Contaminated Water Causing Serious Thyroid Complications

In Duncan, Oklahoma, the Halliburton Company reported the presence of perchlorate, a toxic substance in at least 18 of its water wells. Perchlorate is known to cause thyroid problems.
According to a news report published by Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Halliburton Co. confirmed the presence of perchlorate found in the water samples. They stated that the perchlorate likely came from a missile fuel project performed two decades ago.

Numerous studies show that even a minimal amount of perchlorate in the body can cause medical problems. The most common thyroid condition caused by perchlorate is hypothyroidism- an under active production of hormones. Heart disease, weight gain, depression, and infertility can also result from too much perchlorate exposure.
Pregnant women as well as people with pre-existing thyroid conditions have a greater risk of experiencing perchlorate-related health problems.

Source:
http://www.mesotheliomaattorney-blog.com/2011/07/contaminated-oklahoma-well-wat.html

EPA Holds Stricter Regulations

Perchlorate, which is both man-made and a natural resource, is one of the many toxins found in our water. After many years of Americans ingestion of toxic water, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decided to hold stricter regulations. They also intend to hold national standards for water.

Way To Protect Yourself From Drinking Water Toxins

Many of you porbably won't know that millions of Americans have been ingesting toxins in tap water. These toxins include hexavalent chromium, which has been traced to stomach cancer in humans and in animals, volatile organic compunds, which is also linked to caners, and of course, perchlorate. You would probably be surprised to know that those three are amond the 6,000 toxins the EPA has not gotten around to regulating in municipal drinking water symptoms.

Luckily after a change in administrations and a harsh review by the General Accounting Office, the EPA has begun to develop regulations to remove these chemicals from tap and bottled water.

Until thay happens though, here are ways to remove perchlorate from your water without government help!

In a new push for stricter drinking water regulations, the EPA reversed a Bush Administration decision to leave perchlorate unregulated and to pursue perchlorate first. It's an important ingredient in rocket fuel, fireworks, and explosives. Over time, perchlorate can disrupt the thyroid glands's production of hormones essential to prenatal and postnatal development of body metabolism.

According to the EPA, more than 4 percent of public water systems have detected perchlorate and between 5 milliom and 17 million people may be severd drinking water containing perchlorate.
The National Sanitation Foundation said perchlorate can be removed from drinking water through revers osmosis.

The Water Meeting

In July 25, 2011, a meeting came up by Erin Brockovich whose a famed legal clerk and environmental activist, that was a meeting with the residents who have concerns on the contaminated water. The setting was taken place at Simmons Center, Osage Road area, Duncan. The following questions are the question which people more interested to know. For instance,

What is the chemical caused to contaminated the water? That's a good question for the main purposes! The answer would be the water contaminated with perchlorate and has spreading all over to the ground water.

But where those contaminated water spreaded from? It was spreaded from one of the proverty area on Fifth Street owned by Halliburton.

According to the article, "Contaminated water wells bring Brockovich to Duncan" by Toni Hopper (The Duncan Banner). At the beginning when the problem was explode, Halliburton didn't know that the problem was caused from their private wells. After the testing came out by the Department of Environmental Quality, they addressing the issue immediately a week later. The perchlorate wasn't exist recently, it had been exist since in the past 50 years. Between 1965 and 1991, Halliburton contracted with the U.S. Defense Department to remove the wells that were used. And they found out there atleast a dozen more wells were on Fifth Street and Osage Road.

Along with the meeting, there were several representatives presented. One of the attorney, Todd Ommen said, "The high levels of contamination tested have raised some concerns, for sure"... "Our firm has experience in dealing with contaminated ground water. It's one of our primary areas".

Hence, from the descriptions above presented by attorney, Todd Ommen, it can conludes that as the level of the contamination tested increases, the complaint from the residents will increases too. Anyway, there is a good news is the company "Halliburton" would be responsible for all the responsibilities and may solve the situation.

http://duncanbanner.com/local/x2057649356/Contaminated-water-wells-bring-Brockovich-to-Duncan

Worries in LIVING by around the WATER

Water is an important element to not only human, but also to every biological living beings in the world, such as plants, animals and so on. Frequently, there were tons of the worries coming up from the residents in the north side of Duncan, OK which are influenced by after the contaminant water explodes. Residents are complainning and drawing attention to the causation that the problem had spreading. They felt upset is because they're the innocents who need to "enjoy" it.

A resident who named Amy Calloway is one of the victims in Duncan, OK. After the water got contaminated in her area, she and her family have to move into a hotel where the water is safe. However, she was more worrying about the water in pool where her grandson is usually swimming at.

Another resident named Russell Wilkerson, a neighbor of Amy Calloway. He was concerns about his wife's disease if it would traced back to years of drinking the contaminated water that coming from the well.

Unfortunately, from now the solution that Halliburton did was only sponsering the safe water to the residents for their common life uses.


http://newsok.com/contaminant-found-in-duncan-water-wells/article/3589399

Sources of Perchlorate

Perchlorate is not only naturally occurring chemical, but also can be man-made. Perchlorate is highly soluble in water. The Independence Day fireworks displays are often held over lakes and other bodies of water to minimize the risk of fire. However, by doing this, it can deposit significant amounts of perchlorate into the water like the contamination in Oklahoma wells. Sources of perchlorate range from lightening and certain fertilizers to the perchlorate compounds in rocket fuel and explosives. Some researchers also found that fireworks displays are another source of deposing perchlorate.

Source info: American Chemical Society. "Fireworks Displays Linked To Perchlorate Contamination In Lakes." ScienceDaily, 28 May 2007.

My friend sent me this, it's an interesting read:

Recently, the GAO (Government Accountability Office) released two reports evaluating the performance of the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) on its efforts to protect American drinking water. These reports pointed out several glaring issues with the way the EPA collects accurate information and processes the proper procedures for regulation.

The first report explained that part of the problem was found to lie in the underreporting of drinking water violations by the states. About 26 percent of health-related violations and 84 percent of monitoring violations of the SDWA (Safe Drinking Water Act) were inaccurately reported or not reported at all by the states. These inaccuracies were not isolated incidents as they were found in more than one year. The GAO speculated that there are several factors that could have had a hand in this issue, some of which include inadequate training, staffing, and funding. This misinformation severely limits the EPA's ability to enforce its own rules and regulations.


Included in the second report was a study which determined "systemic limitations" to the EPA's abilities to regulate contaminants. The EPA does not have a set criteria by which to determine the contaminants which pose the greatest risk to public health, and the study noted a significant problem in the EPA's inability to assess the effects of a contaminant on children's health. Perchlorate was also noted as an issue of significance, as though there were warnings as early as 1998, a formal decision was not made until 2008 and a regulation standard was not put in place until 2011.

Read more at:
http://www.ombwatch.org/node/11787

A Little Something I Found!

http://my.firedoglake.com/ruthcalvo/2011/07/29/halliburton-charged-with-more-crimes/#comments

You all should read this amazing post!

Something to Think About

I was seeing if there were any new news on the water contamination in Duncan, Oklahoma. I didn't find any developing stories but i did find an article that got me thinking.

Russell Wilkerson wonders

"whether his wife's parathyroid disease could be traced back to years of drinking their contaminated well water"

Since the work to remove and burn spent missile fuel contained in missile casings ended in 1991 in Duncan's north side, where the contaminated wells are located.


When I read that section of the article, I began to wonder how these people fell victim to this water contamination. To get an idea of how big the contamination is, a level of 16 parts per billion is considered an alarming rate, but in one family's water well, perchlorate was found at 30,000 parts per billion.

Halliburton is taking action though, they've begun connecting rural water lines for affected homes and is working with the city to install a water for other homes. They clearly are owning up to their wrong doings. 

If you think Halliburton isn't doing enough, don't hesitate to do something about it.

"If YOU didn't pollute someone's water, WHY would you offer to pay compensations?"

There is an article shown that the Houston-based energy company Halliburton have met with the residents in Duncan to discuss the water contamination in the contaminated areas. (These areas are part of the property of the corporation) The corporation has admitted the negligence of what was their project has ended up with this causation by twenty years ago. For more information, then check it out on the following link:

http://texassharon.com/2011/07/22/halliburton-contaminated-oklahoma-water/

http://www.newson6.com/story/15153740/erin-brockovich-attends-meeting-in-duncan-to-discuss-contaminated-water-wells

Perchlorate Dangers

Perchlorate interferes with the iodine uptake into the thyroid gland. This can have adverse effects such as hypothyroidism (insufficient production of thyroid hormones), thyroid tumor, irregular metabolism, and impairment of the brain and body. The EPA published in 2002 that a safe limit in the intake of perchlorate was 0.00003 milligrams per kilogram of body weight. This is not true for all people since research proved that a safe level of intake in pregnant women, fetuses, infants, and children are much lower.

WaterWorld Weekly Report on July 15.

           I would love to share this clip which talks about perchlorate found in Duncan, OK, house passes disputable water bill, and bottled water in Benjing contaminated. 

          For sure, Perchlorate found in water is a serious problem. God bless. 

Duncan, OK in 2011

Duncan is known as "Crapemyrtle Capital", a city in Oklahoma of the United States. With fruitful geography that is surrounded by prairies and rich farmland, it's also a part of the Great Plains and has four lakes. Unfortunately, recently a unnamed land has been destroyed by the chemicals names "Perchlorate", the water got contaminated. Therefore, civics in the city are concerned about the problems due to the contaminated water. Below is a video link that might be useful to understand more about the worries in the city.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rd4FEQrft0g&feature=channel_video_title

Furthermore, several anonymous people expressed anger to the oilfield corporation "Halliburton" of what they had done in causing the water to become contaminated.

http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread733631/pg1

Perchlorates found in Drinking Water in U.S

There are two reports about which the protections of America’s drinking waters of U.S. EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) released by GAO (Government Accountability Office) recently. These reports showed that EPA failed to report the drinking water violations and contaminants which will cause a crisis to Americans’ health.

 The drinking water in U.S. is a threat to public health, since it concludes many chlorine, arsenic, lead, and copper.Three years ago, perchlorate is found in drinking water by the end of Bush’s administration. With exposure to these chemistry substances, people will get a lot of health problem, such as stomach discomfort, eye or nose irritation, liver or kidney damage, cancer, anemia, and even death. For children and infants, the risk will be lead to slowly physical and mental development and blue-baby syndrome which might cause death.

The GAO found mistakes in EPA’s examining program for unregulated contaminants; therefore, the GAO provided 17 recommendations to EPA for EPA’s long-term problems. For example, to increase EPA’s consistency, transparency, and clarity in implementing the Safe Drinking Water Act. (For more recommendations, please click on here.)

Halliburton

Halliburton is the world's second largest company for oilfield services and was founded in Duncan, Oklahoma in 1919.

Perchlorate Situation in Duncan, Oklahoma

Imagine arriving home on a blazing summer day. What a joy to reach for a glass of cold water to cool you down from the humid and hot temperature! Of course we can do so with a clean water supply. But there is a problem in Duncan, Oklahoma.

In early July, it was found that 18 Halliburton-owned wells were contaminated with perchlorate. Perchlorate is a colorless salt that, if ingested in great amounts, can result in various side effects such as damaging hormone functionality.

However, there’s more to worry about than our health. For expectant mothers, there is also the unborn child’s health. Their developing nervous systems can be greatly damaged. 

Water plays a pivotal role in Oklahomans’ lives. They use water from the wells for their farmlands, which Oklahomans are proud of. Although Halliburton announced that they will provide bottled water for the neighborhood around the affected area, this can only be a temporary solution.

In long term, who knows how perchlorate has already affected these people? Who knows what future damages may occur? Not only does Halliburton need to take the responsibility for cleaning up the chemicals; they need to make sure Duncan’s water supply is free of perchlorates for future use.

Water Contamination- Perchlorate

Recently, perchlorate has been detected in 18 residential wells in Duncan, OK. Perchlorate is a chemical commonly used in fireworks, gunpowder, and fuels. It can enter the environment when rockets explode or crash.

Halliburton, a major energy company located in Duncan, has acknowledged their involvement in the contamination of local wells. Perchlorate was detected along Osage Road, where the company burned fuels from missiles. Recently they began giving out bottled water to local residents and have stated that they will reimburse the residents for any medical fees related to perchlorate. 

 Perchlorates mainly affect the thyroid gland, preventing it from absorbing iodine. Unborn babies are more vulnerable than adults to the effects of perchlorate - there is a chance it could harm the developing nervous system of fetuses and infants. Adults often experience symptoms such as nausea and vomiting.

EPA has been developing regulations for perchlorate usage. As of now, however, there are no regulations in place. Water is contaminated by numerous chemicals, many of which are not regulated. We should become more aware of what we are ingesting.  

Perchlorate facts and dangers

Perchlorate has become increasing threat to water supplies, milk, and lettuce because of the adverse effects it causes within the thyroid glands when people consume food and water contaminated with the dangerous chemical. Perchlorate is a byproduct of rocket fuel and naturally occurring substance. It builds up in the water supply when unused rocket ammunition or missiles are disposed of.

The chemical has recently been tested, and researchers found that when exposed to high amounts of it, it can cause thyroid disease by stopping the intake of iodine which is more harmful to women than men, 44 million women are at risk in the U.S alone.

When children and newborns are exposed to perchlorate, it stops hormone functionality and can cause the child to have growth defects. The good news is that as long as the person being affected stops exposure to the chemical, any negative health effects can be reversed/cured.

Perchlorate found in Oklahoma wells

Duncan OK- Recently there has been contamination in 18 residential wells in Duncan Oklahoma. Found in them were high concentrations of perchlorate, a chemical that can cause adverse effects on one's thyroid glands because can't be metabolized in the body. The people that are responsible for this perchlorate contamination is Halliburton Oilfield Services.

In 1991 Halliburton disposed of unused rocket fuel and perchlorate is a byproduct of rocket fuel. Even though they have stopped since then the substance has built up over time causing a high concentration of perchlorate in people's drinking water. Halliburton is currently handing out drinking water to anyone in the affected area that needs it, and has set up  a temporary water supply solution until a long term solution presents itself.

Halliburton also says they will reimburse anyone whose health has been affected by the contaminated water in any adverse way. Since there is no confirmed amount of perchlorate you can take in before you get sick, the Environmental Protection Agency has begun research on this problem immediately.