Friday, October 19, 2012

No health risks in Mountain Island Lake, official says

The arsenic reported earlier this week in Charlotte's major drinking water source poses no health hazards, Mecklenburg County's water-quality chief says.

Rusty Rozzelle and Sam Perkins, the Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation's director of technical programs, talked to the community group We Love Mountain Island Lake at a Thursday night meeting. 

The meeting followed publication Monday of a Duke University study that found arsenic in the discharge water that flows into the lake from the Riverbend power plant, and in lake sediment. Arsenic is, of course, toxic.

But Rozzelle told the group the arsenic is largely in sediment, not the lake water itself.

"There is no potential threat to the water supply downstream of the discharge pipe," he said. "We've never found any arsenic above the minimum detection limits, and to my knowledge no one else has either."

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities tests Mountain Island water weekly with similar results, spokeswoman Karen Whichard said today. No arsenic is detected in treated water that flows to household taps, she said.
 
The Riverkeeper Foundation worked with Duke University to collect water and sediment samples for study. Perkins said contaminated "pore water" in sediment can be released into the water column during certain conditions, such as summer heat, or if the sediment is disturbed.

A more important question, Rozzelle said, is what will happen to Riverbend's ash ponds once Duke closes the c.-1929 plant by 2015. Rozzelle said Duke will have to submit a plan to permanently close the ponds, but hasn't yet.

"To me, the important thing is how it's closed," he said.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

The government will never lie to you. If you don't believe me, then just ask an Indian.

Unknown said...

pay no attention tothe man behind the curtian

Anonymous said...

So why is it unsafe to eat the fish who swim in those waters ?

Anonymous said...

You can't eat fish from the river because of elevated PCB levels.

Unknown said...

"There is no potential threat to the water supply downstream of the discharge pipe," he said. "We've never found any arsenic above the minimum detection limits, and to my knowledge no one else has either."

I don't trust someone to protect my safety form a known toxin who speaks in absolutes like "no" and "never".

Unknown said...

Our skin---when toxins build up and cannot release through the intestines and lungs, they then seek an outlet through the skin, ie. as acne, rashes, psoriasis, etc. From an Acupuncture point of view, we would address skin issues by treating intestine or lung points, since together all three are eliminatory organs. If the body is not hydrated enough or ingests too many acidic foods, ie sugar and red meat, then the skin becomes dry-- as a reflection of overheated digestion in the stomach.
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