Solar Pasteurization System Low Tech Solutions for Third World Countries, Off the Grid and Camping
In the 1880s, Mr. Louis Pasteur identified bacteria and other waterborne diseases and he learned that at many of these organisms can be killed or inactivated by boiling the water. Other commonly used forms of disinfection includes ozone, chlorine, iodine, hydrogen peroxide, UV-Disinfection, ozone, and other chemical process. Even though many drink pasteurized milk – many do not realize that this process can be used as a low tech way to treat drinking water. Pasteurization occurs when the water is heated to only 160 F or 71 F.
Pasteurization of Microbes
This presentation was originally prepared as part of a a field training and education program to use low tech approaches to training young adults in developing solutions for water quality problems. The process uses water pasteurization to inactivate or kill biological organisms. This process provides an alternative to conventional disinfection methods for remote areas as an alternative to boiling, UV-Disinfection, Chlorination, Chemical treatment, or ozonation.
From the World Health Organization – “Diarrhea occurs world-wide and causes 4% of all deaths and 5% of health loss to disability. It is most commonly caused by gastrointestinal infections which kill around 2.2 million people globally each year, mostly children in developing countries. The use of water in hygiene is an important preventive measure but contaminated water is also an important cause of diarrhea. Cholera and dysentery cause severe, sometimes life threatening forms of diarrhea.”
Diarrhea is
1. Biochemical/ Chemical irritation of the gut.
2. There are 1.5 billion cases of diarrhea per year.
3. Approximately 2 million children die each year.
4. Waterborne disease can cause systematic collapse of the local or regional food web and facilitate cross-species infection.
5. Drinking contaminated water, improper sanitation practices, and improper management of wastes can facilitate disease.
Key measures to reduce the number of cases of diarrhea includes:
- Access to safe drinking water.
- Improved sanitation.
- Good personal and food hygiene.
- Health education about how infections spread.
Key measures to treat diarrhea include:
- Giving more fluids than usual, including oral rehydration salts solution, to prevent dehydration.
- Continue feeding.
- Consulting a health worker if there are signs of dehydration or other problems.
Our Presentation on Solar Pasteurization Process Water Treatment.
Educational Materials are Available from the Keystone Clean Water Team. The Keystone Clean Water Team is a 501c3 and donations are appreciated.
Everything we do began with an idea.
We have offered “Free” Assistance to this effort, but if you are a private well owner that needs assistance we are happy to help.
We realize your time is precious and the world is hectic. CCGG’s volunteers do only what they’re comfortable with. It can be a little or a lot. Get YOUR WATER Tested – Discounted Screening Tests !
For more information, please go to CCGG’s About Page or contact us. Follow us on Twitter
Keystone Clean Water Team is a 501(c)(3) IRS approved nonprofit, volunteer organization and your donation is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. Unsolicited donations are appreciated (Helps us complete our mission), but we also do local educational workshops and local cellphone/small electronic recycling programs. If you would like to set up a program to help recycle cellphones at an event, business, or other organization. Through our program we can recycle cell phones, iPods, game systems, and small digital cameras. If your interested, please contact us. Our new PSAs.
Help the Organization and Get Your Water Tested or Tap Score Tapwater and Well Water Testing Program, and Order the Private Well Owner Guide (proceeds benefit This Organization). Water Science Basics!
On-going Fundraiser – Go Fund Me -Global Stream Water Monitoring Tools: A new online tool called the Water Quality Index Calculator is available from KnowYourH2O that can be used globally to provide a ‘grade’ for surface water quality as part of a watershed monitoring, surface water monitoring and assessment program, citizen science, lake monitoring, or source water assessment tool.
Algae: The new antibiotic? Thought Just Made Ponds Green
To the average observer, algae may look like a slimy mess. But in the green-tech world, they’re versatile workhorses that can be converted to biofuels, air purifiers and electricity.
Now a Michigan startup is harnessing it as a feed additive to address the pervasive problem of unnecessary antibiotics use on healthy animals in factory farms—a problem that’s led to the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (also known as superbugs) that are a threat to global public health.
Algal Scientific is extracting beta glucan—a chain of simple sugars—from algae for use as an immune system support and alternative to antibiotics. CEO Geoff Horst says that the substance works by supporting the immune system via stimulating the growth of white blood cells.
“Most [beta glucan] on the market now is extracted from yeast cell walls, and it’s very expensive as they end up paying for refined beta glucan,” he said.
Dubbed Algamune, Horst says that his product is more potent—as well as cheaper—than the versions derived from yeast, since it’s more bioavailable.
Algamune—which is now being produced on a commercial scale in the U.S. and used by shrimp growers in Ecuador and Vietnam, as well as by chicken producers that Horst declined to name—got approved for use in the U.S. last year, and a few months ago in the EU after clearing regulatory requirements. The decisions capped a three-year process of R&D and testing the product in chickens, pigs, fish and shrimp at Texas A&M University and commercial settings.
Just last week, the company announced it had received $7 million in a second round of venture capital funding, which Horst says will now allow Algal Scientific to start working on a beta glucan feed additive for cows, aquaculture and pet food.
The support is a timely shot in the arm at a time when the world is standing on what journalist Maryn McKenna recently described as “the threshold of the post-antibiotic era” during her TED talk in Vancouver a few weeks ago.
Currently, antibiotic resistance is responsible for the deaths of 700,000 people a year worldwide, and by 2050 could claim more lives than cancer at 10 million deaths annually, according to the British-funded Review on Antimicrobial Resistance.
At TED, McKenna told the story of her great uncle Joe McKenna, a New York City firefighter who died from a simple infection after getting hit by a fire hose—a few years before penicillin was discovered by Sir Alexander Fleming in 1928.
“Most people died back then the way my uncle died because they didn’t live long enough to develop heart disease,” she said. “They died most of the time from infection. All of that changed when antibiotics arrived.”
Every time we use an antibiotic, we give bacteria billions of chances to crack the codes of the defenses we’ve constructed, she said.
Eighty percent of antibiotics used in the U.S.—or nearly 30 million pounds—are mostly dispensed at factory farms as a way to prop up animals’ immune system. This contributes to the spread in antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which gets into the groundwater via the farms’ runoff. Overuse in humans is also part of the problem: According to the Centers for Disease Control, up to half of antibiotic prescriptions are unnecessary.
If the superbugs win, and nothing is done to address the problem now, we would return to that era when skin infections would cause fear, McKenna said.
“If we lost antibiotics, we’d lose cancer patients, AIDS, premature babies and transplant recipients as well as stents for stroke, pumps for diabetes and new hips and knees,” she said. “This is asymmetric warfare, but we can change the outcome.”
Read the Full Original Article
Comment – About 10 years ago – I said “One day we may be making some of our waters green – to increase productivity and harvest the benefits of algae”.
Learn More About Natural Gas Energy Environment Development, Fracking, Fracking Terms, and Sustainability
Everything we do began with an idea.
We have offered “Free” Assistance to this effort, but if you are a private well owner that needs assistance we are happy to help.
We realize your time is precious and the world is hectic. CCGG’s volunteers do only what they’re comfortable with. It can be a little or a lot. Get YOUR WATER Tested – Discounted Screening Tests !
For more information, please go to CCGG’s About Page or contact us. Follow us on Twitter
Keystone Clean Water Team is a 501(c)(3) IRS approved nonprofit, volunteer organization and your donation is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. Unsolicited donations are appreciated (Helps us complete our mission), but we also do local educational workshops and local cellphone/small electronic recycling programs. If you would like to set up a program to help recycle cellphones at an event, business, or other organization. Through our program we can recycle cell phones, iPods, game systems, and small digital cameras. If your interested, please contact us. Our new PSAs.
Help the Organization and Get Your Water Tested or Order the Private Well Owner Guide (proceeds benefit This Organization). Water Science Basics!
SAFER PA Releases New Handbook for Private Water Well Owners in Pennsylvania
Upon recognizing that many homeowners in Pennsylvania do not have sufficient information regarding the function and management of their private water supplies, the Shale Alliance for Energy Research – Pennsylvania (SAFER PA) developed the “Pennsylvania Water Well Handbook”. This public service document conveys important information in a straight-forward manner, including an overview of Pennsylvania private water supplies, details on the natural water cycle, how water occurs in aquifers, typical water quality issues, best management practices for water well siting and construction, water quality protection, how to interpret laboratory reports, and improvement of water quality through treatment. The Handbook is expected to have wide distribution, and is available in both hard copy and in electronic form. It is intended to be used as a valuable information piece for well owners, industry and regulators . To obtain an electronic copy of the Handbook and for information concerning how to order hard copies, visit: www.saferpa.org/WaterWellHandbook
The Shale Alliance for Energy Research, Pennsylvania (SAFER PA; Website Link: http://www.saferpa.org/Pages/default.aspx), an independent, not-for-profit organization committed to advancing technology, analysis and education supporting safe and sustainable development of the Commonwealth’s shale resources, has made available the “Pennsylvania Water Well Handbook.”
Als0 – Do not forget to check out the Private Well Owner Guide to Pennsylvania, published in 2012. Over 53 pages of helpful information on drinking water quality, baseline testing, shock well disinfection, and assistance with the Citizens Groundwater Database.
Everything we do began with an idea.
We have offered “Free” Assistance to this effort, but if you are a private well owner that needs assistance we are happy to help.
We realize your time is precious and the world is hectic. CCGG’s volunteers do only what they’re comfortable with. It can be a little or a lot. Get YOUR WATER Tested – Discounted Screening Tests !
For more information, please go to CCGG’s About Page or contact us. Follow us on Twitter
Keystone Clean Water Team is a 501(c)(3) IRS approved nonprofit, volunteer organization and your donation is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. Unsolicited donations are appreciated (Helps us complete our mission), but we also do local educational workshops and local cellphone/small electronic recycling programs. If you would like to set up a program to help recycle cellphones at an event, business, or other organization. Through our program we can recycle cell phones, iPods, game systems, and small digital cameras. If your interested, please contact us.
Help the Organization and Get Your Water Tested or Order the Private Well Owner Guide (proceeds benefit This Organization). Water Science Basics!
Get Your Private Well Water Tested Help Protect Groundwater Quality
For 2015, the Keystone Clean Water Team is making sure we inform all visitors about two unique programs.
Program 1 – Informational Water Testing
The Keystone Clean Water Team has partnered with a National Water Testing Laboratory and offering drinking water testing for private well owners. A proceeds is donated to the Keystone Clean Water Team. In addition, the Keystone Clean Water Team has agreed to provide a review of the results, send out a copy of our educational booklet on drinking water quality, and become a supporter of the organization for all individuals that have the testing completed and submit a copy of the testing to us to review . To order the sampling kit and have it mailed to your home – Visit Our Customized Water Test Kit Portal. After you get your results, please email a copy of the results will your full mailing address to cleanwater@carbonwaters.org.
Program 2 – Citizens Groundwater and Surface Water Database for Pennsylvania
To help track baseline quality and water quality change in Pennsylvania. The Keystone Clean Water Team is helping with compiling data for the Citizens Groundwater and Surface Water Database. This database started in 2009 in Columbia and Luzerne County, Pennsylvania and has been expanded to cover Pennsylvania. This database will contain only certified pre-drilling and post-drilling certified water quality testing form individual private well owners. To participate in this program, Please Visit this Webportal. For your participation in the database, you will have a confidential report prepared by a licensed professional geologist and will obtain a copy of our education booklet on drinking water.
Everything we do began with an idea.
We have offered “Free” Assistance to this effort, but if you are a private well owner that needs assistance we are happy to help.
We realize your time is precious and the world is hectic. CCGG’s volunteers do only what they’re comfortable with. It can be a little or a lot. Get YOUR WATER Tested – Discounted Screening Tests !
For more information, please go to CCGG’s About Page or contact us. Follow us on Twitter
Keystone Clean Water Team is a 501(c)(3) IRS approved nonprofit, volunteer organization and your donation is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. Unsolicited donations are appreciated (Helps us complete our mission), but we also do local educational workshops and local cellphone/small electronic recycling programs. If you would like to set up a program to help recycle cellphones at an event, business, or other organization. Through our program we can recycle cell phones, iPods, game systems, and small digital cameras. If your interested, please contact us.
Help the Organization and Get Your Water Tested or Order the Private Well Owner Guide (proceeds benefit This Organization). Water Science Basics!
Careers In Energy Northeast Pennsylvania Valley View High School
Valley View High School Careers in Energy Day
Keystone Clean Water Team participated in this event. There appeared to be over 100 students that learned about energy related careers. Our presentation was related to all forms of energy with a focus on renewable energy, conservation, waste reduction, and the need for a National Energy Policy and Plan. We also discussed career planning and how best to take the first step to make a positive change. A pdf of the presentation , Careers in Energy Northeast Pennsylvania, can be found here. In addition, the students turned in a number of old cell phones. Great Students and Future Leaders !
Regional Training Courses or Programs
Featured:
Sustainability Training and Energy Production Distribution
Training in Energy Audits
Everything we do began with an idea.
We have offered “Free” Assistance to this effort, but if you are a private well owner that needs assistance we are happy to help.
We realize your time is precious and the world is hectic. CCGG’s volunteers do only what they’re comfortable with. It can be a little or a lot. Get YOUR WATER Tested – Discounted Screening Tests !
For more information, please go to CCGG’s About Page or contact us. Follow us on Twitter
Keystone Clean Water Team is a 501(c)(3) IRS approved nonprofit, volunteer organization and your donation is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. Unsolicited donations are appreciated (Helps us complete our mission), but we also do local educational workshops and local cellphone/small electronic recycling programs. If you would like to set up a program to help recycle cellphones at an event, business, or other organization. Through our program we can recycle cell phones, iPods, game systems, and small digital cameras. If your interested, please contact us.
Help the Organization and Get Your Water Tested or Order the Private Well Owner Guide (proceeds benefit This Organization). Water Science Basics!
Be Part of #GivingTuesday Support Groundwater Education Outreach in Pennsylvania
#GivingTuesday inspires personal philanthropy and encourages bigger, better and smarter charitable giving during the holiday season, show that the world truly gives as good as it gets.
#GivingTuesday will take place in December. You can be part of this effort, Help Make Groundwater Education in PA Go Viral !
Help Us Make PAGroundwater Education Go Viral !
#PAGROUNDWATER @KeystoneWater
Things you can do – To make a Difference in Pennsylvania!
1. Send out a twit that includes #PAGROUNDWATER and @KeystoneWater
2. Visit one of our portals and follow our websites on twitter (@PACleanwater and @KeystoneWater) and facebook.
3. Consider a donation for as little as $ 5.00 or give the gift of groundwater education by obtaining an Education Guide.
4. Consider becoming a family supporter of the Keystone Clean Water Team- Our New Brochure!
5. Protect Our Groundwater – Submit Your Baseline Data to the Citizens Database.
6. Get an Water Quality Well Check Up for your Well.
7. Check out our New PSA !
8. Consider adding some water conservation or other conservation products to your home.
9. Sign Up for the Water Research or the Private Well Owner Newsletters.
10. Schedule an Educational Workshop in Your PA Community.
Share this image on your favorite social media to help spread the word about groundwater education and #GivingTuesday. Don’t forget to share an educational fact with your comment below.
Together we can keep it clean!
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Thanks
Keystone Clean Water Team
http://www.pacleanwater.org
Carbon County Magazine Celebrates 10th Anniversary
“Carbon County’s free online magazine, Carbon County Magazine, celebrates its 10th anniversary of serving the greater Carbon County region with feature stories of human interest, the arts, invention, the outdoors and the environment; and opinion articles by a contributing staff of over 50 local writers, poets and other folk who write about nearly everything.
Everything, that is, except car wrecks and police blotter items. In spite of what the daily newspapers seem to publish, Carbon County Magazine believes that Carbon County is a great place, with interesting people, and neat things to do. If it doesn’t seem that way, then you haven’t been reading Carbon County Magazine.
Carbon County Magazine is an online-only magazine, and is at: carboncountymagazine.com. Don’t be confused. It is not one of the advertising-loaded free hand-outs at the local shop. It is only available online.”
Support Your Local Communities
Make a difference starting now!
Recycling cell phones helps the environment by saving energy and keeping useable and valuable materials out of landfills and incinerators. It also helps preserve important animal habitats by reducing the demand for Coltan. In addition to recycling cell phones and electronic waste it is critical that consumers demand conflict free electronic devices. You can help the Keystone Clean Water Team and the Environment by recycling your cell phone. ”
If you would like to set up a program to help recycle cellphones at an event, business, or other organization. Through our program we can recycle cell phones, iPods, game systems, and small digital cameras. If your interested, please contact us.
Volunteer
We seek new people at all skill levels for a variety of programs. One thing that everyone can do is attend meetings to share ideas on improving the Program, enabling us to better understand and address the concerns of well owners. We look for people that can forward solid articles, help coordinate local education efforts, and more. Become part of the Keystone Clean Water Team!
Everything we do began with an idea.
We realize your time is precious and the world is hectic. CCGG’s volunteers do only what they’re comfortable with. It can be a little or a lot. Get YOUR WATER Tested – Discounted Screening Tests !
For more information, please go to CCGG’s About Page or contact us.
Keystone Clean Water Team is a 501(c)(3) IRS approved nonprofit, volunteer organization and your donation is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. Unsolicited donations are appreciated (Helps us complete our mission).
Help the Organization and Get Your Water Tested or Order the Private Well Owner Guide (proceeds benefit This Organization). Keystone Clean Water Team!
How to Clean Out a Private Well – Suspected of PCB Oil Contamination- From Well Pump
How to Clean Out a Private Well – Suspected of PCB Oil Contamination
This post was developed following a private well owner outreach program in Pennsylvania. Where the homeowner suspected this was a problem.
Prior to the 1978 ban most of the well pumps used a PCB capacitor. After 1978, the capacitors were required to be marked at the time of manufactured to state that the did not contain PCB, i.e., “No PCBs”. In some cases the the PCB capacitors would leak the PCB (oil coolant) into the motor. If the motor or motor seal fail, the coolant would leak into the well. This would introduce PCBs to your water. When the water is heated, vapors would be generated or you may observe an oil residue or film. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a group of manufactured organic chemicals that contain 209 individual chlorinated chemicals (known as congeners). Concentrated PCBs are either oily liquids or solids and are colorless to light yellow in color. They have no known smell or taste. “PCBs are not very water-soluble so it is quite rare for them to be found in groundwater. Some submersible pumps found in private wells have been recalled because PCB containing oils had been used in their manufacture. When these pumps fail these oils can leak out into the drinking water. ” The available data suggests that PCBs are probable human carcinogens and can suppress the immune system.
Step 1: Get Your Water Tested (PCBs)
“The procedure for cleaning a well and plumbing contaminated with PCB oil is essentially the same as for “clean” oil with the exception of certain requirements concerning storage and disposal explained later in this document. The professional servicing the well should follow the procedure outlined here:
Step 1 Remove the failed pump from the well. Place it into a DOT-approved 55-gallon drum for disposal. Allow water within the well to remain still for a least 24 hours.
Step 2 Remove all free floating oil from the surface of the water in the well using a bailer and/or oil absorbent pad or boom. Place it into the drum with the pump.
Step 3 Make certain that there is no floating oil layer in any plumbing fixtures such as water heater or toilet. If there is, remove with oil absorbent pad.
Step 4 Put approximately 8 ounces of dishwashing liquid per 100 gallons of well volume into the well. (Assume 1.5 gallons/ft. of water for a 6″ diameter will and 53 gallons/ft. for a 36″ diameter well.) Detergent should be pre-mixed in a little hot water to be sure that it creates the maximum suds.
Step 5 Recirculate the well water using a garden or other hose connected to a hose bib while running the water back into the well. Allow it to agitate for 1 hour. In the case of a low yielding well or during a period of drought, be sure to take precautions not to run the well dry. The length of time for agitation may need to be reduced in some cases. Place the hose into the drum for disposal when finished.
Step 6 Wash down the sides of the well with a clean or new garden hose, preferably equipped with a pressure nozzle.
Step 7 If household plumbing has not been contaminated, skip step 7 and proceed to step 8. If household plumbing is also contaminated, run the soapy well water through the plumbing system for 3-4 hours, until it is no longer soapy. This can be accomplished by running all the faucets (not so long that the well runs dry) and periodically flushing the toilets. Run both hot and cold faucets so that the hot water heater is cleaned as well. If after step 7 water still runs soapy, turn off faucets and proceed to step 8.
Step 8 Pump soapy water directly from the well to a municipal sewer, or if not available, run a hose so that the water may be discharged directly to the septic tank.
Step 9 Obtain a water sample directly from the well then properly seal the well (i.e. chlorination, etc.). Also, a sample should be collected from a household tap.
Step 10 Run empty loads in both the dishwasher and washing machine using only the normal soap for each.
The homeowner should submit the water samples to a laboratory for PCB analysis to confirm the success of the cleaning and the safety of their water. They must also contact a permitted transporter to arrange for proper disposal of the drum of PCB waste.
Source of the protocol:
Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
Bureau of Materials Management and Compliance Assurance
PCB Program
79 Elm Street
Hartford, CT 06106-5127″
“Protocol posted for informational purposes – it is critical for the homeowner to hire an expert to assist with this work”. This is not a DIY – Do it Yourself Project.
Low cost PCB screening Test– includes metal, other organics, and general water quality.
ATSDR/CDC Northeast PA Polycythemia Vera (PV) Investigation Projects Update
Background
In 2004, using state cancer registry records, the Pennsylvania Department of Health (PADOH) found a PV cluster in northeast Pennsylvania. PV is part of a disease group called myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN), which is a group of slow-growing blood cancers where the bone marrow makes too many red blood cells, white blood cells, or platelets.
In 2006, ATSDR was asked to help study PV patterns in the area. From 2007-2008, ATSDR reviewed medical records, conducted genetic testing, and confirmed this PV cluster.
In 2009, Congress funded ATSDR to continue this investigation. ATSDR is overseeing 18 projects with PADOH, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and various universities and private organizations. These projects are based on recommendations from an expert panel. The panel identified four areas for investigation; epidemiology, genetics, toxicology, and environmental studies.
As of October 1, 2013, all of the contracts for the 18 projects have ended. The last to end was the tissue bank contract, which closed for recruitment of new tissue donations from the PA tri-county study area in May 2014. At this time, no new samples will be added from the tri-county study area, but the geographically identified (but de-identified in terms of personal information) donations from the tri-county study area will continue to be available for researchers to access via this national tissue bank established at the Myleloproliferative Disease Research Consortium (MPD-RC). You can continue to follow the work of the overall MPD-Research Consortium on their website at: http://www.mpd-rc.org/home.php.
Status
The graphic with this email provides this summary as of August 2014. I’ve attached this graphic both as a “snapshot” in the body of this email, as well as a pdf attachment. Projects highlighted in “green” in the attached graphic have work complete and a final product available (if applicable). Projects highlighted in “yellow” have final products in progress and undergoing clearance. Projects highlighted in “red” have final products that are anticipated but not yet started.
As of August 5, 2014, work is complete and a final product is available (if applicable) for 6 projects. We are happy to announce that one new project (#16/17, PADEP’s environmental testing) moved from yellow to green since my May update; we now have a factsheet and final ATSDR health consultation report evaluating an initial set of radiological environmental sampling results from the study area. At the request of ATSDR, PADEP collected and analyzed environmental samples within the tri-county area and ATSDR evaluated the possible health effects of exposure to the radiological elements in the samples. Environmental samples from the cluster area were collected as a component of the overall research investigation into the PV disease cluster:
- Indoor air was analyzed for radon.
- Soil, sediment and water samples were analyzed for metals, organic compounds, and radioactive substances.
This ATSDR public health report focuses on an initial set of the radiological environmental sampling information. Additional reports evaluating other environmental and health information from the PV investigation will be released at a later date.
The ATSDR report found:
- Some houses in the study area had elevated levels of radon gas in indoor air. Radon gas was also found in the private well water of some homes.
- Soils from the study area had slightly elevated levels of radium.
- Without additional information, ATSDR cannot determine if the cluster of cases of PV disease in the tri-county area is related to the radiological exposures observed in the environmental sampling information.
In this report, ATSDR recommends:
- All residents in the study area should have their homes tested for radon gas. Houses with elevated radon levels should be retested. If a home is retested and elevated radon levels continue, residents should contact the state of Pennsylvania radon program hotline at 1-800-237-2366 and request additional information on how to reduce the radon levels in the home.
- People in homes with high levels of radon in their drinking water should contact the PADEP Radon Program for assistance. Home water supplies can be treated to reduce radon levels.
- ATSDR recommends that in those areas where radium in soils seems to be elevated, additional sampling may be helpful to further understand this exposure pathway. ATSDR will discuss the potential for a future collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey to further evaluate levels of radiological contaminants in environmental media in the study area.
These documents are available at:
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HAC/pha/PolycythemiaVera/Polycythemia%20Vera%20Investigation%20in%20PA_HC_07-22-2014%20FINAL.pdf
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HAC/pha/PolycythemiaVera/PV%20(Still%20Creek)%20Tri%20County%20-%20FINAL%20Fact%20Sheet%20-%20Review%20of%20Radiological.pdf
Final products for another 9 projects are still in progress and remain coded as yellow. Final products for 2projects are anticipated but not yet started and remain coded as red.
For more information:
Visit ATSDR’s web page on PV: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/polycythemia_vera/index.html
Call ATSDR’s toll-free PV information line: 866-448-0242 or email jcx0@cdc, which will connect you to Dr. Elizabeth Irvin-Barnwell, ATSDR Division of Toxicology and Human Health Sciences.
Contact Lora Siegmann Werner, ATSDR Region 3, by phone at 215-814-3141 or by email at lkw9@cdc.gov.
Other Resources
1. Radiological Testing and Screening – http://www.water-research.net/index.php/radiological-contaminants
2. Radiological – Testing Parameters – Radon
Pennsylvania New Guideline for Baseline Testing – Minimum Parameters Natural Gas Development- Pre-Drill
In April 2014, the PADEP released a new list of suggested baseline testing parameters. PADEP recommended Basic Oil and Gas- Pre-Drill Parameters. The new listing is as follows:
Strongly Recommended
Alkalinity
Chloride
pH
Total Dissolved Solids
Turbidity
Barium
Calcium
Iron
Manganese
Sodium
Methane
Ethane
Propane
Suggested Additions by PADEP
Conductivity
Hardness
Bromide
Sulfate
Total Suspended Solids
Magnesium
Potassium
Strontium
Arsenic
Zinc
Aluminum
Lithium
Selenium
Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons – Western PA strong Recommendation.
Baseline Water Testing Kits related to Natural Gas Development.
Get a copy of the PADEP Document.
Our comments
1. We are glad to see that PADEP is updating the list of parameters, but there are still a few parameters that are missing. If possible, we would suggest that you speak with a professional and evaluate the need to add BTEX or the 21 – regulated/unregulated VOCs with MTBE, surfactants, and if you currently have low pH and a corrosion related issue – copper and lead.
2. If the well is deep and does have issues with chloride or Total dissolved solids approaching a drinking water standard , we would recommend testing for alpha/beta and uranium.
3. If you have a radon in air mitigation system, we recommend testing radon in water.
4. If you have sulfur or rotten egg odors, we would recommend standard plate count, nuisance bacteria, documentation of the odor and characteristics of the water, and testing for sulfide.
5. If you have a septic system or you are located near a farm, we would strongly recommend adding nitrate, nitrite, and ammonia.
6. The pH, conductivity, temperature, and ORP should be documented in the field and the pH and conductivity should be checked in the laboratory. In addition, it would be advisable to measure the turbidity in the field. If laboratory testing is going to be conducted a shorter holding time should be used and the sample measured ASAP. In addition, the sample collector should not the appearance, color, odor, or other aesthetic quality of the water.
More Information on the Groundwater Quality in PA and Baseline Testing
We also offer educational workshops on this topic and help provide citizens evaluate their water quality.
Volunteer
We seek new people at all skill levels for a variety of programs. One thing that everyone can do is attend meetings to share ideas on improving the Keystone Clean Water Team (CCGG Program), enabling us to better understand and address the concerns of well owners. We look for people that can forward solid articles, help coordinate local education efforts, and more. Become part of the Keystone Clean Water Team!.
Everything we do began with an idea.
We realize your time is precious and the world is hectic. CCGG’s volunteers do only what they’re comfortable with. It can be a little or a lot. Get YOUR WATER Tested – Discounted Screening Tests ! Get educated on Drinking Water Quality in Pennsylvania.
For more information, please go to CCGG’s About Page or contact us.
Keystone Clean Water Team /Carbon County Groundwater Guardians is a 501(c)(3) IRS approved nonprofit, volunteer organization and your donation is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. The IRS Officially Approved Name change to the Keystone Clean Water Team by the IRS. Unsolicited donations are appreciated (Helps us complete our mission).
Help the Organization and Get Your Water Tested or Order the Private Well Owner Guide (proceeds benefit This Organization).
New Drinking Water Information Healthy Home and Healthy Water Portal