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Tag: contamination

  • DC Water says it will take longer to repair broken sewer pipe in Potomac River spill – WTOP News

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    It’s going to take at least another four weeks to repair a large sewer pipe that collapsed last month, spilling wastewater into the Potomac River.

    A recently placed warning sign is seen at the sight of a massive pipe rupture, as sewage flows into the Potomac River, right, in Glen Echo, Md., Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. A massive pipe that moves millions of gallons of sewage has ruptured and sent wastewater flowing into the Potomac River northwest of Washington, polluting it ahead of a major winter storm that has repair crews scrambling. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)(AP/Cliff Owen)

    The large sewer pipe that collapsed on Jan. 19, resulting in millions of gallons of wastewater being spilled into the Potomac River, is going to take four to six weeks longer to repair.

    That’s because D.C. Water has discovered a giant rock dam south of the site of the original collapse.

    “This will require us to bring in additional equipment to remove the obstruction,” said D.C. Water spokesperson Sherri Lewis, adding the sewage flow has been successfully bypassed around the failed pipe, known as the Potomac Interceptor.

    “These giant industrial vacuums that we use can’t suck the boulders out because they are so big,” she said.

    Personnel will have to go into the pipe to remove the rocks manually. Additional pumps are being brought in from Texas and Florida to complete the task, but that will add more time to complete the repairs.

    In the meantime, water quality tests conducted by the University of Maryland and the Potomac Riverkeeper Network have found alarmingly high levels of E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus, which causes staph infections, in several samples taken from Jan. 21 to Jan. 28.

    Contamination levels are much higher near the break site, which is in Montgomery County along the C&O Canal and Clara Barton Parkway. But bacterial contamination has been detected nine miles down river.

    Potomac Riverkeeper Dean Naujoks urged the local health departments to issue a public alert about the contamination.

    “We’re getting calls and emails literally every day from people who are concerned,” Naujoks said. “We’re demanding that these public health agencies in Maryland and most importantly D.C. do their jobs and start protecting public health and just err on the side of caution and issue an advisory.”

    Leaders of the Washington Aqueduct have said drinking water isn’t being impacted by the spill. The main pumping station that supplies water to the aqueduct is several miles north of the failed pipe.

    A station closer to the spill site has been offline since before the break — and the aqueduct’s general manager said it will stay that way until water quality levels are back to normal.

    D.C. Water will build a large pit upstream of the collapse site in order to access the existing sewer line and to install new, high-capacity pumps. Five more pumps — coming from Florida and Texas — will increase the pumps on site to 13 and expand the capacity to more than 100 million gallons per day, allowing the diversion of wastewater so crews can safely remove the rocks.

    D.C. Water has put up signs along the C&O Canal at river access points alerting people to the dangers of coming into contact with the water.

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    © 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Alan Etter

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  • Botulism outbreak sickens more than 50 babies and expands to all ByHeart products

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    Federal health officials on Wednesday expanded an outbreak of infant botulism tied to recalled ByHeart baby formula to include all illnesses reported since the company began production in March 2022.The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said investigators “cannot rule out the possibility that contamination might have affected all ByHeart formula products” ever made.The outbreak now includes at least 51 infants in 19 states. The new case definition includes “any infant with botulism who was exposed to ByHeart formula at any time since the product’s release,” according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The most recent illness was reported on Dec. 1.No deaths have been reported in the outbreak, which was announced Nov. 8.Previously, health officials had said the outbreak included 39 suspected or confirmed cases of infant botulism reported in 18 states since August. That’s when officials at California’s Infant Botulism Treatment and Prevention Program reported a rise in treatment of infants who had consumed ByHeart formula. Another 12 cases were identified with the expanded definition, including two that occurred in the original timeline and 10 that occurred from December 2023 through July 2025.ByHeart, a New York-based manufacturer of organic infant formula founded in 2016, recalled all its products sold in the U.S. on Nov. 11. The company, which accounts for about 1% of the U.S. infant formula market, had been selling about 200,000 cans of the product each month.News that ByHeart products could have been contaminated for years was distressing to Andi Galindo, whose 5-week-old daughter, Rowan, was hospitalized in December 2023 with infant botulism after drinking the formula. Galindo, 36, of Redondo Beach, California, said she insisted on using ByHeart formula to supplement a low supply of breast milk because it was recommended by a lactation consultant as “very natural, very gentle, very good for the babies.”“That’s a hard one,” Galindo said. “If there is proof that there were issues with their manufacturing and their plant all the way back from the beginning, that is a problem and they really need to be held accountable.”Amy Mazziotti, 43, of Burbank, California, said her then-5-month-old son, Hank, fell ill and was treated for botulism in March, weeks after he began drinking ByHeart. Being included in the investigation of the outbreak “feels like a win for all of us,” she said Wednesday.“I’ve known in my gut from the beginning that ByHeart was the reason Hank got sick, and to see that these cases are now part of the investigation brings me to tears — a mix of relief, gratitude and hope that the truth is finally being recognized,” she said.In a statement late Wednesday, ByHeart officials said the company is cooperating with federal officials “to understand the full scope of related cases.”“The new cases reported by CDC and FDA will help inform ByHeart’s investigation as we continue to seek the root cause of the contamination,” the statement said.Lab tests detected contaminationThe FDA sent inspectors last month to ByHeart plants in Allerton, Iowa, and Portland, Oregon, where the formula is produced and packaged. The agency has released no results from those inspections.The company previously reported that tests by an independent laboratory showed that 36 samples from three different lots contained the type of bacteria that can cause infant botulism.“We cannot rule out the risk that all ByHeart formula across all product lots may have been contaminated,” the company wrote on its website last month.Those results and discussions with the FDA led CDC officials to expand the outbreak, according to Dr. Jennifer Cope, a CDC scientist leading the investigation.“It looks like the contamination appeared to persist across all production runs, different lots, different raw material lots,” Cope said. “They couldn’t isolate it to specific lots from a certain time period.”Inspection documents showed that ByHeart had a history of problems with contamination.In 2022, the year ByHeart started making formula, the company recalled five batches of infant formula after a sample at a packaging plant tested positive for a different germ, cronobacter sakazakii. In 2023, the FDA sent a warning letter to the company detailing “areas that still require corrective actions.”A ByHeart plant in Reading, Pennsylvania, was shut down in 2023 just before FDA inspectors found problems with mold, water leaks and insects, documents show.Infant botulism is rareInfant botulism is a rare disease that affects fewer than 200 babies in the U.S. each year. It’s caused when infants ingest botulism bacteria that produce spores that germinate in the intestines, creating a toxin that affects the nervous system. Babies are vulnerable until about age 1 because their gut microbiomes are not mature enough to fight the toxin.Baby formula has previously been linked to sporadic cases of illness, but no known outbreaks of infant botulism tied to powdered formula have previously been confirmed, according to research studies.Symptoms can take up to 30 days to develop and can include constipation, poor feeding, loss of head control, drooping eyelids and a flat facial expression. Babies may feel “floppy” and can have problems swallowing or breathing.The sole treatment for infant botulism is known as BabyBIG, an IV medication made from the pooled blood plasma of adults immunized against botulism. California’s infant botulism program developed the product and is the sole source worldwide.The antibodies provided by BabyBIG are likely most effective for about a month, although they may continue circulating in the child’s system for several months, said Dr. Sharon Nachman, an expert in pediatric infectious disease at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital.“The risk to the infant is ongoing and the family should not be using this formula after it was recalled,” Nachman said in an email.Families of several babies treated for botulism after drinking ByHeart formula have sued the company. Lawsuits filed in federal courts allege that the formula they fed their children was defective and ByHeart was negligent in selling it. They seek financial payment for medical bills, emotional distress and other harm.

    Federal health officials on Wednesday expanded an outbreak of infant botulism tied to recalled ByHeart baby formula to include all illnesses reported since the company began production in March 2022.

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said investigators “cannot rule out the possibility that contamination might have affected all ByHeart formula products” ever made.

    The outbreak now includes at least 51 infants in 19 states. The new case definition includes “any infant with botulism who was exposed to ByHeart formula at any time since the product’s release,” according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The most recent illness was reported on Dec. 1.

    No deaths have been reported in the outbreak, which was announced Nov. 8.

    Previously, health officials had said the outbreak included 39 suspected or confirmed cases of infant botulism reported in 18 states since August. That’s when officials at California’s Infant Botulism Treatment and Prevention Program reported a rise in treatment of infants who had consumed ByHeart formula. Another 12 cases were identified with the expanded definition, including two that occurred in the original timeline and 10 that occurred from December 2023 through July 2025.

    ByHeart, a New York-based manufacturer of organic infant formula founded in 2016, recalled all its products sold in the U.S. on Nov. 11. The company, which accounts for about 1% of the U.S. infant formula market, had been selling about 200,000 cans of the product each month.

    News that ByHeart products could have been contaminated for years was distressing to Andi Galindo, whose 5-week-old daughter, Rowan, was hospitalized in December 2023 with infant botulism after drinking the formula. Galindo, 36, of Redondo Beach, California, said she insisted on using ByHeart formula to supplement a low supply of breast milk because it was recommended by a lactation consultant as “very natural, very gentle, very good for the babies.”

    “That’s a hard one,” Galindo said. “If there is proof that there were issues with their manufacturing and their plant all the way back from the beginning, that is a problem and they really need to be held accountable.”

    Amy Mazziotti, 43, of Burbank, California, said her then-5-month-old son, Hank, fell ill and was treated for botulism in March, weeks after he began drinking ByHeart. Being included in the investigation of the outbreak “feels like a win for all of us,” she said Wednesday.

    “I’ve known in my gut from the beginning that ByHeart was the reason Hank got sick, and to see that these cases are now part of the investigation brings me to tears — a mix of relief, gratitude and hope that the truth is finally being recognized,” she said.

    In a statement late Wednesday, ByHeart officials said the company is cooperating with federal officials “to understand the full scope of related cases.”

    “The new cases reported by CDC and FDA will help inform ByHeart’s investigation as we continue to seek the root cause of the contamination,” the statement said.

    Lab tests detected contamination

    The FDA sent inspectors last month to ByHeart plants in Allerton, Iowa, and Portland, Oregon, where the formula is produced and packaged. The agency has released no results from those inspections.

    The company previously reported that tests by an independent laboratory showed that 36 samples from three different lots contained the type of bacteria that can cause infant botulism.

    “We cannot rule out the risk that all ByHeart formula across all product lots may have been contaminated,” the company wrote on its website last month.

    Those results and discussions with the FDA led CDC officials to expand the outbreak, according to Dr. Jennifer Cope, a CDC scientist leading the investigation.

    “It looks like the contamination appeared to persist across all production runs, different lots, different raw material lots,” Cope said. “They couldn’t isolate it to specific lots from a certain time period.”

    Inspection documents showed that ByHeart had a history of problems with contamination.

    In 2022, the year ByHeart started making formula, the company recalled five batches of infant formula after a sample at a packaging plant tested positive for a different germ, cronobacter sakazakii. In 2023, the FDA sent a warning letter to the company detailing “areas that still require corrective actions.”

    A ByHeart plant in Reading, Pennsylvania, was shut down in 2023 just before FDA inspectors found problems with mold, water leaks and insects, documents show.

    Infant botulism is rare

    Infant botulism is a rare disease that affects fewer than 200 babies in the U.S. each year. It’s caused when infants ingest botulism bacteria that produce spores that germinate in the intestines, creating a toxin that affects the nervous system. Babies are vulnerable until about age 1 because their gut microbiomes are not mature enough to fight the toxin.

    Baby formula has previously been linked to sporadic cases of illness, but no known outbreaks of infant botulism tied to powdered formula have previously been confirmed, according to research studies.

    Symptoms can take up to 30 days to develop and can include constipation, poor feeding, loss of head control, drooping eyelids and a flat facial expression. Babies may feel “floppy” and can have problems swallowing or breathing.

    The sole treatment for infant botulism is known as BabyBIG, an IV medication made from the pooled blood plasma of adults immunized against botulism. California’s infant botulism program developed the product and is the sole source worldwide.

    The antibodies provided by BabyBIG are likely most effective for about a month, although they may continue circulating in the child’s system for several months, said Dr. Sharon Nachman, an expert in pediatric infectious disease at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital.

    “The risk to the infant is ongoing and the family should not be using this formula after it was recalled,” Nachman said in an email.

    Families of several babies treated for botulism after drinking ByHeart formula have sued the company. Lawsuits filed in federal courts allege that the formula they fed their children was defective and ByHeart was negligent in selling it. They seek financial payment for medical bills, emotional distress and other harm.

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  • Boar’s Head Cheese Recall Over Potential Listeria Contamination – KXL

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    WASHINGTON, DC – Boar’s Head cheese products are being recalled over potential Listeria contamination. According to the FDA, a Boar’s Head supplier issued the recall and it’s being categorized as a Class One, which means exposure could result in serious health consequences or death.

    The recalled items included Boar’s Head Grated Pecorino Romano Cheese, FS Grated Romano Cheese, Pre-cut Pecorino Romano, EverRoast Chicken Caesar Salad, and EverRoast Chicken Caesar Wraps sold at Kroger stores in Kentucky and Indiana.

    According to the recall alert, the affected products are past their shelf life and “should already be out of distribution,” however, consumers are advised to discard any remaining products that may be in their possession.

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    Tim Lantz

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  • After massive shrimp recalls, the FDA finds radioactive contamination in spices too

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    Federal regulators have detected possible radioactive contamination in a second food product sent to the U.S. from Indonesia, even as recalls of potentially tainted shrimp continue to grow. The discovery adds to questions about the source of the unusual problem.Related video above: FDA investigates radioactive contamination in Walmart shrimpU.S. Food and Drug Administration officials last week blocked import of all spices from PT Natural Java Spice of Indonesia after federal inspectors detected cesium 137 in a shipment of cloves sent to California.That follows the import alert imposed in August on the company PT Bahari Makmuri Sejati, or BMS foods, which sends millions of pounds of shrimp to the U.S. each year.Here’s what you need to know about potential cesium 137 contamination:What is cesium 137?Cesium 137 is a radioactive isotope created as a byproduct of nuclear reactions, including nuclear bombs, testing, reactor operations and accidents. It’s widespread around the world, with trace amounts found in the environment, including soil, food and air.What have U.S. officials found?U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials detected cesium 137 in shipping containers of shrimp sent by PT Bahari Makmur Sejati to several U.S. ports. CBP officials flagged the potential contamination to the FDA, which tested samples of the shrimp and detected cesium 137 in one sample of breaded shrimp.The company has sent about 84 million pounds (38 million kilograms) of shrimp to U.S. ports this year, according to data from Import Genius, a trade data analysis company. It supplies about 6% of foreign shrimp imported in the U.S.This month, FDA officials detected cesium 137 in one sample of cloves exported by PT Natural Java Spice, which sends spices to the U.S. and other countries. Records show the company sent about 440,000 pounds ( 200,000 kilograms) of cloves to the U.S. this year.What are the health risks?No food that triggered alerts or tested positive has been released for sale in the U.S., FDA officials emphasized.But hundreds of thousands of packages of imported frozen shrimp sold at Kroger and other grocery stores across the U.S. have been recalled because they may have been manufactured under conditions that allowed them to be contaminated, the agency said.Although the risk appears to be small, the foods could pose a “potential health concern” for people exposed to low levels of cesium 137 over time.The levels of contamination detected are far below the level that could trigger the need for health protections, but long-term exposure could raise the risk of certain cancers.Where did the contamination come from?It’s not clear whether there’s a common source of contamination for the shrimp and the spices. FDA and CBP officials said their investigations are continuing. The two processing facilities appear to be about 500 miles (800 kilometers) apart in Indonesia.Contaminated scrap metal or melted metal at an industrial site near the shrimp processing plant in Indonesia may be the source of the radioactive material, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. Nuclear regulators in Indonesia said they detected the radioactive isotope at the site outside Jakarta.It’s possible that that type of contamination could come from recycling old medical equipment that contained cesium 137, according to Steve Biegalski, a nuclear medicine expert at the Georgia Institute of Technology.Contaminated transport containers or shipping methods, such as trucks, boats or shared materials could also be a source, he said.What should consumers do?For now, consumers should avoid eating or serving shrimp recalled for possible cesium 137 contamination, the FDA said.To date, four firms have issued recalls of shrimp since August, including those listed here.1. Aug. 21, 2025: Southwind Foods, LLC Recall2. Aug. 22, 2025: Beaver Street Fisheries, LLC Recall3. Aug. 27, 2025: AquaStar (USA) Corp Recall – Kroger Brand4. Aug. 28, 2025: AquaStar (USA) Corp Recall – Aqua Star Brand5. Aug. 29, 2025: Southwind Foods, LLC Recall – Expansion of original recall6. Sept. 19, 2025: AquaStar (USA) Corp Recall – Expansion of original recall7. Sept. 23, 2025: Southwind Foods, LLC Recall – Expansion of original recall8. Sept. 23, 2025: Lawrence Wholesale, LLC Recall – Kroger Brand

    Federal regulators have detected possible radioactive contamination in a second food product sent to the U.S. from Indonesia, even as recalls of potentially tainted shrimp continue to grow. The discovery adds to questions about the source of the unusual problem.

    Related video above: FDA investigates radioactive contamination in Walmart shrimp

    U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials last week blocked import of all spices from PT Natural Java Spice of Indonesia after federal inspectors detected cesium 137 in a shipment of cloves sent to California.

    That follows the import alert imposed in August on the company PT Bahari Makmuri Sejati, or BMS foods, which sends millions of pounds of shrimp to the U.S. each year.

    Here’s what you need to know about potential cesium 137 contamination:

    What is cesium 137?

    Cesium 137 is a radioactive isotope created as a byproduct of nuclear reactions, including nuclear bombs, testing, reactor operations and accidents. It’s widespread around the world, with trace amounts found in the environment, including soil, food and air.

    What have U.S. officials found?

    U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials detected cesium 137 in shipping containers of shrimp sent by PT Bahari Makmur Sejati to several U.S. ports. CBP officials flagged the potential contamination to the FDA, which tested samples of the shrimp and detected cesium 137 in one sample of breaded shrimp.

    The company has sent about 84 million pounds (38 million kilograms) of shrimp to U.S. ports this year, according to data from Import Genius, a trade data analysis company. It supplies about 6% of foreign shrimp imported in the U.S.

    This month, FDA officials detected cesium 137 in one sample of cloves exported by PT Natural Java Spice, which sends spices to the U.S. and other countries. Records show the company sent about 440,000 pounds ( 200,000 kilograms) of cloves to the U.S. this year.

    What are the health risks?

    No food that triggered alerts or tested positive has been released for sale in the U.S., FDA officials emphasized.

    But hundreds of thousands of packages of imported frozen shrimp sold at Kroger and other grocery stores across the U.S. have been recalled because they may have been manufactured under conditions that allowed them to be contaminated, the agency said.

    Although the risk appears to be small, the foods could pose a “potential health concern” for people exposed to low levels of cesium 137 over time.

    The levels of contamination detected are far below the level that could trigger the need for health protections, but long-term exposure could raise the risk of certain cancers.

    Where did the contamination come from?

    It’s not clear whether there’s a common source of contamination for the shrimp and the spices. FDA and CBP officials said their investigations are continuing. The two processing facilities appear to be about 500 miles (800 kilometers) apart in Indonesia.

    Contaminated scrap metal or melted metal at an industrial site near the shrimp processing plant in Indonesia may be the source of the radioactive material, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. Nuclear regulators in Indonesia said they detected the radioactive isotope at the site outside Jakarta.

    It’s possible that that type of contamination could come from recycling old medical equipment that contained cesium 137, according to Steve Biegalski, a nuclear medicine expert at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

    Contaminated transport containers or shipping methods, such as trucks, boats or shared materials could also be a source, he said.

    What should consumers do?

    For now, consumers should avoid eating or serving shrimp recalled for possible cesium 137 contamination, the FDA said.

    To date, four firms have issued recalls of shrimp since August, including those listed here.

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  • Pet food recalled due to potential contamination of salmonella, listeria

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    Viva Raw pet food recalled due to potential contamination of salmonella and listeria

    Updated: 8:22 AM EDT Aug 27, 2025

    Editorial Standards ⓘ

    Raw pet food brand Viva Raw has recalled several of its dog and cat food products due to potential contamination with salmonella and listeria.The recall affects various beef, turkey and chicken varieties sold nationwide between July 2 and Aug. 21.The possible contamination was discovered during routine testing, although no illnesses have been reported so far.Pet owners are advised to contact their veterinarians immediately if their pets have consumed any of the affected products.Consumers should throw away the recalled items and contact Viva Raw for a refund.For more information, visit the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s website.

    Raw pet food brand Viva Raw has recalled several of its dog and cat food products due to potential contamination with salmonella and listeria.

    The recall affects various beef, turkey and chicken varieties sold nationwide between July 2 and Aug. 21.

    The possible contamination was discovered during routine testing, although no illnesses have been reported so far.

    Pet owners are advised to contact their veterinarians immediately if their pets have consumed any of the affected products.

    Consumers should throw away the recalled items and contact Viva Raw for a refund.

    For more information, visit the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s website.

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  • Los Angeles settles with Monsanto for $35 million over PCBs in waterways

    Los Angeles settles with Monsanto for $35 million over PCBs in waterways

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    Contamination of key Los Angeles waterways such as the Santa Monica Bay, Los Angeles Harbor and Echo Park Lake due to the spread of toxic chemicals is at the heart of a $35-million settlement between the L.A. City Council and agriculture giant Monsanto and two smaller companies.

    The City Council on Tuesday announced the payout by the companies to settle a lawsuit filed in 2022 over damage from long-banned chemicals called PCBs, which have been linked to health problems including cancer.

    The City Council approved the settlement at Tuesday afternoon’s meeting, voting 13 to 0 after a closed session. Councilmembers Imelda Padilla and Nithya Raman were absent.

    A call to the office of City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto was not immediately answered, nor was a call to Monsanto’s representation.

    In March 2022, then-City Atty. Mike Feuer sued Monsanto, which was swallowed by the German corporation Bayer in 2018, and smaller chemical companies Solutia Inc. and Pharmacia.

    The complaint sought compensation for the cost of past cleanups — and for future abatement of — polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs. The chemicals tainted and continue to pollute many Los Angeles waterways, including the Dominguez Channel, Ballona Creek, Marina del Rey and Machado Lake.

    “The city has expended millions and millions of dollars so far and is going to continue to expend millions and millions of dollars to remediate this issue,” Feuer said at the time.

    PCBs are human-made organic chemicals that have no known taste or smell and range in consistency from oils to waxes, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

    They had several commercial uses, including in transformers and capacitors, oil used in motors and hydraulic systems, cable insulation, oil-based paint, caulking and plastics.

    PCBs were produced and used domestically from roughly 1929 until they were banned in 1979, according to the EPA.

    From the 1930s through 1977, Monsanto was the sole producer of PCBs in the United States, according to the National Library of Medicine.

    Exposure to PCBs increases the chances of a person developing cancer while diminishing the effectiveness of the immune system and damaging reproductive organs and the nervous system, according to the EPA.

    The lawsuit alleged that Monsanto knew that “its commercial PCB formulations were highly toxic and would inevitably produce precisely the contamination and human health risks that have occurred.” Instead of informing public officials, the company “misled the public, regulators, and its own customers about these key facts.”

    The lawsuit alleged that, as early as 1937, Monsanto acknowledged internally that PCBs produced “systemic toxic effects upon prolonged exposure.”

    Many of Los Angeles’ waterways had been impaired by PCB contamination, according to the lawsuit.

    The city has said that it continues to shoulder the cost and responsibility of cleaning these locales along with monitoring and analyzing samples.

    People face PCB exposure, according to the lawsuit, by eating contaminated food, breathing contaminated air, or drinking or swimming in contaminated water. Fish captured in contaminated waters and eaten also provide an avenue for PCB exposure.

    The settlement avoids a court trial, which presented some risk to the city.

    Seattle claimed a $160-million settlement with Monsanto in July over PCBs in the city’s drainage system and rivers.

    In May, however, an appeals court in Washington state overturned a $185-million verdict against Monsanto in a lawsuit brought by three teachers who claimed brain damage due to PCB leaks.

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    Andrew J. Campa

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  • Biden administration sets first-ever limits on PFAS “forever chemicals” in drinking water

    Biden administration sets first-ever limits on PFAS “forever chemicals” in drinking water

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    The Biden administration on Wednesday finalized strict limits on certain so-called “forever chemicals” in drinking water that will require utilities to reduce them to the lowest level they can be reliably measured. Officials say this will reduce exposure for 100 million people and help prevent thousands of illnesses, including cancers.

    The rule is the first national drinking water limit on toxic PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, which are widespread and long-lasting in the environment.

    Health advocates praised the Environmental Protection Agency for not backing away from tough limits the agency proposed last year. But water utilities took issue with the rule, saying treatment systems are expensive to install and that customers will end up paying more for water.

    Water providers are entering a new era with significant additional health standards that the EPA says will make tap water safer for millions of consumers — a Biden administration priority. The agency has also proposed forcing utilities to remove dangerous lead pipes.

    Utility groups warn the rules will cost tens of billions of dollars each and fall hardest on small communities with fewer resources. Legal challenges are sure to follow.

    EPA Administrator Michael Regan says the rule is the most important action the EPA has ever taken on PFAS.

    “The result is a comprehensive and life-changing rule, one that will improve the health and vitality of so many communities across our country,” said Regan.

    PFAS chemicals are hazardous because they don’t degrade in the environment and are linked to health issues such as low birth weight and liver disease, along with certain cancers. The EPA estimates the rule will cost about $1.5 billion to implement each year, but doing so will prevent nearly 10,000 deaths over decades and significantly reduce serious illnesses.

    They’ve been used in everyday products including nonstick pans, firefighting foam and waterproof clothing. Although some of the most common types are phased out in the U.S., others remain. Water providers will now be forced to remove contamination put in the environment by other industries.

    “It’s that accumulation that’s the problem,” said Scott Belcher, a North Carolina State University professor who researches PFAS toxicity. “Even tiny, tiny, tiny amounts each time you take a drink of water over your lifetime is going to keep adding up, leading to the health effects.”

    PFAS is a broad family of chemical substances, and the new rule sets strict limits on two common types — called PFOA and PFOS — at 4 parts per trillion. Three other types that include GenEx Chemicals that are a major problem in North Carolina are limited to 10 parts per trillion. Water providers will have to test for these PFAS chemicals and tell the public when levels are too high. Combinations of some PFAS types will be limited, too.

    Regan will announce the rule in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on Wednesday.

    Environmental and health advocates praised the rule, but said PFAS manufacturers knew decades ago the substances were dangerous yet hid or downplayed the evidence. Limits should have come sooner, they argue.

    “Reducing PFAS in our drinking water is the most cost effective way to reduce our exposure,” said Scott Faber, a food and water expert at Environmental Working Group. “It’s much more challenging to reduce other exposures such as PFAS in food or clothing or carpets.”

    Over the last year, EPA has periodically released batches of utility test results for PFAS in drinking water. Roughly 16% of utilities found at least one of the two strictly limited PFAS chemicals at or above the new limits. These utilities serve tens of millions of people. The Biden administration, however, expects about 6-10% of water systems to exceed the new limits.

    Water providers will generally have three years to do testing. If those test exceed the limits, they’ll have two more years to install treatment systems, according to EPA officials.

    Some funds are available to help utilities. Manufacturer 3M recently agreed to pay more than $10 billion to drinking water providers to settle PFAS litigation. And the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes billions to combat the substance. But utilities say more will be needed.

    For some communities, tests results were a surprise. Last June, a utility outside Philadelphia that serves nearly 9,000 people learned that one of its wells had a PFOA level of 235 parts per trillion, among the highest results in the country at the time.

    “I mean, obviously, it was a shock,” said Joseph Hastings, director of the joint public works department for the Collegeville and Trappe boroughs, whose job includes solving problems presented by new regulations.

    The well was quickly yanked offline, but Hastings still doesn’t know the contamination source. Several other wells were above the EPA’s new limits, but lower than those the state of Pennsylvania set earlier. Now, Hastings says installing treatment systems could be a multi-million dollar endeavor, a major expense for a small customer base.

    The new regulation is “going to throw public confidence in drinking water into chaos,” said Mike McGill, president of WaterPIO, a water industry communications firm.

    The American Water Works Association, an industry group, says it supports the development of PFAS limits in drinking water, but argues the EPA’s rule has big problems.

    The agency underestimated its high cost, which can’t be justified for communities with low levels of PFAS, and it’ll raise customer water bills, the association said. Plus, there aren’t enough experts and workers — and supplies of filtration material are limited.

    Work in some places has started. The company Veolia operates utilities serving about 2.3 million people across six eastern states and manages water systems for millions more. Veolia built PFAS treatment for small water systems that serve about 150,000 people. The company expects, however, that roughly 50 more sites will need treatment — and it’s working to scale up efforts to reduce PFAS in larger communities it serves.

    Such efforts followed dramatic shifts in EPA’s health guidance for PFAS in recent years as more research into its health harms emerged. Less than a decade ago, EPA issued a health advisory that PFOA and PFOS levels combined shouldn’t exceed 70 parts per trillion. Now, the agency says no amount is safe.

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    Michael Phillis

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  • Lawsuit seeks to save trees, protect residents at contaminated AB Ford Park in Detroit

    Lawsuit seeks to save trees, protect residents at contaminated AB Ford Park in Detroit

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    Three Detroit residents filed a lawsuit against the city this week in hopes of halting a controversial plan to remove more than 250 trees from AB Ford Park and cover the contaminated park in two feet of new soil.

    The lawsuit, filed in Wayne County Circuit Court on Monday, alleges the city violated the Michigan Environmental Protect Act and is endangering residents by exposing them to toxic pollutants.

    The residents — Terry Swafford, Brenda Gail Watson, and Emma Miller — are seeking “protection of the air, water, and other natural resources and the public trust in these resources from pollution, impairment, or destruction,” according to a lawsuit filed by their lawyer Lisa Walinske of the Detroit East Community Law Center.

    Walinske tells Metro Times that she plans to file an emergency preliminary injunction later this week to stop the work until the city pulls the proper permits and provides sufficient evidence through scientific tests that its proposed solution won’t endanger residents.

    In late February, the city announced that it was closing the waterfront park in the Jefferson Chalmers neighborhood to begin removing the trees, some of which are more than 100 years old and are used by bald eagles and other wildlife.

    The city insists the trees won’t survive after crews cover the 32-acre park in two feet of fresh soil.

    The plan comes nearly two years after environmental testing uncovered excessive levels of arsenic, mercury, lead, barium, cadmium, copper, zinc, volatile organic compounds, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the soil.

    Despite this, the city kept a large portion of the park open to the public without revealing the findings. The test results weren’t disclosed until after Metro Times raised questions about why the city hadn’t been more transparent about the findings.

    Despite increasing concerns about the park, the Detroit City Council unanimously approved the renovation plan on Tuesday.

    The lawsuit also alleges the city’s plan will increase pollution in the neighborhood because an average of 20 to 30 heavy trucks will trudge through nearby streets every day from March to September to cover the park in new soil.

    In addition, the lawsuit claims the city’s plan will destroy habitat, cause soil erosion, and increase the risks of floods because the additional soil will raise the level of the river’s edge, blocking stormwater runoff.

    The city “is not taking sufficient remediation steps to ensure that the soil contamination does not harm the visitors to the park, does not harm the adjoining waterway and does not have a negative environmental effect on the Park’s ecosystem,” the lawsuit states.

    In effect, the city’s plan to cover the contaminated soil in even more dirt will “encapsulate toxic pollutants” at the edge of the Detroit River without remediating the contamination, the lawsuit alleges. Since the park is in a designated floodplain, excessive rain could cause the toxic pollutants to spread.

    The lawsuit also raises concerns about a large mound of “toxic soil” at the park’s entrance that is across the streets from homes. The dirt was dumped there during previous renovations, and the contamination is spreading “with each passing breeze.”

    After the remediation, the city plans to include walkways, a playground, basketball court, fitness and picnic areas, tennis and pickleball courts, a fishing node, beach, and waterfront plaza.

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    Steve Neavling

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  • Detroit suspiciously quiet about contamination found at missile-related site-turned-park

    Detroit suspiciously quiet about contamination found at missile-related site-turned-park

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    A week after the city of Detroit alerted residents in a last-minute Zoom meeting that it was closing a waterfront park on the east side after finding contamination in the soil, Mayor Mike Duggan’s administration has refused to divulge any further details.

    Now residents in Jefferson Chalmers are left wondering if they’ve been exposed to dangerous contaminants at A.B. Ford Park, which was a Nike missile-related site in the 1950s. Those sites are notorious for leaving behind a toxic cocktail of contaminants, though it is not believed that any missiles were ever stored at the A.B. Ford Park site, which housed radar tracking towers and barracks for military personnel.

    Residents are also incensed with the city’s insistence that it must remove more than 250 trees, some of which are more than 100 years old and are used by bald eagles. The city claims the best way to protect residents from the contamination is by adding two feet of fresh soil to the 32-acre park, which would make it impossible for the trees to survive.

    To cover the park with new soil, an average of 20 to 30 heavy trucks would trudge through the neighborhood every day from March to September, the city said.

    The city plans to replace the trees with hundreds of native and flowering trees, according to a city document.

    After news broke about the park’s closure on Friday, the city abruptly canceled a meeting with residents.

    Terry Swafford, who takes his two children to the park almost every day, has been trying to get more information from the city, to no avail.

    In a phone conversation last week with Crystal Perkins, director of the city’s General Services Department, Swafford says he was told Detroit had to spend the money quickly.

    None of this adds up to Swafford and his neighbors. The city has been testing the park for contaminants for years and never mentioned finding toxic chemicals. In fact, the city renovated the western portion of the park last year and added no new soil.

    He’s skeptical that there’s any good reason to remove the trees.

    “This is disastrous, and no one wants it,” Swafford tells Metro Times. “All of my neighbors are up in arms about it, and they feel powerless. This is a no-win for us. This is horseshit, and the city knows it.”

    Swafford says residents have reached out to his city councilwoman, Latisha Johnson, but she never called them back.

    When Metro Times asked for specifics about the contamination, the city declined to release details. The city also refused to divulge the funding source, the identities of the contractors, and whether there was even a bidding process.

    Even for the city of Detroit, this level of secrecy is unusual.

    Earlier this week, Duggan spokesman John Roach said he would try to answer Metro Times’s questions, but on Thursday morning, he declined, saying the administration will address the community during a meeting about the park on Thursday evening.

    “The city is doing a full presentation on the soil contamination to the community at a meeting at 5:00 tonight,” Roach said in a text message. “That community report will be followed by the posting of all environmental reports on the city’s website early next week.”

    Trouble is, that timing prevents residents from providing any insight until the process is almost complete.

    After this story was published, a Detroit City Council committee voted to delay action on the $9.6 million plan at a meeting Thursday afternoon. Swafford says neither he nor his neighbors knew about the meeting until the last minute.

    If the council approves the spending, the plan will move forward, without ample opportunity for residents to provide any meaningful insight.

    Detroit resident Jay Juergensen, a flood protection expert and lead organizer of Jefferson-Chalmers WATER Project, says he has serious concerns about the plan and the city’s lack of transparency. Residents in Jefferson Chalmers have been inundated with flooded basements over the past few years, and he’s worried the plan could exacerbate the problem.

    “All of my neighbors are up in arms about it, and they feel powerless. This is a no-win for us. This is horseshit, and the city knows it.”

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    “What efforts are being made to ensure the proposed work is engineered in a manner that meets performance standards, including stability, seepage and settlement necessary to ensure it can provide flood protection or does not undermine future efforts for flood protection or put adjacent residents at great risk for flooding?” Juergensen tells Metro Times.

    Residents also want to know if the area’s seawalls, which are intended to prevent flooding, are going to be raised since the ground is going to be two feet higher.

    If the park is contaminated, it remains unclear why the city renovated the western portion, demolished an old building, and constructed a solar-powered recreation center last year. That building has large windows that are just inches above the ground. Adding two feet of soil around the building would put some of the building underground.

    Without any answers, residents have no idea what to believe.

    “If they had known it was contaminated when they took soil samples years ago, they would have done this remediation ahead of time [on the western portion] and there would have been two feet of extra soil,” Swafford says. “They didn’t follow their own recommendation. Are we to believe that it just became contaminated? None of this adds up. This should be obvious to anybody.”

    From 1955 to 1960, the military used the property for radar tracking towers for missiles that were stored underground near Belle Isle. Towers from the Nike missile site are still standing at the park.

    In Michigan, the military had 15 Nike sites, where workers handled hazardous chemicals. The Defense Department stationed thousands of surface-to-air missiles at about 250 Nike sites nationwide that were intended to protect major U.S. cities from aerial attacks during the Cold War.

    Researchers discovered that these sites were rife with contamination.

    “Normal operations of a Nike site included the use and onsite disposal of solvents, battery acids, fuel, and hydraulic fluid,” researchers found in a 1984 study. “Environmentally persistent compounds disposed of included carbon tetrachloride, trichlorethylene, trichloroethane, lead, and various hydrocarbons.”

    Roach said it is believed that the contamination at A.B. Ford Park stems from the non-native fill material that was used to develop the site, which was once a marsh.

    City officials hope to reopen the park in the fall. The park is undergoing renovations that will feature walkways, a playground, basketball court, fitness and picnic areas, tennis and pickleball courts, a fishing node, beach, and waterfront plaza.

    But without more information, residents aren’t applauding the new amenities.

    This story was updated with a clarification that no missiles were believed to have ever been stored at the site, as well as additional comments from the city’s spokesman.

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    Steve Neavling

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  • RTD Downtown Boulder Station to reopen over a year after meth contamination forced closure

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    The RTD will reopen the Downtown Boulder Station lobby on Feb. 19 after over a year of renovations to replace the building’s interior ductwork, which was contaminated with methamphetamines last year.

    The inside of the station at 1800 14th St. in Boulder was closed last January after an investigation into strong odors emitting from a restroom revealed levels of meth exceeding Center for Disease Control limits, according to Regional Transportation District news releases. Residue was also detected in the ductwork and was impossible to clean out, necessitating a full replacement of the ventilation system.

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    Michael Braithwaite

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  • Tyson recalls 93,000 pounds of beef contaminated with a ‘mirror-like material’

    Tyson recalls 93,000 pounds of beef contaminated with a ‘mirror-like material’

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    Tyson Fresh Meats, a division of Tyson Foods Inc.
    TSN,
    +0.20%    ,
    is recalling 93,697 pounds of ground beef over a possible contamination with a “mirror-like material.”

    According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, the ground beef items were packaged on Nov. 2, and the issue was discovered after several customers found this mirror-like material in their meat after purchasing it from a grocery store.

    The products part of the Tyson recall are as follows:

    • 10-pound chubs containing “Hill Country fare ground beef 73% lean/27% fat with best before or freeze by: Nov. 25, 2022.”

    • 5-pound chubs containing “Hill Country fare ground beef 73% lean/27% fat with best before or freeze by: Nov. 25, 2022.”

    • 5-pound chubs containing “H-E-B ground chuck ground beef 80% lean/20% fat.”

    The USDA advises individuals who purchased these items to throw them away or return them to the place of purchase immediately. The impacted products were sold in retail grocery stores in Texas.

    The specific labels for the ground beef that Tyson is recalling can be found here.

    See: Flying with Thanksgiving food? TSA dishes up rules for traveling with foodstuffs this holiday season

    It’s been a tough time for meat lovers: Last week, the CDC warned that many people should “not eat meat or cheese from any deli counter” unless it was “steaming hot” due to a listeria outbreak.

    But there could be some more meat alternatives on the horizon.

    The Tyson recall news came as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Thursday that meat grown in a laboratory setting is safe for human consumption.

    “Advancements in cell culture technology are enabling food developers to use animal cells obtained from livestock, poultry, and seafood in the production of food, with these products expected to be ready for the U.S. market in the near future.,” the FDA said. To be clear, such products are not yet on the U.S. market, but they have now received this preliminary vote of regulatory confidence.

    And earlier this week, the CFO of Tyson Foods apologized to investors during a company earnings call over his arrest early on the morning of Nov. 6 after being found sleeping in a house that wasn’t his. 

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