[Sosfbay-discuss] Is Our Tap Water Toxic?

[Tian Harter]

 >Denise Johnson-Kula
 >
 >August 14
 >
 >Is Our Tap Water Toxic?
 >
 > Denise Johnson-Kula, along with other individuals who experienced
 >adverse reactions from chloramine, founded Citizens Concerned About
 >Chloramine (CCAC) in June 2004, several months after the San Francisco
 >Public UtilitiesCommission added a new disinfectant, chloramine, a
 >combination of chlorine and ammonia, into the Hetch Hetchy water
 >supply.
 >
 > CCAC (www.chloramine.org) is a non-profit organization whose mission
 >is to raise the public's level of awareness about chloramine and its
 >effects on health, the environment and plumbing, when used as a
 >disinfectant in the water.
 >
 > Denise, CACC President and Spokesperson, will discuss the adverse
 >effects of chloramine and summarize the work of CCAC, including its
 >support for Ira Ruskin's chloramine bill, AB559, (co authored by
 >Senator Migden) that will have the skin, respiratory, and digestive
 >studies done that were never conducted. She will also discuss CACC's
 >work with concerned community members in organizations in other
 >regions of the country (and in other countries) that use chloramine
 >to disinfect the water.
 >

Denise began by telling us of the frightening experience she had when 
chloramine first went into the water supply. When she first showered in 
chloraminated water, she experienced such severe asthma-like symptoms 
that they were life threatening. She saw her doctor and they went 
through a lengthy process of eliminating any possible cause. Nothing 
helped. The symptoms got worse. Over a month later, she and her doctor 
learned of the change in disinfectants from chlorine to chloramine. In 
order to tell if the new disinfectant was the culprit, Denise began to 
travel out of town to shower where there was well water disinfected with 
chlorine and she found immediate relief from her symptoms.

Denise also had rashes and digestive irritations from the chloraminated 
water which all disappeared when she used bottled spring water or well 
water disinfected with chlorine.

Denise's doctor diagnosed her case as chloramine mediated respiratory 
toxicity. This is a chemical irritation of the skin and mucous membranes 
and is not an allergy.

When her case was publicized in the newspapers, hundreds of people 
contacted her reporting that they were also experiencing the same skin, 
respiratory and digestive irritations. Many of them decided to avoid the 
chloraminated tap water, substituting non chloraminated sources such as 
bottled spring water and they also found their symptoms completely 
cleared up.

Denise and some of the other people who had been affected by chloramine 
formed Citizens Concerned About chloramine (CCAC). Denise began to do 
research into the health effects of chloramine and found that no studies 
on the skin, respiratory or digestive (including food exposure) effects 
of chloramine have ever been done. There was evidence that at higher 
dosage levels, chloramine can cause skin irritations, digestive 
inflammation and severe respiratory distress. Even fatal reactions from 
pulmonary edema had been reported.

Denise has also found evidence that chloramine leaches lead out of 
pipes, brass faucets and the solder connecting them when it comes into 
contact with such. Other research has proven that chlorine is a far 
better disinfectant than chloramine. Because of these factors, the 
states of CT, DE, ID, MT, NV, NJ, RI, TN, UT, and WV have chosen not to 
switch to chloramine from chlorine for their public water supplies.

CCAC is now working with our legislators to get the skin, respiratory, 
and digestive studies on chloramine done. CCAC is also working with our 
Federal Legislators like Anna Eshoo to get an EPA waiver to return to 
the use of the use of chlorine as our disinfectant until the health 
studies on chloramine are completed.

For more information on chloramine and CCAC, please see their website, 
www.chloramine.org

Denise is looking for opportunities to talk to groups about chloramine, 
so if you know of a group that would be interested, please call her at 
(650) 328-0424.

-- 
Tian
http://tian.greens.org
I'm between 8 and 10 on Grasslands if you go to Burning Man next week.