SOURCE:
https://www.gcnews.com/articles/go-green-with-kelly-and-colleen-4/
By COLLEEN CIULLO AND KELLY SMITH - October 17, 2019
Long Island has one source of drinking water that must be protected to ensure its safety for future generations: groundwater. Within the last 18 months, the safety of Long Island’s groundwater has been called into question with the detection of emerging contaminants, such as 1,4-dioxane and Hexavalent Chromium (Chromium 6) in aquifers across the Island at levels that far exceed the national average. According to The Citizens Campaign for the Environment, a Farmingdale-based environmental group, Nassau and Suffolk water suppliers have reported the highest levels of 1,4-dioxane contamination in the nation. Higher levels of 1,4-dioxane have been found near former industrial sites, such as Roosevelt Field, where the chemical was used as a stabilizer in solvents from the 1950s to the 1990s. 1,4-Dioxane goes by several monikers, and is found in trace amounts in several common household products, including shampoo, shower gel, and laundry detergent.
The Village of Garden City tests its water supply daily and is currently in compliance with federal and state water requirements. The Board of Trustees has expressed its commitment to aggressively addressing the issues of emerging contaminants in Village-sourced water. To date, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) has not set enforceable standards for emerging contaminants, such as 1,4-dioxane, and has not updated water regulations since the 1996 amendment to the Safe Drinking Water Act. Further, water safety regulations do not set maximum legal limits for contaminants at levels that ensure protection for infants and children, who are more susceptible to the adverse effects of these chemicals than adults. Although the EPA has not established guidelines for 1,4-dioxane in drinking and groundwater, several states have. In July, the New York State Department of Health proposed a standard of 1 part per billion for 1,4-dioxane. There is strong indication that this legislation could be passed and put into effect as soon as January 1, 2020. If this were the current standard, the Village of Garden City and, indeed, many Long Island municipalities would be in violation.
Recently, many members of our community have expressed concern over the health, safety, and fragility of our drinking water. Discussions about effective in-home water filtration systems abound on social media. But we can no longer disconnect our daily practices, including the pervasive use of pesticides and fertilizers, and the contents of our personal and home care products, from the issue of water quality. According to the US Geological Survey, “Groundwater sustainability can be best defined as the development and use of groundwater in a manner that can be maintained for an indefinite time without causing unacceptable environmental or socioeconomic consequences.” Although much of the contamination in our groundwater is considered “legacy contamination,” leftover from the days Roosevelt Field was used as an airfield, there are steps we can take as individuals and as a community to encourage common-sense practices and regulations that will help ensure water safety in the future.
Actions:
1. Check your personal care and household products and avoid purchasing items that contain 1,4-dioxane.
2. Consider a reverse osmosis water filtration system that removes 1,4-dioxane and Hexavalent Chromium (Chromium-6). However, this is not a perfect solution because reverse osmosis wastes about 4 gallons of water per gallon made.
3. Get angry, and then get educated. Review the resources available on the websites of the Environmental Working Group (ewg.org); Our Water, Our Lives (ourwaterlives.org); Water for Long Island (waterforlongisland.org); and The Citizens Campaign for the Environment (citizenscampaign.org). Advocate for solutions to our growing water problem on Long Island.
4. Investigate the source, bottling practices, and regulations surrounding your bottled water alternatives. Remember that the Safe Drinking Water Act does not apply to bottled water, which is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration.
Why You Should Care: Contamination and Water Scarcity
1,4-Dioxane and PFAS
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) estimates that dangerous tap water contaminants causes 100,000 cases of cancer in America each year. One of these emerging contaminants is 1,4-dioxane, a synthetic chemical commonly used as a stabilizer for industrial solvents. Trace amounts of it are also found in personal care products, such as deodorants, shampoos and cosmetics. The EPA defines 1,4-dioxane as a “likely human carcinogen,” and recommends a limit of .35 micrograms per liter in drinking water. According to the interactive map of Long Island’s water districts, available on the Citizens Campaign for the Environment website, Garden City’s 1,4-dioxane level has reached a maximum of 3.9 micrograms per liter. 1,4-Dioxane is readily absorbed through the lungs and gastrointestinal tracts. Animal studies have demonstrated increased incidences of nasal cavity, liver, and gall bladder tumors after exposure to 1,4-dioxane. It is listed in California’s official registry of chemicals known to cause cancer.
The physical and chemical properties of 1,4-dioxane, as well as other contaminants such as Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), make them challenging to characterize and treat. These contaminants leach readily from soil to groundwater, are extremely soluble, migrate rapidly through plumes that travel for miles underground, and are relatively resistant to biodegradation in the subsurface. They require specialized treatment systems because conventional water treatment methods are ineffective in removing them.
To date, the Village of Garden City has approved $21.5 million dollars to remediate levels of 1,4-dioxane and other toxins in the ten Village wells. The system that the Village is investing in is called Advanced Oxidation Processes (“AOP”), which uses hydrogen peroxide and ultraviolet light to break down contaminant molecules. This method is recognized by the EPA as being effective in treating 1,4-dioxane in the water supply, but critics argue that its safety and efficacy are unproven.
Garden City resident Nick Rigano, an environmental attorney and chair of the Nassau County Bar Association’s Environmental Committee, recently presented his concerns about AOP to the Board of Trustees. Mr. Rigano stated that AOP is a novel, unproven treatment, and there is reason to believe that the AOP system could place byproducts more toxic than 1,4-dioxane in our drinking water. Moreover, according to Mr. Rigano, the process does not treat all contaminants that may potentially cause our drinking water to be toxic. The Village samples the water for only 200 contaminants in accordance with ever-changing legal requirements. It is simpler and less expensive to keep dangerous chemicals from entering our water system than it is to remove them after contamination. No matter what treatment the Village places on its wells, the drinking water may continue to contain contaminants that the Village may have to pay to treat in the future.
Mr. Rigano proposed that, instead, the Village consider connecting to the NYC water supply, which is piped directly from the Catskills and is considered safe and pure. Mr. Rigano claims that the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (“NYC DEP”), is willing to supply approximately ten million gallons of water to Garden City per day, which is double the current Garde City consumption according to the latest Village water report. The connection point would be south of Belmont Park at 108th Avenue in Queens, approximately three miles from Garden City.
In response to this proposed alternative, one of the Village’s consultants, James Roberts, who spent 34 years working for the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, stated that the technical, monetary, and political issues that this alternative presents cannot be resolved in the six months to a year that the Village has to comply with the proposed New York State standards. He added that New York City applies fluoride to its water supply, which is not currently approved by the Nassau County Department of Health. Hexavalent Chromium (Chromium-6)
Hexavalent chromium, also known as chromium-6, was made famous by Julia Roberts as the title activist in the film “Erin Brockovich” who took on the carcinogen and its industrial source after investigating the toxic effect it had on a local water supply. Unfortunately, chromium-6 is present at high levels in Garden City’s water as well. While chromium-6 can accumulate naturally from erosion of rocks and soil, on Long Island it is likely caused by industrial pollution.
According to Garden City’s 2018 water report, hexavalent chromium was last tested over 6 years ago on May 23, 2013, and levels were found to range from 0.1-0.8 parts per billion (ppb). The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment asserts 0.02- 0.06 ppb should be the goal for chromium 6 presence in drinking water. Chromium-6 is linked to stomach cancers, damage to the liver, damage to reproductive systems, and like all pollutants, has a greater effect on infants, children, the elderly, and those with other health issues. Some home filtration systems, including reverse osmosis remove chromium-6, but it is worth verifying the product effectively removes this contaminant prior to making a purchase.
What You Can Do
In many ways, stopping pollution is more effective than treating water after contamination. Unfortunately, the 1,4-dioxane found in Long Island’s groundwater is the result of decadeslong industrial practices that continue to wreak havoc on our water supply. Additionally, lax consumer regulations tolerate 1,4-dioxane in many personal care products, including shampoo, body wash, bubble bath, foaming hand soap, cosmetics, deodorant, skin lotion, and household cleaners, including laundry detergent. According to the Citizens Campaign for the Environment, the household items with the highest levels of 1,4-dioxane include Victoria’s Secret shower gels, Tide Original detergent, and Dreft Stage 1/Newborn baby laundry detergent. 1,4 Dioxane goes by a number of different names, including 1,4-diethylene dioxide; 1,4-dioxacyclohexane; di (ethylene oxide); diethylene dioxide; diethylene dioxide (osha); diethylene ether; diokan; dioksan (Polish); diossano-1,4 (Italian); dioxaan-1,4 (Dutch); dioxan. These forms of 1,4-dioxane are actually byproducts that could be easily removed by manufacturers, but currently there are no legal mandates in place that require reporting or removing this contamination. Consumers can petition state legislators and pressure manufacturers to remove these harmful contaminants from their products. Additionally, consumers can indirectly demand better, safer products by carefully considering each purchase and buying items that do not contain known carcinogens like 1,4-dioxane.
Unfortunately, conventional home filtration systems do not remove 1,4-dioxane from tap water. Reverse-osmosis (“RO”) systems do remove the contaminant, but there are drawbacks. First, reverse osmosis systems are costly, although, arguably, less costly than drinking bottled water daily. It is recommended that if you are considering installing a reverse osmosis water treatment system, you consider installing it through a separate tap for use in the kitchen, rather than using the RO treated water for bathing and lawn irrigation. Secondly, reverse osmosis systems create waste, up to four gallons of waste per gallon of water filtered. Lastly, because RO strips water of all sodium and other minerals along with contaminants, the water may taste strange. Remineralization products are available, again, at an additional cost.
Bottled Water
The bottled water industry causes many problems around water availability and environmental pollution making bottled water a troublesome alternative for a number of reasons that are important to consider. As discussed in previous editions of “Go Green” plastics are concerning across environmental and public health metrics. Plastic bottles leach chemicals like bisphenol A (BPA) into the water, and since so few bottles are actually recycled, they are a major source of pollution and contribute to the pervasiveness of microplastics in our oceans and water systems. Generally, there is a lack of oversite and limited regulations on the practices of multinational corporations that bottle water, as exemplified during the California drought of 2015 when Nestlé continued to pump water from the San Bernardino national forest despite the fact its pumping permit expired in 1988. The safety of bottled (FDA) and tap water (EPA) fall to different agencies, yet the FDA must adopt the same safety requirements applied to tap water under the Safe Water Drinking Act unless it can demonstrate a rationale for the deviation. However, across the country there are many gaps in the enforcement of the Safe Drinking Water Act with more than 20% of treatment systems in the US breaching pivotal stipulations. Do you know the local regulations and water safety where your bottled water is sourced? Furthermore, the bottled water safety requirements from the FDA allow companies to refrain from reporting contaminants found in the water, except for those posing a severe health risk such as E. Coli. This lack of transparency in the bottled water industry overlooks the indisputable impact of toxins in bottled water and deserves further attention and public notification as well as consumer awareness.