Chem Tell Article

WATER PLUS SOLVENTS EQUALS POISON

In March of 2000 a local newspaper reported that water from a test well at the edge of our towns landfill showing concentrations of organic solvents exceeding New York State DEC water quality standards. The solvents appearing in this test well mean these solvents are moving away from the dump area.
In July of 2000 I give a talk about four of the solvents that were found in this test well.
They were DICHOROETHYLENE (C2H2Cl2) , TRICHLOROETHYLENE (C2H1Cl3) , TETRACHLORETHYLENE (C2Cl4) , and TOLUENE (C7H8).
In the March report these solvents where as much as 120 ppb, which exceeded the New York DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation) water quality standards by as much as 34 times. The New York DEC maximum contaminant level (MCL) for drinking water for
DICHLOROETHYLENE is 7 ppb, TRICHLOROETHYLENE is 5 ppb,
TETRACHLOROETHYLENE is 5 ppb, and TOLUENE is 1 ppb.
In October2000, it was reported that the concentrations of solvents found in the test wells is up to 320 ppb (parts per billion), which is 90 times higher than the New York State DEC water quality standards.
To explain this to a friend so they can understand what this all means I have a few illustrations. One part per billion, is saying I have one dollar bill and I will put it into a pile of a Billion dollar bills over here. Get the picture.
So if I put 1 poison dollar into the pile of the billion dollar pile, the 1 poison dollar will make the other billion unusable. Here we are talking real dirty money.
To give you an idea of the size of these numbers, consider how long it would take someone to count one-dollar bills at a rate of one per second.
To count one million dollars would take 12 days
To count one billion dollars would take 32 years.

One teaspoon will hold 5 ml (milliliters) of liquid.
One teaspoon of TOLUENE will make 5,000 liters or 1,321 gallons, of water not meet the DEC standard for drinking water,
One teaspoon of TRICHLOROETHYLENE will make 1,000 liters or 264 gallons of water not meet the DEC standard for drinking water,
One teaspoon of TETRACHLOROETHYLENE will make 1,000 liters or 264 gallons of water not meet the DEC standard for drinking water,
One teaspoon of DICHLOROETHYLENE will make 714 liters or 189 gallons of water not meet the DEC standard for drinking water.
The DEC has set drinking water standards not on the concentration that will make someone sick or ill, because no one knows what that concentration is, and if they did , the concentrations may be to small too measure. The DEC does not set drinking water standards on the concentrations of mixtures of solvents that will make someone sick or ill because they do not really know what these concentrations would be.
The DEC sets the drinking water standard as the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL). This is the highest level of a contaminant legally allowed in drinking water. MCLs are set to the level that is most economically feasible, or that industry is most likely to be able to obtain , whether or not they are ideal levels for peoples health.
These four solvents have been directly linked to illness and death.
Exposures of DICHOROETHYLENE have been connected to cancer of the liver, kidney damage, as well as toxicity to the developing fetus and cancers.
Exposures of TRICHLOROETHYLENE have been connected to pronounced nervous disorders such as spasms, tremors, impairment or speech , hearing, vision, memory , coordination; also connected to liver and lung damage, abnormal heartbeat, coma and possibly death, cancers such as leukemia , birth defect
Exposures of TETRACHLOROETHYLENE have been connected with cancer of the liver, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and cancer of the kidneys.
Exposures of TOLUENE have been connected to pronounced nervous disorders such as spasms, tremors, impairment or speech , hearing, vision, memory , coordination; also connected to kidney damage.
If you want clean water you cannot put any poisons or solvent into it or onto the ground. In New York State the Suffolk County Health Department requires that any leaking underground storage tank be dug up and removed as well as contaminated soil. This is to prevent the continual spreading of the poison, or solvent. They do not say “CAP IT”, “DON’T WORRY”. We cannot just cap dumps. This will not stop the solvents form continuing to poison the water. The contaminating solvent source must be dug up and removed.
The Town residents and businesses over the years were the source of the contaminants that now are poisoning the water. All the town residents and businesses have the responsibility to remove what they have created in the first place.

http://www.zerowasteamerica.org/Index.htm
Zero Waste America (ZWA) promotes the recycling of all materials back into nature or the marketplace in a manner that protects human health and the environment.

http://www.oxybusters.com/oxybus_f.htm OxyBusters is a Nationwide Grass-Roots movement opposed to the use of gasoline oxygenates, MTBE with its toxic effects.

http://www.chemfinder.com/
ChemFinder WebServer Project
On the face of it, is a way to search for chemical compounds over the World Wide Web
Enter a chemical name, CAS Number, molecular formula, or molecular weight
The site gives you the physical property data and 2D chemical structures, as well as links to sites that can discribe toxcicty data.

CONTACT WEB MASTER

www.chemtell.com

Chem Tell is an independent Information resource that is supported through donations. Donations can be made to Chem Tell and sent to;
Chem Tell, c/o Arthur Kaliski
P.O.Box 1513
Amagansett, NY 11930


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			WATER PLUS SOLVENTS EQUALS POISON In March of 2000 a local newspaper reported that water from a test well at the edge of our towns landfill showing concentrations of organic solvents exceeding New York State DEC water quality standards. The solvents appearing in this test well mean these solvents are moving away from the dump area. In July of 2000 I give a talk about four of the solvents that were found in this test well. They were DICHOROETHYLENE (C2H2Cl2) , TRICHLOROETHYLENE (C2H1Cl3) , TETRACHLORETHYLENE (C2Cl4) , and TOLUENE (C7H8). In the March report these solvents where as much as 120 ppb, which exceeded the New York DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation) water quality standards by as much as 34 times. The New York DEC maximum contaminant level (MCL) for drinking water for DICHLOROETHYLENE is 7 ppb, TRICHLOROETHYLENE is 5 ppb, TETRACHLOROETHYLENE is 5 ppb, and TOLUENE is 1 ppb. In October2000, it was reported that the concentrations of solvents found in the test wells is up to 320 ppb (parts per billion), which is 90 times higher than the New York State DEC water quality standards. To explain this to a friend so they can understand what this all means I have a few illustrations. One part per billion, is saying I have one dollar bill and I will put it into a pile of a Billion dollar bills over here. Get the picture. So if I put 1 poison dollar into the pile of the billion dollar pile, the 1 poison dollar will make the other billion unusable. Here we are talking real dirty money. To give you an idea of the size of these numbers, consider how long it would take someone to count one-dollar bills at a rate of one per second. To count one million dollars would take 12 days To count one billion dollars would take 32 years. One teaspoon will hold 5 ml (milliliters) of liquid. One teaspoon of TOLUENE will make 5,000 liters or 1,321 gallons, of water not meet the DEC standard for drinking water, One teaspoon of TRICHLOROETHYLENE will make 1,000 liters or 264 gallons of water not meet the DEC standard for drinking water, One teaspoon of TETRACHLOROETHYLENE will make 1,000 liters or 264 gallons of water not meet the DEC standard for drinking water, One teaspoon of DICHLOROETHYLENE will make 714 liters or 189 gallons of water not meet the DEC standard for drinking water. The DEC has set drinking water standards not on the concentration that will make someone sick or ill, because no one knows what that concentration is, and if they did , the concentrations may be to small too measure. The DEC does not set drinking water standards on the concentrations of mixtures of solvents that will make someone sick or ill because they do not really know what these concentrations would be. The DEC sets the drinking water standard as the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL). This is the highest level of a contaminant legally allowed in drinking water. MCLs are set to the level that is most economically feasible, or that industry is most likely to be able to obtain , whether or not they are ideal levels for peoples health. These four solvents have been directly linked to illness and death. Exposures of DICHOROETHYLENE have been connected to cancer of the liver, kidney damage, as well as toxicity to the developing fetus and cancers. Exposures of TRICHLOROETHYLENE have been connected to pronounced nervous disorders such as spasms, tremors, impairment or speech , hearing, vision, memory , coordination; also connected to liver and lung damage, abnormal heartbeat, coma and possibly death, cancers such as leukemia , birth defect Exposures of TETRACHLOROETHYLENE have been connected with cancer of the liver, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and cancer of the kidneys. Exposures of TOLUENE have been connected to pronounced nervous disorders such as spasms, tremors, impairment or speech , hearing, vision, memory , coordination; also connected to kidney damage. If you want clean water you cannot put any poisons or solvent into it or onto the ground. In New York State the Suffolk County Health Department requires that any leaking underground storage tank be dug up and removed as well as contaminated soil. This is to prevent the continual spreading of the poison, or solvent. They do not say “CAP IT”, “DON’T WORRY”. We cannot just cap dumps. This will not stop the solvents form continuing to poison the water. The contaminating solvent source must be dug up and removed. The Town residents and businesses over the years were the source of the contaminants that now are poisoning the water. All the town residents and businesses have the responsibility to remove what they have created in the first place. http://www.zerowasteamerica.org/Index.htm Zero Waste America (ZWA) promotes the recycling of all materials back into nature or the marketplace in a manner that protects human health and the environment. http://www.oxybusters.com/oxybus_f.htm OxyBusters is a Nationwide Grass-Roots movement opposed to the use of gasoline oxygenates, MTBE with its toxic effects. http://www.chemfinder.com/ ChemFinder WebServer Project On the face of it, is a way to search for chemical compounds over the World Wide Web Enter a chemical name, CAS Number, molecular formula, or molecular weight The site gives you the physical property data and 2D chemical structures, as well as links to sites that can discribe toxcicty data. AK CONTACT WEB MASTER *www.chemtell.com* Chem Tell is an independent Information resource that is supported through donations. Donations can be made to Chem Tell and sent to; Chem Tell, c/o Arthur Kaliski P.O.Box 1513 Amagansett, NY 11930