It involves performing a risk assessment which takes into consideration the following factors. How much of a chemical is present in an environmental medium, how much contact does a person or ecological receptor have with the contaminated medium, and the inherent toxicity of the chemical (EPA, 2012). This paper will address specific questions about risk assessments and when I think a risk is deemed acceptable.

Have you ever wondered if our drinking water is actually safe to drink? The topic of safe drinking water according to my research isn’t a topic that it’s given that much attention even though there have been events and statistics that have impacted our drinking water. There have been important events such as the chemical spill in Charleston, West Virginia and the ash sludge in Kingston Tennessee in 2008, these kind of events even though they have happen a few years ago still have an impact on our drinking water today. Lauren Russell is an important person because she stated that climate change is another factor that can affect our drinking water because it can impact the quality of the water since climate change is a main world problem it affects everyone 's drinking water. Another big factor of drinking water is what kind of chemicals are in our water that makes it safe for us to drink? I feel like people and I should be informed of the risks that human and natural disasters can do to our sites that we get our drinking water from. And we should also be inform if the chemicals that they put in our drinking water are one hundred percent safe. The reason why I chose this topic is because water is a necessity for every human so if we all get informed about this topic we can enforce better laws that can ensure us the best water quality for us to drink.