Researchers Concerned About Chemical In The Monongahela River

http://kdka.com/local/chemical.monongahela.river.2.1919015.html
Sep 17, 2010 8:02 pm US/Eastern

Researchers Concerned About Chemical In Mon River

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―The Monongahela River is the source for 13 different water companies.

The drinking water comes out of taps in homes and businesses in the better part of southwestern Pennsylvania.

Now researchers at Carnegie Mellon University are raising concerns about the level of bromide in the Mon River – something they detected in July and August.

“Bromide itself is not a concern,” says Dr. Jeanne VanBriesen, director of CMU’s Water Quality In Urban Environmental Systems Center. “We’re concerned that when the bromide gets into the drinking water plants there’s a reaction that takes place.”

And that reaction comes when the river water is disinfected with chlorine and forms byproducts. The byproducts are always present in our water at different levels, but continuous high levels are linked to health problems, says Dr. VanBriesen.

“Particularly cancer and reproductive outcomes,” she said.

There is not a lot that water companies can do. The bromide contamination has to be stopped at its source. They must find out how it’s getting into the river.

“We initially started researching it because the Marcellus Shale produced-water does have a significant amount of bromide,” Dr. VanBriesen said.

But the bromide levels only spiked this summer and a lot of other industries are capable to producing bromide.

“It’s crucial for people to understand that we’re concerned about this, but the water is safe to drink,” Dr. VanBriesen said.

It’s the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s job to monitor contaminants in the rivers.

“Going back and using our data to look at all the dozens of facilities along the Mon that discharge into the river,” is what the watchdog department is doing says spokesperson Katy Gresh.

DEP detectives will be looking at three categories of potential bromide polluters.

“Deep mining, oil and gas as you mentioned and other heavy industry like power plants and steel plants,” Gresh said.

Finding a source may take six months to a year to sample bromide levels, but for now the DEP agrees that our water meets all federal standards.

The increased bromide levels have nothing to do with the musty taste and smell that some water company customers were experiencing last month due to stressed algae in the rivers.