Human Error Caused OWASA Fluoride Overdose
Human Error Caused OWASA Fluoride Overdose, OWASA Very Sorry About That
An "unintentional [water treatment plant] operator key stroke"—literally, someone hit the wrong button—caused the overfeed of fluoride that forced OWASA to shut down its water plant last week, according to independent reports released Friday.
The extra fluoride dosage, plus a major water main break the next day, prompted a water shortage in Orange County that closed businesses, placed Chapel Hill and Carrboro under states of emergency, and sent residents scrambling to buy bottled water. Customers were unable to use or drink their water for more than twenty-four hours. .......
The extra fluoride dosage, plus a major water main break the next day, prompted a water shortage in Orange County that closed businesses, placed Chapel Hill and Carrboro under states of emergency, and sent residents scrambling to buy bottled water. Customers were unable to use or drink their water for more than twenty-four hours. .......
posted by Bill at
10:45 AM
3 Comments:
This is an excellent example of how the system works in the event of mishaps. Given the myriad hazardous raw, undiluted toxic substances routinely added to public water supplies, overfeeds and other mishaps are going to occur periodically within water systems. The key is what happens when they do. In the case of this Orange County water treatment plant, 30 miles down the road from me, the water with excess fluoride was simply diverted into the ground. Contrary to what antifluoridationists would lead people to believe, there were no deaths, no adverse effects on anyone from this overfeed. It occurred, it was properly handled.
The shutdowns were not due to the overfeed. They were due to the massive leak. This lowered water levels to the point where contamination was a likely possibility. Therefore, the health officials rightly shut down the system unti the leak was repaired, water levels were restored to safe levels, and water quality was deemed to be adequate. Problem occurred. Problem solved. No deaths, no adverse effects.
Steven D. Slott, DDS
Communications Director
American Fluoridation Society
By
Steve Slott, at 11 February, 2017
This is an excellent example of how the system doesn't work in the event of mishaps
Camelford water pollution incident
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Camelford water pollution incident is located in Cornwall CamelfordCamelford
Camelford shown within Cornwall.
The Camelford water pollution incident involved the accidental contamination of the drinking water supply to the town of Camelford, Cornwall, in July 1988. Twenty tonnes of aluminium sulphate was inadvertently added to the water supply, raising the concentration to 3,000 times the admissible level. As the aluminium sulphate broke down it produced several tonnes of sulphuric acid which "stripped a cocktail of chemicals from the pipe networks as well as lead and copper piping in people’s homes."[1][2] Many people who came into contact with the contaminated water experienced a range of short-term health effects,[3] and many victims suffered long-term effects whose implications remained unclear as of 2012. There has been no rigorous examination or monitoring of the health of the victims since the incident, which is Britain's worst mass poisoning event.[4][5][6][7] Inquests on people who died many years later found very high levels of aluminium in the brain. Dame Barbara Clayton led a Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution enquiry into the incident.[8]
Immediately after the contamination the authorities said that the water was safe to drink, possibly with juice to cover the unpleasant taste. In an inquest in 2012 into the death of one of the victims, the coroner stated that South West Water Authority had been "gambling with as many as 20,000 lives" when they failed to inform the public about the poisoning for 16 days, a delay he called unacceptable.[6] In the aftermath of the contamination the public were reassured that there was no risk to health. There were allegations of a cover-up and West Somerset Coroner Michael Rose stated: "I found there was a deliberate policy to not advise the public of the true nature until some 16 days after the occurrence of the incident."[9] Following an investigation by the government's Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment, Michael Meacher, the former Environment Minister, claimed that "various associated bodies tried to bury the inquiry from the start." Meacher told one newspaper: "This has become a tug of war between the truth and an attempt to silence the truth."[10][11]
An April 2013 report by the Lowermoor subgroup of the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment concluded that exposure to the chemicals was unlikely to cause "delayed or persistent harm" and was also unlikely to cause future ill health.[12][13] In September 2013 the government admitted that there had been a "manifest failure to give prompt appropriate advice and information to affected consumers" and offered an unreserved apology.[14]
By
Bill, at 11 February, 2017
Sure, as I said, given the myriad raw, toxic substances routinely added to public water systems, mishaps are going to occur. The one in my area involving fluoride was handled properly. The one in Camelford, involving aluminum sulphate appeared not to be have been so. Hopefully, the Camelford water authorities learned from their mistakes and corrected their problems.
Steven D. Slott, DDS, DDS
Communications Officer
American Fluoridation Society
By
Steve Slott, at 11 February, 2017
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