For more information about percholate see this website: http://www.cleanwaterfund.org/pdfs/just-the-tip.pdf
DRINKING WATER WARNING
Important information about your drinking water.
TESTS SHOW PERCHLORATE IN WATER SUPPLIED TO HAMILTON WATER DEPARTMENT CUSTOMERS
The Town of Hamilton water supply was tested on August 13, 2008 and the laboratory results were reported to the Town on August 28, 2008. A sample from the Idlewood Water Treatment Plant was found to contain 32.2 parts per billion (ppb) of Perchlorate. A sample from the School Street Well was found to contain 44.4 ppb of Perchlorate. The Town turned off the School Street Well. A repeat sample from the Idlewood plant was collected to ensure accuracy of the original sample and to validate that the Perchlorate levels are true. A sample was also collected from the water distribution system at the Fire Station. Perchlorate was not detected in the repeat sample or the Fire Station sample. The Massachusetts Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for perchlorate is 2.0 ppb (see below #1).
Possible Health Effects
Perchlorate interferes with the normal function of the thyroid gland and thus has the potential to affect growth and development and could cause brain damage and other adverse effects, particularly in fetuses and infants.
What should I do?
- Pregnant women, nursing mothers, infants, children up to the age of 12, and individuals with hypothyroidism should not consume drinking water containing concentrations of perchlorate that exceed the Maximum Contaminant Level of 2.0 ppb. Boiling the water will not remove perchlorate.
- Ice cubes, juices, baby formula, and other beverages prepared before August 29, 2008 should be discarded.
- The general population is advised not to drink the water if levels exceed 18 ppb.
- If you are concerned about effects of previous exposure to perchlorate on your thyroid functions, you should contact your primary health care provider.
- All persons including the sensitive populations may shower with the water. Bathing and skin contact with the water are not reasons for concern.
What happened? What is being done?
Perchlorate is an inorganic chemical widely used as an oxidizer in fireworks, blasting agents and in other industrial products. It can also occur due to aging of hypochlorite used to disinfect water supplies. The last monitoring for perchlorate at the Idlewood plant and the School Street Well in April 2007 did not detect perchlorate in the water.
The August 28, 2008 samples from the Idlewood plant and Fire Station did not find Perchlorate in the Town water supply. Additional testing will be done before this health advisory is lifted. The School Street Well will remain out of service until the well has been tested and determined safe for use. The Town is investigating the source of the contamination and evaluating next steps in cooperation with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.
For more information and updates on the situation, please call Hamilton Water Department at (978) 468-5581.
Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses). You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail.
This notice is being sent to you by: PWS ID#: Date distributed:
Town of Hamilton Water Department 3119000 August 29, 2008
NEW Hamilton-Wenham GREEN reusable shopping bags for sale!
We now have a reusable shopping bag for sale made from recycled material and printed with our logo and the logos of our four sponsors: Carbonrally, Gifts of Green, Green Meadows Farm, and the Hamilton Poice Department. You can buy the bags through or Green Meadows Farm: http://www.gmfarm.com/ and Giggles toy store on Railroad Avenue in Hamilton (978-468-5800).
Check out this site to find out more about why we need to stop using plastic bags. Thanks to Mary Lewis for this link.
http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080506/MULTIMEDIA02/80505016
TOXINS in TOYS:
The November December issue of Mothering magazine reports that Target and some other corporations have agreed to reduce the PVC and phthalates in plastic toys and other things like sippy cups that children frequently put in their mouths. The European Union has banned these substances from such products for a long time, and California does now as well.
Mothering suggests some safe toys that look appealing, and Klean Kanteen has safe sippy cups and other types of water bottles.
You can find out more about The Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow mentioned in the Globe article.
GET THE LEAD OUT OF LIPSTICK!
According to Mark Shapiro, author of Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products and What's at Stake for American Power, not only is the US a dumping ground for products that don't pass the European standards, our FDA has no responsibility for monitoring the safety of cosmetics except hair dyes. The result is that there are unhealthy toxins, including lead, in many cosmetic products. Apparently the industry's lobby was powerful enough to remove cosmetics from FDA oversight when the law was written in 1938 giving it authority to review other products. About a third of what we put ON our bodies goes INTO our bodies, so this seems a very critical omission, and one we need to correct.
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As a sub-committee, we have several projects we're working on, all in the very preliminary stages. Right now we're looking into:
1) Buying safe water bottles from Klean Kanteen that could be printed with our logo, and/or the logos of businesses and other donors. I was re-using plastic water bottles until I learned in a Hamilton-Wenham GREEN meeting that these bottles leach toxic chemicals into the water as they deteriorate, a process that heat excellerates. I was reusing the bottles to keep them out of the landfill, at least for a while longer, but now I have a Klean Kanteen water bottle that works very well. A member of HWGREEN, recommended these bottles after some research, and even though they are made in China, Klean Kanteen inspects the factory four times a year and their represenrtative told me they are very careful about quality control.
2) Water Bubblers: we hope to convince the towns to install new bubblers in public places where needed, and repair existing ones.
3) Non-toxic lunch boxes: we're concerned that many of the plastic containers we use in lunch boxes are leaching toxins into our food. Several members with expertise in this area are putting together a lunch box with non-toxic containers for students and anyone else who packs a lunch.
4) One of our members suggested teaching students to do a "Green Audit" for schools and businesses in the towns. This audit would evaluate school buildings for air quality, consider alternative materials for renovation and ongoing maintenance and cleaning, and make recommendations.
5) Vehicle Idling: School busses aren't supposed to idle for more than five minutes and we want to be sure that this important rule is being upheld. We are also interested in seeing if a similar concept would work for other trucks, busses, and cars operating in the towns. Idling burns fuel unecessarily, which is expensive and is a source of pollution.
Please contact Barbara Lawrence at barbaralawrence@comcast.net for more information.
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