Ohio Waste Treatment Facilities Charged with Clean Water Act Violations
“The centralized waste treatment plant owned and operated by Patriot Water Treatment LLC and the city of Warren’s publicly-owned wastewater treatment plant in Trumbull County (Ohio) were sued by the FreshWater Accountability Project (www.FWAP.org) for significant and ongoing violations of the Clean Water Act. Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services (www.fairshake-els.org) brought the lawsuit on behalf of FreshWater Accountability Project through the Citizen Suit provision of the Clean Water Act that allows “any citizen” to “commence a civil action on his own behalf…against any person…who is alleged to be in violation of (A) an effluent standard or limitation under ⦋the Act⦌ or (B) an order issued by the Administrator or a State with respect to such a standard or limitation.”
It appears that the pretreatment standards may have not been meet and there is a question if the proper wastewater treatment assessments or wastewater characterization were conducted as part of an Industrial Pretreatment Permit. I am not sure if the issue of “were not carried out to protect public health and safety or the bio-accumulative impact ” is a real issue, because it would depend on the nature of the contaminant and potential to exposure. With respect to radiological parameters radon half life is about 3 days and most radium and uranium would likely be bound to sludge and solids, so monitoring of the waste sludge would be a big concern. No matter what – proper waste characterization and treatability studies should always be conducted.
Read more at http://fwap.org/ohio-waste-treatment-facilities-charged-with-clean-water-act-violations/
Lawyers – lawsuit can be accessed at http://fwap.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Time-Stamped-FWAP-v.-Patriot-Water-Treatment-et-al.-Complaint.pdf
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Drinking Water and Surface Water Testing From Throughout The USA !
DIY – Do it Yourself- Citizens are screening the quality of their drinking water and private water wells . With thousands of customers around the world, where starting a new project where everyone can share their results & then view other results submitted from around the world. We currently have the surface water testing calculator complete and we are working on the drinking water calculator (looking for donations).
Get a DIY City Water Testing Kit or Well Water Testing Kits
The Keystone Clean Water Team (KCWT) -Carbon County Groundwater Guardian Program (CCGG) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, volunteer, environmental education organization which provides homeowners with information on private wells, water quality and quantity, and septic systems. We are dedicated to protecting private well owners from illnesses caused by our drinking water. We advance good groundwater stewardship by raising awareness on a variety of groundwater issues that affects everyone with a private water supply. We can help you get your water tested at the lab of your choice or use our Mail Order Program, plus explain the test results –Get our Educational Booklet.
Well Water City Drinking Water Quality Screening Test – DIY at Home
Complete Water Testing Kit – Because it is important to KnowYourH20
Whether you have well water or municipal water, you won’t know what you’re drinking unless you test it. Crystal clear water can contain a number of contaminants from chemicals to metals and even bacteria. Many of the contaminants that are cause for concern can easily go undetected. They are colorless, odorless, and tasteless.
Safe Home Complete Water Analysis Test Kit includes 10 tests that are easy to administer and give you results within 10 minutes with the exception of the bacteria test which takes 48 hours. This single kit includes all of the following water tests:
- NEXT GENERATION of drinking water test kits for 2024, with patented technologies for testing any drinking water supply (City Water or Well Water).
- INCLUDES 27-testing mechanisms that provide testing for 14-different parameters (302 Total Tests/Kit). See attached image of package-back, for a complete list of parameters to be tested.
- EXCLUSIVE BRAND of water test kits to earn the Good Housekeeping Seal. Named one of the Top-10 New Products at the National Hardware Show. Includes trilingual instructions. Made in the USA!
- YOU GET MORE BENEFITS for your dollar with Safe Home – Our team guides you before, during, and after testing. See details on attached image with this listing.
- YOUR PURCHASE MAKES A DIFFERENCE in people’s lives. Safe Home donates a portion of every test kit sale to clean water initiatives around the globe. See attached video to learn more!
These tests allow you to quickly and accurately analyze your drinking water and are compatible with well water, city/municipal water, tap water, residential drinking water, ground water, spring water sources, and bottled water. The results are fast and easy to read by following along with the color-coded charts and instruction manual. Testing can easily be done in your home, classroom, school, office, or anyplace else where you would need to test water quality.
If you looking for more information on water quality and drinking water, please visit the Water Research Center.
What is in your well water? Well Water Testing is Critical Know Your H20
What is in your well water?
If your water comes from a private well, you know that the safety of your drinking water is up to you. At the federal level and in most states there are no regulations that govern private wells, but the CDC and EPA does recommend that you test your well water at least once a year. You may want to check the quality of your water more often if there are known problems with wells in your area or if you have experienced any flooding or land disturbances near your well. Indications of a change in water quality include cloudiness, odor, and unusual taste.
You can quickly and easily test your well water for a variety of contaminants with Groundwater City Water Well Water Testing Kit (Safe Home). This kit is a great screening test to help you determine the quality of your water.
A DYI Well Water single kit includes all of the following water tests:
- Chlorine (Just in case the well was shock disinfected)
- Copper
- Lead
- Nitrates & Nitrites
- Iron
- Alkalinity
- pH
- Hardness
- Bacteria
These easy to use tests will give you results within 10 minutes, with the exception of the bacteria test which takes 48 hours for full results. There’s no need for expensive equipment or to mail samples to a lab. Each test is calibrated to the EPA standards. Once you have your results, compare them to the EPA recommendations and guidelines for water quality limits.
If you would rather a more detailed chemical analysis of your Well Water or City Water. We would recommend the specially designed water testing kits for people on well water, the Well Water Testing Kit includes over 70 water quality tests for a complete water analysis or City Water (over 80 parameters) . You’ll be able to identify the presence of chemicals, metals, and even bacteria like E. coli.
Please review and share some of our PSAs on Well Water.
Get our New Educational Booklet on Drinking Water Quality for Private Well Owners.
Corrosion Index, LSI, Hardness and Alkalinity – Do you have a problem??
Well water testing kits or City water testing kits
100% Renewable is the a Realistic Goal or a No Pipe Dream
100% Renewable is the a Realistic Goal or a No Pipe Dream
This is not a standard article but a look just specifically at the issue of energy. To set some basic ground rules we have to agree on some facts:
We are not in an energy crisis, we are in a crisis related to energy waste and poor and ineffective distribution and storage.
1. We waste over 58 % of the energy we use in the USA.
2. This energy waste is double what we actually need.
3. This annual energy waste, production, lack of use, distribution inefficiencies, and waste heat, in just one year in the USA could power the UK for 7 years.
4. We are leaving money on the table that could go economy and help our countries and others.
Inefficient Production
1. Wind and solar have low inefficiencies for energy production compared to other source. So they really only make sense NOW in specific corridors or regions.
2. The primary problem is these regions are not were the core demand in the USA is located and we lack an energy distribution network.
3. Inefficient distribution, production, and waste requires building multiple times demand capacity to meet peak demand. Because of the lack of solid storage systems, such as battery technology, inefficient distribution and production we need to overbuild to meet peak capacity if we rely sole on renewable. A thought process:
How to Get There !- 1 Quadrillion Btus per year = 2,739,730,000,000 BTUs/day
Solar (100 % Efficiency) – 433 Btu/hr per square foot
Available 24 hours per day
Need 6100 acres of Solar Panels
Wait – Solar-Assume Solar Efficiency Assume 10% (high) – Only Available about 8 hours per day
Need 182,000+ acres of Solar Panels, plus storage and duplicate capacity.
Wind- 25 % Conversion
Need about 270,000 10 MW Turbines, plus storage and duplicate capacity.
These analysis does not factor in transmission losses. If there was only a 10% loss and no other inefficiencies, we would multiple the calculated values by 1.1, but we have a use inefficiency of 58%. This means are multiplication factor is at least 1.9 to 2 +. So – 360,000 acres of solar panels and 540,000 10 MW turbines.
The goal for renewable should not be based on a Carbon or CO2 hammer and we must stop this myth of Man controlled climate. Climate on this Earth has not been constant, it is in dynamic equilibrium with Sun, Earth Process, and to a lesser extent life on Earth.
It is very likely man is having an influence on the climate, but this is not likely CO2 production but deforestation, building in the wrong places, heat island effects, and not adapting to our environment. As an alternative approach, we are suggesting the following:
- Fact based discussions about energy, economy, politics, and culture. We are humans so science (facts) and cultural discussions are linked, but we should not be using Fear as a rally cry.
- Concentration on energy waste reduction – individuals, homes, small business, and government.
- Distribution – We should focus on “hardening” the grid and creating capacity and duplicity were needed. We must start linking “renewable and other energy sources” and take advantage of the energy diversity in the USA.
- Storage – we must develop efficient storage technologies.
- The solution is not a CO2 hammer, electric cars, or a 100% renewable life cycle, but an all the above approach.
- Remember our beaches are moving, we live on a planet with the plates move and we have the Great Earth Engine. (Geothermal is a great asset for the USA).
- Energy and energy technology – we must not be hoarders, but exports of energy and energy technology and I do not mean low cost solar panels, but micro-grid energy systems that use multiple fuel stocks that can power rural villages and towns and not a Carbon Tax.
- If we cut our waste, we cut CO2 emissions. This makes the CO2 emissions benchmark useless and to be honest the arguments based on climate change and CO2 are weak.
- Stop the 100 % renewable myth (all the above approach).
I have never recommended a book to read – this is the first, but I strongly recommend “Scare Pollution“, 2016.
I also like “Human Caused Global Warming“, but I really wish the author hired and used an editor.
“Unsettled: What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn’t, and Why It Matters”
I really enjoyed – “Global Warming-Alarmists, Skeptics and Deniers: A Geoscientist Looks at the Science of Climate Change“
Radon occurrence in groundwater from 16 geologic units in Pennsylvania
Evaluation of radon occurrence in groundwater from 16 geologic units in Pennsylvania, 1986–2015, with application to potential radon exposure from groundwater and indoor air
Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5018
“Results from 1,041 groundwater samples collected during 1986‒2015 from 16 geologic units in Pennsylvania, associated with 25 or more groundwater samples with concentrations of radon-222, were evaluated in an effort to identify variations in radon-222 activities or concentrations and to classify potential radon-222 exposure from groundwater and indoor air. Radon-222 is hereafter referred to as “radon.” Radon concentrations in groundwater greater than or equal to the proposed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) maximum contaminant level (MCL) for public-water supply systems of 300 picocuries per liter (pCi/L) were present in about 87 percent of the water samples, whereas concentrations greater than or equal to the proposed alternative MCL (AMCL) for public water-supply systems of 4,000 pCi/L were present in 14 percent. The highest radon concentrations were measured in groundwater from the schists, gneisses, and quartzites of the Piedmont Physiographic Province.
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In this study, conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, groundwater samples were aggregated among 16 geologic units in Pennsylvania to identify units with high median radon concentrations in groundwater. Graphical plots and statistical tests were used to determine variations in radon concentrations in groundwater and indoor air. Median radon concentrations in groundwater samples and median radon concentrations in indoor air samples within the 16 geologic units were classified according to proposed and recommended regulatory limits to explore potential radon exposure from groundwater and indoor air. All of the geologic units, except for the Allegheny (Pa) and Glenshaw (Pcg) Formations in the Appalachian Plateaus Physiographic Province, had median radon concentrations greater than the proposed EPA MCL of 300 pCi/L, and the Peters Creek Schist (Xpc), which is in the Piedmont Physiographic Province, had a median radon concentration greater than the EPA proposed AMCL of 4,000 pCi/L. Median concentrations of radon in groundwater and indoor air were determined to differ significantly among the geologic units (Kruskal-Wallis test, significance probability, p<0.001), and Tukey’s test indicated that radon concentrations in groundwater and indoor air in the Peters Creek Schist (Xpc) were significantly higher than those in the other units. Also, the Peters Creek Schist (Xpc) was determined to be the area with highest potential of radon exposure from groundwater and indoor air and one of two units with the highest percentage of population assumed to be using domestic self-supplied water (81 percent), which puts the population at greater potential of exposure to radon from groundwater.
Potential radon exposure determined from classification of geologic units by median radon concentrations in groundwater and indoor air according to proposed and recommended regulatory limits is useful for drawing general conclusions about the presence, variation, and potential radon exposure in specific geologic units, but the associated data and maps have limitations. The aggregated indoor air radon data have spatial accuracy limitations owing to imprecision of geo-coded test locations. In addition, the associated data describing geologic units and the public water supplier’s service areas have spatial and interpretation accuracy limitations. As a result, data and maps associated with this report are not recommended for use in predicting individual concentrations at specific sites nor for use as a decision-making tool for property owners to decide whether to test for radon concentrations at specific locations. Instead, the data and maps are meant to promote awareness regarding potential radon exposure in Pennsylvania and to point out data gaps that exist throughout the State.”
Link to Study “sir20175018”
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Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) and Your Water
“A study by the U.S. Geological Survey published in 2002 brought attention to PPCPs in water. In a sampling of 139 susceptible streams in 30 states, detectable yet minute quantities of PPCPs were found in 80 percent of the streams. The most common pharmaceuticals detected were steroids and nonprescription drugs. Antibiotics, prescription medication, detergents, fire retardants, pesticides and natural and synthetic hormones were also found.
The potential human health risks associated with minute levels of PPCPs in water in general and drinking water in particular is still being determined. Until more is known, there is much the public health and environmental protection community can do to educate the public about taking proactive steps concerning the use and disposal of PPCPs.”
“Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are a diverse group of chemicals including:
- all human and veterinary drugs
- dietary supplements
- topical agents such as cosmetics and sunscreens
- laundry and cleaning products
- fragrances and all the “inert” ingredients that are part of these products
Pharmaceuticals and personal care products are introduced to the environment as pollutants in a variety of ways, including:
- intentional disposal of unneeded PPCPs (flushing)
- bathing or swimming
- discharge from municipal sewage systems or private septic systems
- leaching from landfills
- excretion by humans and domestic animals
- runoff from confined animal feeding operations
- discharge of raw sewage from storm overflow events, cruise ships, and some rural homes directly into surface water
- accidental discharges to a groundwater recharge area
- loss from aquaculture
- spray-drift from antibiotics used on food crops.”
Other Resources
pharmaceuticals-PPCPs
ppt_ppcp_Presentation
Drinking Water Testing – PFAS
Water Treatment – Point Of Use for PFOS and PFOA- NSF P473
Technical References
Nationwide Program: Community Environmental Report Your Home Health Status and Know Your H20?
Nationwide Program:
Community Environmental Report
Your Home Health Status and Know Your H20?
Direct Link to this Nationwide Program-
Visit Us at Keystone Clean Water Team
Know Your H20?
We Launched Two – New Phone Apps and they are Available for IOS and Android Platforms
- Know Your H20? – Know Your H2O? is an educational tool that can help you diagnose the problem with your water. This app will lead you through a series of questions to pinpoint the issues with your water. You can reach your diagnosis through describing symptoms that are effecting your home, your health, or the water itself. This App is linked to the Water Research Portal.
- Baseline Water Testing (Pennsylvania) – The PA Baseline Testing mobile app is an educational tool for residents of Pennsylvania who are impacted by Oil & Gas Development or Subsurface Coal Development. By selecting which factor impacts your region, you can discover various recommendations and tiers of water testing that can help bring you piece of mind about the safety of your drinking water. Got Data? You can also submit your own testing data and results to help continue to build the PA Clean Water Team’s database.
- New Online Water Quality Diagnostic Tool.
The Nationwide Program
- The program helps you to identify the existing and historic environmental hazards in your community.
- We are working with a national environmental database search company to offer a report to help you understand your home or your future homes environmental health status within a community.
- We are doing this by taking a snapshot of the current and historic environmental concerns and hazards in the community and a review of select criminal activity.
- Featured Activities or Issues: Old Landfills, Leaky Fuel Tanks, Hazardous Waste Sites, Department of Defense Facilities, Superfund Sites, Radiological Sources, Clandestine Drug Labs, Floodplains and Wetlands and more.
- Neighboorhood Hazard Reports cost $ 55.00 per property, payable to the Keystone Clean Water Team.
Questions – please contact us at (570) 335-1947 or email the program manager, Mr. Brian Oram, at bfenviro@ptd.net.
Keystone Clean Water Team – 501c3
15 Hillcrest Drive, Dallas, PA 18612
http://www.pacleanwater.org
B.F. Environmental Consultants Inc.
http://www.bfenvironmental.com
@KnowyourH20