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Radioactive particles in local water supply
Lab tests show that there are radioactive
particles in drinking water supplies in and around Houston. KHOU's investigative reporter
Mark Greenblatt has been reporting extensively on the radiation, tracking it to certain
groundwater wells and explaining the increased cancer risk. He sat down recently to talk
about his findings with KUHF health science and technology reporter Carrie Feibel.
listen now:
You began by looking through all the
water sample tests conducted by the state of Texas. What did you find in the water?
Something that would surprise a lot of people. We found radiation. Not in every water
system in Texas but certainly in our region, in the Houston and Harris County region. We
found a lot of radioactive contaminants sitting in the water.
What kind of radiation is it? And where does it come from?
This isn’t something like, somebody spilled the contents of a nuclear bomb. What this
is is, believe it or not, naturally-occurring uranium, radium and other kinds of naturally
occurring radioactive materials. Just because it’s naturally occurring, doesn’t
mean that this stuff can’t hurt you. And as scientists have told us: in any amount,
this radiation can actually increase your risks for cancer.
Where is the water coming from that the radiation is in?
In our region we still depend on what are called ground wells. Now the trouble is that
where those underground streams are running by is also right next to these radioactive
uranium deposits. So we bring the uranium up in the water that you and I drink and it
doesn’t get filtered out at the water purification plant.
So the surface water is okay, the water from you know Lake Houston, Lake Conroe,
that’s fine?
Yeah, and about 80 percent of the city of Houston’s water, comes from these surface
water sources. But 20 percent of the water is still coming from underground.
What neighborhoods in Houston, around Houston are most in danger? The City of
Houston itself has identified a number of neighborhoods such as the Spring Branch area,
Jersey Village, the entire southwest sector of the city, all of these areas are areas that
are really hot spots for this stuff. And then there’s a neighborhood that’s
called the Chasewood neighborhood, and that neighborhood in particular not only has this
stuff in their water, but they have enough of it to exceed even federal legal limits.
But officially, the city officials say that the drinking water here is safe, and
they’ve never received a violation for water contamination of this kind. So how does
that square with your findings?
The EPA and every public health scientists that we’ve talked to, have all said that
any amount of radiation in drinking water is not safe, any amount will increase your risk
for cancer. Now what is true is that in some cases, that utilities such as Houston have
been able to avoid legal violations of having radiation in their water, not because
it’s safe, but because throughout the entire system what they do is they average out
all of their tests for all of their wells, rather than telling you that particular
neighborhoods have really high amounts, they’re able to avoid violations by simply
averaging out all of their readings.
So what have you done to protect yourself?
What I’ve learned is that my refrigerator purifier doesn’t help me. My charcoal
filter, which some people know as a Britta, doesn’t help get this stuff out. You need
something a little bit more robust, and I’ve bought it. It’s called a reverse
osmosis kit, you can them at any major hardware store.
Is there any way for our listeners to find out from your reports, or from the city, if
their house is close to one of these contaminated wells?
The city doesn’t seem to be that excited about letting us do that and they’re
actually fighting us at the Attorney General level in the state of Texas, to try to
prevent us from getting access to something that would let us tell you if your water
specifically, street by street, has high amounts of radiation.
It sounds like you’ve got more stories coming up?
We’ve got a lot more coming up.
Thank you, Mark.
Very good to be here.
Mark Greenblatt is an investigative reporter for KHOU-11 News in Houston. For more
information, view his water
quality investigative reports, where you can also find a searchable database of city
and county water utilities and their contaminant test results. (KUHF Houston Galveston, 12.09.2010, Carrie
Feibel)
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Government it is necessary to remove from the minds of men their individualism,
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reality contrary to verifiable facts, is a society that chooses and deserves the Police
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