By Jessica Roberts on September 3, 2010
Residents of a small Wyoming town near extensive natural gas drilling have been warned by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency not to drink their local water following new water testing in the area.
The investigative news organization ProPublica reports that the EPA cautioned residents of Pavillion after a new round of testing and analysis of 23 ... Read more »
Posted in Drinking Water, Environmental Safety and Health, News & Notes
By Lea Yu on August 6, 2010
Hardly anyone would dispute that when mining companies clean coal, it leads to a lot of dirty water. But does that waste eventually leach through the ground to taint drinking water supplies?
Three years ago, legislators in the mining state of West Virginia commissioned a $220,000 study to explore that question. Researchers sought to figure out ... Read more »
Posted in Drinking Water, Environmental Safety and Health, News & Notes
By Elise Craig on July 29, 2010
As clean-up efforts continue in the Gulf, officials are scrambling to stop a Michigan oil spill that is believed to be one of the largest ever in the Midwest. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that more than one million gallons of oil may have spilled into the Kalamazoo River, and Governor Jennifer M. Granholm ... Read more »
Posted in Drinking Water, Environmental Safety and Health, News & Notes
By Bridget Huber on May 14, 2010
Lax regulation has led to unhealthy levels of nitrates in the drinking water of more than 2 million Californians, and the problem is getting worse, California Watch reports.
Agricultural fertilizers are a leading cause of nitrate contamination. Infants who drink water with high levels of nitrites can develop “blue baby syndrome,” which cuts off their oxygen supply, ... Read more »
Posted in Drinking Water, Environmental Safety and Health, News & Notes
By Jill Replogle on May 7, 2010
Officials have begun to step up monitoring of health threats from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Public health agencies are monitoring drinking water, seafood and air quality for contamination. Last week, a “foul stench” drifting over parts of southwestern Louisiana was likely attributable to the spill. Residents living as far as 130 miles away ... Read more »
Posted in Airborne Hazards, Drinking Water, Environmental Safety and Health, Food and Drug Safety, News & Notes
By Bridget Huber on April 23, 2010
Environmental officials in New York have blocked natural gas drilling in the two Catskills watersheds that provide drinking water to more than 9 million people in New York City and nearby counties.
The state has not banned gas drilling in the region, but chose to leave the watersheds out of its regulatory plan for drilling in ... Read more »
Posted in Drinking Water, Environmental Safety and Health, News & Notes
