Tag Archives: arsenic

Radioactive well water, coal ash, fertilizer, and Tifton superfund sites 2018-10-29

Best to test for arsenic, and maybe lead, radon, and uranium, in your well and hot water heater water. In March 2013, South Health District and the Georgia Department of Health recommended testing for arsenic. That was three years after Janet McMahan discovered the arsenic problem after her family members and pets got cancer. As we wrote a few months before the Health Departments finally made their recommendation, after Janet got Erin Brockovitch involved, you may also find lead and uranium. The problem has not gone away. Also, you may find radon.

Uranium and Lead, Well water

Janet wrote Monday:

This Water is from Well on private property 3 miles from Willacoochee. Sample taken from Water Heater. Lady says she uses all of the hot water when taking a shower each morning. Looking for her Radon Level now.

Radon, Well water

Janet added:

Radon sample collected at Same Well. Continue reading

Valdosta and Lowndes County water treatment quality compared to region

Valdosta indeed didn’t have the worst water treatment violations in Lowndes County, Georgia, but it was worse than any nearby city in Georgia or Florida (and Lowndes County was worse than any nearby county). Once again, the Valdosta Daily Times said (twice) that Valdosta “is now in full compliance”. This is about drinking water treatment; sewage is another story. But in both cases, if Valdosta doesn’t want the local newspaper to treat the city as the villain of the piece, maybe it should stop reacting like one.

Georgia and Florida

The above screenshot from Threats on Tap: Widespread Violations Highlight Need for Investment in Water Infrastructure and Protections shows Georgia has been pretty bad, but Florida was much worse.

Let’s look at the area around Valdosta. Continue reading

Arsenic, Outings, and Flooding: WWALS Watershed Coalition @ VLCIA 2013-04-16

Water issues strongly affect economic development, so I talked about the new WWALS Watershed Coalition at the 16 April 2013 Board Meeting of the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority.

The VDT declined to speak, so I did. After apologizing for no okra today, I commended the Authority for talking about the missing agenda items and for mentioning due diligence and flood control.

Mostly I talked about the new WWALS Watershed Coalition, www.wwals.net, incorporated in June 2012, which is about watershed issues such as flooding, water quality, and invasive species related to the Withlacoochee, Willacoochee, Alapaha, and Little River System. I mentioned arsenic in some local well water, which the Department of Health has finally said should be tested, three years after Janet McMahan discovered it was a problem. I invited VLCIA board and staff to two upcoming WWALS events:

WWALS board meetings are every second Wednesday of the month, usually at the IHOP in Adel because it’s centrally located. WWALS is communicating with Valdosta and various organizations about flooding and other watershed-wide issues, which in my opinion have to do with things like too much clearcutting without consideration for where the water goes, too much development without consideration for what the impervious surface would do, (to my surprise, the Executive Director and several board members nodded along with that) so it was good to hear them mention flood containment.

Here’s the video:


Arsenic, Outings, and Flooding: WWALS Watershed Coalition
Regular Meeting, Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA),
Norman Bennett, Tom Call, Roy Copeland, Chairman, Mary Gooding, Jerry Jennett, Andrea Schruijer, Executive Director, J. Stephen Gupton, Attorney, Tom Davis, CPA, Allan Ricketts, Project Manager,S. Meghan Duke, Public Relations & Marketing Manager, Lu Williams, Operations Manager,
Video by John S. Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE), Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 16 April 2013.

-jsq

Getting water tested for arsenic (and other stuff)

Water quality testing bottles Confused about how to test your water for arsenic? I was, too. Here’s how to do it.

Recently, there was a statement made by the Department of Health, recommending that well owners have their wells tested for arsenic.

I had heard about this previously from Janet McMahan and definitely wanted to do what she recommended (test hot water also).

I volunteer regularly at the County Extension Office and figured it would be easy to get what I needed for the testing.

I got a sheet of paper labelled “Water Submission Form” and it seemed like a standard information sheet, name, address type of well, tests requested. I figured that this is filled in at the extension once I would bring in my sample.

I got a summary sheet of paper labelled “Sampling Protocol for Testing Drinking Water” and knew that I wanted to test for Arsenic and Uranium so I followed those directions for both hot (as directed by Janet) and cold water. There is a more complete document about water quality attached.

Then, I took my samples to the extension office along with the list of tests that Janet had recommended getting. “Oh,” said the office manager, “you didn’t bring enough water for all those tests.”

She opened the book about tests and showed me that some tests I want need 4 ounces each (and one of them needs 16 oz) so the two 4 oz bottles I brought in are not near enough.

When she explained to me that tests W1 and W3 cost the same as W2 and W2 tests for more stuff, I figured I should get W2 instead of W1 and W3. But I didn’t even know what those things were, nor that the collection mechanisms are really different when I started.

It’s sort of like learning a foreign language, you can say the words, but until you actually know what they mean you don’t have a clue.

Understanding what each of the different water tests are, how to properly collect the water and how they are priced (another important factor) made it clear to me that I needed to go home (with some new bottles) and collect water on another day.

-gretchen

Water Quality and Common Treatments for Private Drinking Water Systems, Revised by Uttam Saha, Leticia Sonon, Mark Risse1 and David Kissel, Originally written by Anthony Tyson and Kerry Harrison, Extension Engineers.

Water filter to remove arsenic and lead

Arsenic --OSHA Wanted to make sure all of you have a Water Filter to remove Arsenic III [arsenic trioxide] and Lead!! Jane Perry, Chemical Hazards Project Director, Ga Dept of Health, has not been allowed to tell Doctors about Arsenic in our drinking water causing Cancer, especially Lung Cancer… Until she is “allowed to”, please share this email and tell others to get proper water filter! Thank You!!

-Janet McMahan

Letter from Jane M. Perry to Janet McMahan

Jane M. Perry From: Jane M Perry <jmperry@dhr.state.ga.us>
To: jmcmahan54@yahoo.com
Sent: Friday, October 26, 2012 2:26 PM
Subject: Re: update

Janet,

Also, the drought concentrates the levels of arsenic in groundwater.

The levels of arsenic are high enough to increase the risk of cancer in
Continue reading

Test wells for arsenic –South Health District

Janet McMahan and Erin Brocovich More than three years after Janet McMahan found toxic levels of arsenic in her well water in Ben Hill County, more than half a year after she told us about it at a WWALS water quality testing training, and four months after Erin Brokovich agreed it was a problem, the Georgia Departnment of Health finally has sounded the alarm. They still left out part of the story, though.

The Valdosta Daily Times carried the story in its paper Saturday edition, but apparenlty never put it online. WTXL’s story Friday by Jade Bulecza, UPDATE: South Georgians urged to test private wells due to arsenic risk, quoted Dr. Grow, head of our local eleven-county South Health District:

Continue reading

Lead, arsenic, and uranium in water causing cancer –Janet McMahan

Uranium? Yes, really: it comes out of granite rocks up deep water wells in the Georgia Piedmont. The other metals arsenic come from human energy, industrial, and agricultural activities, ranging from fenceposts to Plant Scherer, dirtiest coal plant in the country, emitting mercury, some of which ends up in the Alapaha River. Here’s video of Janet McMahan speaking about this:


Janet McMahan spoke to the group after the
Adopt-A-Stream water quality testing training
taught by Angela Bray and Richard Batten.
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for WWALS Watershed Coalition (WWALS),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 5 August 2012

Janet McMahan adds:

Continue reading