ARTICLES BY PEAK JOHNSON

• Despite Rumors Following Chemical Spill, Atlanta Assures That Drinking Water Is Safe

  5/5/2017

  Last month, about 250 gallons of benzoyl chloride, a compound that is used in medicines, dyes, and resins, spilled on Interstate 85 in Atlanta, GA.

• Following Hexavalent Chromium Spill, Lake Michigan Appears Unharmed

  4/24/2017

  Prompted by an industrial malfunction, the Chicago Department of Water Management (CDWM) located an elevated level of hexavalent chromium in Lake Michigan during recent water testing.

• In East Chicago, Corrosion Control Efforts May Make Lead Problem Worse

  4/21/2017

  East Chicago, IN, has been using a chemical, sodium hexametaphosphate, in order to control corrosion in lead pipes. However, some experts think it could be doing more harm than good.

• PFOA, PFOS Found At High Levels Around Another Military Base

  4/5/2017

  Perfluorooctanesulfonic Acid (PFOS) and Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) have been found to contaminate the ground, surface, and drinking water on and around Joint Base McGuire/Dix/Lakehurst, where the chemicals were used for many years as part of firefighting foam.

• Whidbey Island Wells Contaminated With Firefighting Chemicals

  3/17/2017

  Foam contaminants at levels above the U.S. EPA guidelines have been found in the wells of residents living on Whidbey Island, WA. The Navy so far has tested over 170 island wells, citing some of them as off limits. In response, the Navy has been handing out bottled water as they expand their testing.

• Petition To Stop Addition Of Fluoride To Drinking Water Rejected By EPA

  3/13/2017

  Fluoride continues to be a strongly-debated issue across the country. Last month, opponents of the chemical filed a petition to stop community water systems from adding the substance to drinking water.

• Electricity-Generating Bacteria Cleans Wastewater

  2/23/2017

  First located in New York’s Oneida Lake nearly 30 years ago, the bacterium Shewanella oneidensis is not only useful for cleaning water that contains mercury, lead, and iron. It can also generate electricity.

• $670 Million Settlement Ordered For DuPont, Chemour Chemical Spill

  2/21/2017

  Companies DuPont and Chemour recently agreed to pay $670.7 million in order to settle 3,550 lawsuits in a multidistrict litigation related to the dumping of a toxic chemical, known as C8, into the Ohio River near a former DuPont factory in West Virginia.

• NY Water Tests Find No PFOA, PFOS Threat

  2/15/2017

  New York health and environmental regulators said that, after statewide targeted sampling for the two cancer-causing industrial chemicals PFOA and PFOS, there were no new cases of drinking water contamination found.

• New York Senators Ask For Help With 1,4-Dioxane Contamination

  2/7/2017

  Last month, both U.S. Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand signaled for the U.S. EPA to “prioritize and accelerate” the risk evaluation for 1,4-dioxane, a potential carcinogen found in 71 percent of Long Island water supply systems.

• EPA Responds To Criticism On Fracking, Drinking Water Study

  1/3/2017

  Published amid controversy last month, the U.S. EPA has said that its study on fracking is the most detailed look at the overall science available on whether or not the practice truly pollutes drinking water.

• Wastewater Leaks At Colorado Plant Housing Chemical Weapons

  12/14/2016

  The army announced earlier this month that nearly 450 gallons of hazardous wastewater had leaked from a tank at a Colorado plant where chemical weapons are destroyed.

• $151M Settlement Tentatively Approved After Chemical Spill Contaminates WV Drinking Water

  11/18/2016

  A U.S. District judge temporarily approved a $151 million settlement this month that involves two companies sued over a 2014 chemical spill that contaminated drinking water in West Virginia.

• Bottled Water From Wal-Mart Contained Window Cleaner, Says Customer

  11/16/2016

  Wal-Mart may be in trouble after a customer reported that he was injured when drinking what he had believed to be store brand water, but contained a chemical similar to window cleaner.

• PFOS Continues To Plague New York Residents

  11/7/2016

  Blood testing began this month in Newburgh and New Windsor, NY, as residents are thought to have been exposed to perfluorooctane sulfonate, or PFOS.