Toxic Water in America

This just in from the New York Times: our nation’s Clean Water Act has been violated over 500,000 times in the past five years by chemical factories, manufacturing plants, workplaces, and other polluters. Sadly, the vast majority of these polluters go unpunished by state and federal regulators tasked with protecting the public health. It’s a tragic story and reminder that we need to have meaningful consequences and regulation.

One story from the report:

Jennifer Hall-Massey knows not to drink the tap water in her home near Charleston, W.Va….neighbors apply special lotions after showering because their skin burns. Tests show that their tap water contains arsenic, barium, lead, manganese and other chemicals at concentrations federal regulators say could contribute to cancer and damage the kidneys and nervous system. “How can we get digital cable and Internet in our homes, but not clean water?” said Mrs. Hall-Massey, a senior accountant at one of the state’s largest banks….

When Mrs. Hall-Massey and 264 neighbors sued nine nearby coal companies, accusing them of putting dangerous waste into local water supplies, their lawyer did not have to look far for evidence. As required by state law, some of the companies had disclosed in reports to regulators that they were pumping into the ground illegal concentrations of chemicals — the same pollutants that flowed from residents’ taps.

The Times report is worth the read and is a reminder of the interconnectedness of public health and environmental protections: http://projects.nytimes.com/toxic-waters