One Test is Worth a Thousand Expert Opinions---Is Your Drinking Water Safe?

We have all heard the relatively new word "fracking", but few understand what it is or why it threatens the safety of the water you drink and cook with, among numerous other daily activities. Safe water, i.e. water that can be consumed without danger of bio-accumulation of toxins and carcinogens in you body, is critical to sustaining your life.Our man-altered environment is laden with unnatural chemicals many of which are harmful and can be deadly. Many of these man-made chemical substances are commonly used for yard and home maintenance and industrial purposes. Regulation of the use of harmful chemicals is lax and often lacking altogether. Water quality reports issued annually by municipal water operators are only required to monitor and report on about 110 of more than 10,000 man made dangerous chemicals that are present in air, land, and water in our nation. The development and use of man made toxic chemical has increased exponentially following the invention of PCB's about 1929. The National Institute of Health and Environmental Protection Agency issue annual reports that list many but not all toxic and carcinogenic chemicals that are detected. The cost of comprehensive testing for all unnatural toxic chemical substances would require budgeting many trillions of dollars annually, and consequently are ignored or outright opposed federal, state, and local government. Removal by advanced treatment technology is feasible but very expensive. Therefore lacking effective regulations, detection standards, and  special interest opposition to any regulations or testing everyone in our nation who consumes municipally treated  or private well water are at risk of being or becoming contaminated with dangerous and potentially life-threatening man made chemical substances.

This risk is now greater than ever before because of the introduction of fracking technology used to recover natural gas and oil from deep-underground reserves found in certain types of geological  shale. Natural gas (methane), and oil have been discovered locked in interstitial voids in certain types of shale and has ignited a literal gold rush to recover these valuable source of fossil fuel energy. Advanced drilling technology allows deep wells to be vertically and horizontally arranged to enable the release and capture of fossil fuels that were previously unrecoverable. Met many uses industrially, commercially, and for the ordinary consumer and this new recovery process has stimulated vast recovery efforts wherever adequate supplies and potential prices justify the recovery costs. That seems to be the case wherever shale gas or oil is found and now throughout our nation methane and oil mining is beginning to boom using "fracking" technology. The practice is spreading worldwide.

The word "fracking" is an acronym for cracking/fracturing that along with drilling both vertical and horizontal shafts.These shafts are subsequently concrete lined for viaducts to introduce pressurized blends of water, quartz sand, and organic chemicals (referred to as fracking slurries or fluids) into the compact shale/gas formations. These fracking slurries that are pumped into the concrete viaducts under pressure generate new cracks in the shale that extend vertically to allow methane gas to escape to the earth's surface where it is accessible for storage, distribution, purification and use. Fracking slurries contain harmful organic chemicals that greatly reduce the pressure needed to induce vertical cracks in the shale to release the interstitial methane or oil. The fracking process becames economically viable as a result.

Conceptually the fracking process seems innocuous and harmless, but the opposite is true when the actual complex earth structures are taken into account. As holes are drilled to establish the viaducts for slurries, they invariably intersect and expose underground aquifers that are sources for drinking water used throughout our nation. Approximately 80% of all drinking water in the USA is derived from aquifers, and it is often recycled after first use for secondary or tertiary non-potable applications such as irrigation for certain agricultural uses and industrial processes. Eventually almost all toxic and carcinogenic chemicals return to the water cycle as contaminated rain, soil, and surface water and to underground aquifers. Certain toxic and carcinogenic chemicals that do not decompose nor are removable using present water treatment technology are consequently retreated and reused as if harmless when in fact they are harmful. Water used in fracking slurries will contain toxic chemicals that are recycled and reused after municipal treatment that will not remove dangerous organic chemicals. This is the case for fracking chemicals that are constituents constituents in the essential crack-inducing slurries.

The chemical formulation of fracking slurries are not revealed by corporations using fracking processes and are considered proprietary trade secret information. The only certain way to determine their "secret" is to conduct tests before and after fracking operations, and to do so impartially and comprehensively. Many so-called expert opinions have been given by self-interested parties but so far no information has been disclosed to the public by any of these paid talking experts. Lacking tangible data, the public is told by corporations using fracking and their political parasites water water quality is not endangered. Where is the proof? Nowhere in sight, because tests and results, if accomplished, have not been revealed. There have been, however numerous anecdotal reports that tap water in private homes nearby fracking operations is foul tasting that sometimes ignites with a match. Very limited testing has revealed the presence of benzene (a known human carcinogen) and 2 Butoxyethanol  (suspected human carcinogen) in well water in close proximity to fracking operations. 

During my professional career as a Research Director, VP, and research engineer I routinely adhered to what I consider the irrefutable  research parable: "One Test is Worth a Thousand Expert Opinions". The so-called corporate experts and their political money bags claim that their is nothing to be concerned about fracking slurries. I take this to mean "beware". We all must demand comprehensive testing before widespread fracking is allowed. The human disaster that could result if we ignore this need would be cataclysmic as the water we drink becomes more toxic and carcinogenic.. Speak out and demand action now. Demand comprehensive testing.

Reference: "A Drinker's Guide to Pure Water---Is Your Water Safe", iUniverse Inc., by Zalman P. Saperstein, 2006

The Drinking Water Dilemma: The Toxins and Cancer-Causing Man-Made Chemicals in Your Drinking Water

The Drinking Water Dilemma: The Toxins and Cancer-Causing Man-Made Chemicals in Your Drinking Water: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

The Toxins and Cancer-Causing Man-Made Chemicals in Your Drinking Water

Today some snippets of new appeared in various parts of the USA concerning the ongoing work of the Environmental Working Group. This research and advocacy organization is dedicated to educating the American public about the poisons in our drinking water, and the scope of the problem that even affects new born children.

One piece of news relates to Madison Wisconsin's municipal water system. Excessive concentrations of hexavalent chromium, a known carcinogen is present in all public water provided in Madison. EWG reports that this is very common in all cities in the USA.

If this type of problem was a rarity we might be able to locally respond with appropriate corrective action. It is not a rarity. Toxic and carcinogenic water is consumed by virtually millions of us , probably a majority of all Americans daily, as we drink and cook with tap water wherever we live and travel. The reason is that we are now living during the 9th decade of the massive poisoning of all water supplies with man-made chemicals. Virtually all of these man-made chemicals were developed, manufactured, and released into our water sources, often deliberately and almost always without public awareness or consent. This toxification of Earth's water has effected all regions of the world where over 100,000 different man-made toxic and carcinogenic chemicals have been produced and used in monumental quantities for industrial, military, commercial, and public purposes since the 1930's, when PCB's were first manufactured and used in massive quantities. This long lasting toxin, PCB, is found in most water systems also, and will persist indefinitely unless new water purification systems are implemented throughout our country. A pure pipe dream in our country.

Meanwhile we all are exposed daily to carcinogens and toxins with every sip of water and bite of food, and often airborne sources that we breathe as well. Is there any wonder that cancer is rampant, even among children and new born as they are recipients of their mothers water-containing toxins during fetal development.

I wrote a book on this subject in 2006, " A Drinker's Guide to Pure Water--Is Your Water Safe" that I hoped would awaken some of us to the magnitude of this problem and help activate some remedial action. Another pure pipe dreams. Maybe with the recent EWG findings some of us will awaken and at least take personal steps to protect ourselves from these killing cancer-causing chemicals. You can purchase my book very inexpensively from Amazon. It is almost being given away so get a copy and share it with friends and relatives, and follow EWG reports. At least you will become aware of the facts and possibly do something constructive to protect your self and loved ones from the poisons and carcinogens carried in your drinking water.

Walking, Talking, Reservoirs

Without drinking water we all perish. We become dehydrated and merely skin, bones, and dry organs. We lose about 70% of our body weight as we shrivel and eventually leave only our bones behind to possibly fossilize for some future archeologist, a million years from now, to discover and analyze. Without water we are truly a sack of bones. Yet we seldom give a thought to protecting the water we drink from contamination with toxic substances, and therefore many of us carry more than 100 pounds of potentially toxic water in us as`we meander about. If you weigh 150 pounds, nearly 100 pound of your weight is water. The source of all the water in you body is external. Food, watery fluids, and most vitally water. about 5 quarts of water becomes blood and recirculates continuously and is replenishes as waste fluids are normally eliminated. Much of the water is permanently stores in our cells throughout our body. We are walking, talking, reservoirs of water and will not exist if we dry out.

Despite the vital function of water we seldom think about it. We eat, drink, and take for granted the most vital ingredient of life. We also fail to acknowledge that every pound of weight we gain is about 70% water. The worlds population of about 6.8 billion stores in their approximate average weight bodies (estimated by me as 85 pounds), more than 400 billion pounds of water. As the earth's population increases this number does, so that by 2050 when the population is estimated to reach about 10 billion people, approximately one trillion pounds (454 billion kilograms, or about 161 billion cubic feet)of water will be stored in our collective world population bodies. The fatter we grow the greater will be the total amount.

Upon life termination the water contained within us returns to earth in the form of evaporation or fluid dispersion, that may not be readily available to resupply aquifers, etc. Even if they would resupply water sources would the water be OK to drink, even after treatments that are seldom adequate? How large can the world population grow before potable water becomes depleted, and massive purification methods will be required. At the rate that political leaders recognize and respond to new requirements it will likely be too late, and massive die offs will likely occur.

The simultaneous poisoning of earths drinking water (my book,"A Drinker's Guide to Pure Water, Is Your Water Safe?) describes the problems) and the population explosion will intersect at some point and future life will cease, at lease as we recognize it. This may take several hundreds , thousands , or even millions of years dependent upon the rate at which toxification of drinking water continues, and the human tolerance to chemical toxins, and carcinogens.

Mute, Think, Hoot,, and Vote

What do you do when you hear and see the 15 second political blurbs that try to get you to vote for their candidate? My wife and I mute the sound,and hoot. We do not care what the commercials claim. Your vote must be based upon facts and principles that are based upon reality not bull. Here are some suggestions to consider before you cast your vote.

1. If you are committed to the double superlative Republican motto, "The least government is the best government" then vote for no government that is the least, and vote Republican. Accept the consequences. The least of anything is zero or none. Republican seem to believe their frequently acclaimed motto, that no government is best, so take them at their word and vote for change where our taxes for roads are eliminated and roads crumble, school taxes are eliminated and scools decay, water treatment taxes are eliminated and clean drinking water disappears, sewerage inundates our communities, etc. since if the Republicans achieve their goal all taxes will be reduced to zero, government becomes non-existent, and we all fend for ourselves. The "common good" becomes "indifferent neglect".

2. If you believe that "government for the people, by the people, and of the people", and that we are guided as our Pledge of Allegiance avows:
"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all", what choice have you other than vote Democratic.

The Republican/Tea Party candidates universally advocate for "the least government", separation and division, and some even claim that violent armed revolution is "on the table", despite our Constitution's underlying purpose to "form a more perfect union". The Republicans often favor separation from "the Union of States" and dissolution of our Union of States.

The fundamental distinctions between the Democratic and Republican Parties are clear and indisputable. You, a thinking person, are able to understand the facts and vote accordingly.

Fifteen second bits of video and radio propaganda that aim to capture your vote are valueless and must be ignored. Vote instead for the underlying principles that you support, and your vote will at least reflect your beliefs, not a TV or radio political advertisement.

"Mute" the propaganda and "Hoot" for what you believe after understanding why you believe what you believe. Vote for the politician that you rationally believe will best serve our nation, and your basic needs as a citizen of the United States of America.

Understand More About Environmental Toxins and What to do to Minimize Harm

This link is a must to view for a better understanding of environmental pollution and health.Please view and pass on to others Thanks

Lessons We Can and Must Learn From an Engineered Hole Deep in an Ocean Bottom That Gushes Poisons and Carcinogens

Humans are without doubt the strangest residents on Earth. We are like a swarm of viruses that devour all they infect until the host dies and than the viruses are without a home. Maybe they can find another host to infect before they too die. We humans behave as if we can always find another home if our present one, Earth, is consumed by our own neglect. We seem unable to care until something hits us in our pocket book. The "engineering oil disaster" in the Gulf of Mexico is the latest example of our response to environmental contamination after the genie bites us in the pocket book. Fisherman are losing jobs and income, tourists are staying home as beaches become tar infested and hotels and restaurants stay vacant, amusement events along the shores close, and the hole BP drilled into the ocean floor gushes oil at the rate of 250,000 to possibly 2,500,000 gallons per day into the surrounding seas and shores of the south east USA.

Suddenly politicians who scoffed at environmental pollution and global warming caused by man made contaminants are becoming environmentalists because their constituents are losing their income, jobs, and the environmental enjoyment of clean beaches that they took for granted.Scoffers of global warming now believe that their own backyards must be shielded from environmental harm. They are of course correct. And maybe, just maybe, they will begin to accept the fact that all of Earth is our and their backyard, and the well being of all life on our planet depends upon what is provided by a life-sustaining environment. Perhaps this oil catastrophe will stir the retarded brains of people who claim or think that the Earth's environment is too vast to be harmed by human activities. Human activities generally harm the Earth's vast oceans , air, lands, and near- space atmosphere. Just as the oil gushing out of a giant hole that was drilled into the ocean floor about one mile below the sea surface is now causing toxic contamination of a growing area of land in densely populated parts of our country. We regularly poison our planet's air, fresh water, soils, oceans, and the space our planet occupies and needs to maintain in a way nature intended,without a second thought. Unless of course our source of income is threatened, and then we all become environmentalists. As soon as business resumes we forget the environment and start polluting again. Our memories are short and our interest in the natural environment becomes diverted by the pleasures that technology and engineering offers.

We are now witnessing an environmental disaster that was inevitable. As discussed in a previous blog, engineering as a discipline consists of designing and making things that have a useful life and eventually fail. Everything designed and produced by us has a finite and often unpredictable period of operational use, beyond which some type of failure is absolutely certain. From simple bread toasters to the most technical space ship failure is inevitable if the product is used at all. When failure does occur it can be innocuous or catastrophic. If a toaster develops a shot circuit a home can burn down and kill the occupants. If a space ship hydrogen tank develops a leak and ignites because a simple seal fails all of the astronauts perish in a hydrogen explosion that capture the tears of millions of TV onlookers. When a welded steel gusset used to support the traffic driving across a major bridge breaks, because of accumulated load damage, and the structure collapses killing drives and passengers who happened to be their at the worst possible time it is just the inevitable failure of another engineered product.If a turbine blade in a passenger aircraft engine fails and cause the aircraft to crash and kill all occupants we seem shocked to think how such a thing could happen.

We seem to believe that engineered things are permanent and cannot fail. The bigger they the more permanent they are perceived to be. Often the opposite is the truth. They are not and cannot be permanent. Everything humankind designs and engineers will eventually fail in some manner, and generally unexpectedly. When inevitable failure occurs the consequences may be trivial or disasterous depending upon the engineered thing and its use by humans.

The gigantic hole drilled in the bottom of the ocean in the Gulf of Mexico, about one mile below the surface, continues to spew oil as a result of a component in the towering oil rig. Until the flow is exhausted on its own or somehow plugged, we will probably witness one of the worse "engineered failures" since the industrial revolution began about 200 years ago. It may become the worse failure ever because the consequences are so devastating to all life, plant and animal, human and otherwise. All life poisoned by the organic chemicals contained in the gushing oil will die or become diseased. Death will occurs as plants and sea animals and birds ingest and are coated with the poisons. Fresh water supplies will gradually become contaminated with carcinogenic toxins contained in the crude oil as natural poison and carcinogenic chemicals are released into the environment. The wetlands will become progressively contaminated, and toxic rain water that picks up evaporating toxins from the ocean surface laden with dispersed and wave driven oil will contaminate inland areas as well as the shores. Eventually all life near shores where the oil poisons are washed will become too dangerous to occupy. This scenario is already evident in parts of Louisiana and is also becoming evident elsewhere along the gulf shores as the oil poisons are driven by ocean currents, wind, and poison rain and evaporating vapors.

Perhaps this " inevitable engineered oil disaster" will stimulate our understanding of the fragile nature of our dependence upon the Earth's environment and the sustenance of all life. We cannot continue to ignore or pretend the consequences of our blind acceptance of any technology as if it is always beneficial. Engineering can be and is often beneficial if used appropriately. Risk always prevail, and inevitable failure of all engineered devices and things can and will occur. We must understand the risk and prevent environmental disasters by never allowing the engineering of anything whose failure can threaten our very environment, upon which we all depend. This is everybody's responsibility. Do not allow politicians to tell you what is right or wrong environmentally. Think for yourself and always demand a path toward a cleaner environment where life can flourish and the oceans, lakes, rivers, aquifers, lands, and air can support life.

We must control the spread of technology and engineering for the sake of profit and pleasure and war. We must learn to apply technology and engineering for the benefit not the detriment of life. We all must work to restore our environment to a more natural condition, and prevent stupid and greedy exploitation of the Earth's natural resources for the benefit of the few. We must defend Earth's environment and try to restore it for future generations. If we can learn this from the Gulf engineering oil failure we will see a new day when environmental protection and sustenance becomes the highest human priority! We must, because without a safe and clean environment all life may perish.