Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
July 6, 2007
4. Water Quality
SELENIUM POISONING:
Guest Column: Selenium poisoning is still a threat today -
Avoid toxic scum in the Klamath - Eureka Times Standard
SELENIUM POISONING:
Guest Column: Selenium poisoning is still a threat today
By Lloyd Carter, Fresno lawyer, is director of the California Water Impact Network
It has been nearly a quarter of a century since federal scientists discovered that selenium in Western San Joaquin Valley farm drainwater was triggering massive embryo deformities in ducks and shorebirds and killing all the edible fish at the Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge.
The fish die-off and deformities or embryo deaths in more than half the Kesterson nests were caused by selenium that had been leached from the western Valley soils by irrigation practices and then dissolved in subsurface drainwater funneled to the "refuge." Scientists would rediscover that selenium, while a micro nutrient, is the most toxic of all biologically essential elements in mammals.
Officials of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which built the federal irrigation facilities on the west side, and political appointees at the parent Department of Interior initially claimed the Kesterson selenium poisoning was an isolated problem.
But as investigations spread to other national wildlife refuges, selenium contamination was confirmed in the southern
Now 25 years later, with hundreds of millions of dollars on studies and research spent, the Department of Interior still has no selenium safety standards for wildlife, although a committee was appointed in 1989 to adopt such standards. Yet the evidence continues to grow that selenium poisoning, caused by farming, mining, coal burning, oil refining and other industrial activities, is occurring all over America.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey Web site or other Internet scientific sources:
Six horses and between 200 and 300 sheep died from grazing on selenium-laced plants near phosphate mines in
Hay from western states high in selenium is suspected of causing selenium poisoning in horses in
Fish and ducks in
Cutthroat trout are disappearing from streams along the Idaho-Wyoming border because of selenium contamination from phosphate mining.
Shellfish and birds in the
Although drainage flows to Kesterson were halted in 1985 following intense media exposure of the problem, selenium-contaminated farm drainage continues to flow to many wildlife refuges in more than a dozen western states, and food chain levels of selenium in those refuges reveal a continuing threat to bird populations.
Dennis Lemly, of the U.S. Forest Service, who is considered a premier expert in
Seventeen of 26 closed phosphate mines in
Although Reclamation officials claimed they were surprised at Kesterson, it is only because they did not do their homework. Selenium poisoning of livestock and forage foods had been known for decades in the
Time magazine complained in a 1933 article that the U.S. Department of Agriculture was "inclined to silence" about selenium poisoning of cattle fed wheat, corn and alfalfa grown on high selenium soils in the American Southwest dating back to the 19th century.
The late David Love, "grand old man of
And closer to home the Westlands Water District, which once funneled its selenium-laced waste waters to Kesterson, now faces a drainage disposal problem that may cost in excess of $2 billion. Surrealistically, Interior officials are suggesting the construction of more Kesterson-like evaporation ponds as a "solution" to the farm drainage problem. Federal irrigation districts north of Westlands now drain their selenium-laced waste waters into the polluted lower
In 2007, with the Kesterson debacle a memory, the federal government is still "inclined to silence" about the extent and seriousness of the selenium problem. You don't hear politicians giving speeches about the selenium threat.
Federal scientists tell me selenium impacts on bird reproductivity are still occurring here in the Valley and elsewhere in America where farming and mining on high selenium soils is slowly but surely contributing to the steady decline of bird and fish populations. #
http://www.fresnobee.com/287/story/77691.html
Avoid toxic scum in the Klamath
Swimmers, boaters and recreational river enthusiasts are urged to avoid the blue-green algae blooming in the Klamath River's
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other
”As blue-green algae can pose health risks, especially to children and pets, we urge people to be careful where they swim when visiting the reservoirs,” said Alexis Strauss, the EPA's water division director for the Pacific Southwest region, in a press release.
“Try to avoid swallowing or inhaling drops of water in an algal bloom area, as well as skin contact with water by people or their pets.”
The blooms look like green, blue-green, white or brown foam, scum or mats floating on the water. Exposure to the toxic algae can cause eye irritation, allergic skin rash, mouth ulcers, vomiting, diarrhea and cold and flu-like symptoms. Liver failure and death have occurred in rare situations where large amounts of contaminated water were directly ingested.
Algal bloom experts recommend the following:
* Avoid wading and swimming in water containing visible blooms or water containing algal scums or mats
* If no algal scums or mats are visible, you should still carefully watch young children and warn them not to swallow the water
* Do not drink, cook or wash dishes with untreated surface water under any circumstances
* Consume fish only after removing guts and liver, and rinsing fillets in clean drinking water
* Take care that pets and livestock do not drink the water or swim through heavy scums or mats, nor lick their fur after going in the water
* Get medical treatment right away if you think that you, your pet, or your livestock might have been poisoned by blue-green algae toxins. Be sure to alert the medical professional to the possible contact with blue-green algae.
For more information, please visit: World Health Organization Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality, 3rd Edition: www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/gdwq3/en/index.html. #
http://www.times-standard.com/local/ci_6312541
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