Koval- Colorado River

Colorado River

By Graham Koval

Do you know where your water comes from? We normally hear about water quality and water scarcity in impoverished countries but what about the United States? Do we have the mindset of an infinite clean water supply?

2013 #1 Most Endangered River

Water is the basis for life, especially in the western United States where 35 million people depend on the Colorado River for drinking water. Drinking water is just one of the issues with agriculture consuming massive amounts of water and the recreational industry heavily influencing local economies. These social justice issues are becoming more of a concern with increasing drought in the Western United States along with increasing demand agriculturally. Also there are two major issues impacting the quality of water very high up stream in Nevada and Utah. First, a rocket fuel plant has been leaking ammonium perchlorate into the Colorado River, which brings concerns about the safety of drinking water and food. Second, a abandoned uranium mill site with twelve million tons of radioactive waste sitting on the banks in Moab, Utah also has potentially devastating effects towards public health.

Lettuce an issue across the United States

            The ammonium perchlorate has been a concern for the past decade since the spill in the late 90’s. Clean up efforts happened but the rocket fuel still exists in crops in the lower Colorado river basin. Toxicologists from the University of California-Riverside research shows that findings in citrus, lettuce and vegetables show harmless doses but research is being conducted to see how cumulative exposure over a longer time period and multiple crops being consumed effects human health.  The chemical is linked to cancer and thyroid problems but doses for risk are unclear.

        The uranium mill site in 2005 was issued to be removed and cleared away from the banks of the Colorado river but this process takes more then ten years and until then radioactive waste will be seeping into the Colorado river. This water provides drinking water for 1/12 Americans and supplies 15% of nations crops. The radioactive wastes from the uranium mill and ammonium perchlorate from the rocket fuel are just a few of the past pollutants in the Colorado River and along with drought is why studies call the Colorado River the nations most endangered waterway.

70-80% of water for agricultural use

         Jeffrey Kightlingerm General Manager of the Metropolitan Water district said, “We have other sources of energy.. We don’t have other sources of water”.

         Kighlingerm makes a valid point about the multiple uses of the Colorado River and how we are coming to a point in which there needs to be conservation and limits on what the water is used for. The current supply from the Colorado River is going to reduce due to climate change by 10 to 30 percent by 2050. This is going to take a huge hit on agriculture. In Colorado alone it is anticipated that up to 70% of Colorado agriculture will be dried up by 2050. Agricultural with providing 15% of the nations crops from irrigation that came from the Colorado river has huge dependency with possibly extreme negatives outcomes. In an NPR article, Kate Greenberg who is with the Nation young farmers coalition states that new irrigation techniques have become more efficient but agriculture still takes up 70-80% of the river and that needs to change.

CO economic gains

        Agriculture is not the only one who is dependent on the water. A major social justice issue is that a healthy Colorado river drives a quarter of a million sustainable American jobs. Nazz Kurth, president of Petzl America (makes outdoor products) states that these ¼ of a million jobs are in a 26 billion dollar outdoor recreation economy. 20-30 million people depend on the Colorado River for drinking water and the availability and transportation of that water across the West is controversial. To get more water for drinking demand diversions of other rivers have been used and effect the ecology of the rivers not being able to support fish, wildlife, agriculture and a multi-billion dollar tourism industry.

      A combination of Agriculture, drinking water and recreational industry are all fighting for the water. This is a major social justice issue affecting jobs along with basic necessities of food and agricultural production and drinking water.

Websites Used:

•http://www.disasternews.net/news/article.php?articleid=3061

•http://www.8newsnow.com/story/4180981/toxic-tailings-on-the-colorado-river

•http://www.cbsnews.com/news/colorado-river-named-nations-most-endangered-waterway/

•http://westernriversinstitute.org/

•http://www.npr.org/2014/07/31/336765988/groundwater-is-drying-up-fast-under-western-states-study-finds

•http://www.npr.org/2013/05/29/187079884/colorado-crisis-americas-great-river-dwindles-in-drought

•http://westernfarmpress.com/lower-colorado-river-basin-crops-fare-well-perchlorate-testing

•http://www.americanrivers.org/endangered-rivers/2014-report/upper-colorado/

Andrew Wakefield's Vaccination Scare

If you remember our topic on mercury, hopefully you will recall an article about the presence of mercury in vaccines and how parents thought it was linked to autism.  If you don’t, I’ll refresh your memory.  Thimerosal is a mercury compound that was used as a surgical antiseptic and preservative.  It falls under the category of organomercurials, and contains 50% mercury in the form of ethylmercury that is bound to thiosalicylate to create merthiolate.  The toxicity of thimerosal was tested in rabbits and other animals as they were observed for a week.  It was discovered that animals could tolerate incredibly high rates of thimerosal; up to 20 mg/kg of body weight.  Similarly, humans could tolerate high levels, especially compared to other mercurial preservatives.  Another benefit of using thimerosal was its ability to preserve immunizations without compromising the potency of the immunization.

Methylmercury, not to be confused with ethylmercury, was under scrutiny in the 1960’s which lead the conclusion of the high toxicity of methylmercury.  Because little was known of ethylmercury, it received similar scrutiny.  However, ethylmercury was still legal in vaccinations because it was being used in small amounts.

From 1989 to 1999, there was a 273% increase diagnosed patients of autism.  At the time, the public thought that autism was sparked by parental emotional distance.  When Andrew Wakefield published an article in The Lancet about his discoveries of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine and it’s impacts on autism, parents and caretakers were quick to accept this.  Wakefield’s test consisted of 12 children, who received the MMR vaccine, which he claimed caused autism.  He thought that the combination of the three vaccines caused an infiltration of the intestines that causes it’s fluids to be released from the intestines and into the blood stream, eventually causing autism.  Many public figures supported this, including governors, and actress/model Jenny McCarty who had autistic children of their own.

Wakefield was challenged in 2003 that claimed his test results were inaccurate, and there was no correlation between the MMR vaccine and autism.  Many other studies provided the same conclusion.  He had his medical license revoked after a hearing that cited Wakefield for numerous violations, and the British Medical Journal deemed his work fraudulent.  Since his work was already in the open, many parents had chosen not to give their kids the MMR vaccine in fear of autism.  This eventually would cause the re-emergence of diseases such as whooping cough and measles.

A major pawn in this was Brian Deer who began investigating Wakefield in 2004.  He proved that Wakefield’s tests were not only wrong, but also unethical.  Wakefield moved to Texas in 2005 and became a co-founder of the Thoughtful House Center for Children.  Here, treatment and research was done for children with autism.  As an incredibly charismatic and empathetic man, Wakefield gained an even larger fan base, who believed his words despite the accusations against him.  In 2010, Wakefield resigned from the thoughtful House after the General Medical Council discovered more ethical violations, including subjecting developmentally disabled children to unnecessary invasive procedures, mishandling funds, and failing to disclose conflicts of interest.

Thimerosal has been phased out of vaccinations, but autism rates continue to rise, without any explanation.  Research is constantly being done on this complex brain development disorder, but the cause is still unknown.  There is a high likelihood that an autistic child with gastrointestinal problems can worsen behavioral issues (a major symptom of autism), but unlike Wakefield’s predictions, it is one of the few things that is not a likely cause.  Caretakers are quick to accept any answer of why a child might have autism, which is why they were so willing to accept Wakefield’s answers.

Wakefield’s article caused a 2% decline in MMR vaccinations in 1999 and 2000.  As you can imagine, this affected the number of mumps and measles cases a few years later.  These started in 2008 in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, even though these diseases had been almost completely eradicated.  Cases of measles have happened in Wales, France (20,000 infected), England (1,168 cases, a 64% increase), and the United States.  2013 was the worst year in measles cases since 1996.  Measles is one of the most contagious diseases, being spread by coughing and sneezing, yet it is one of the most preventable by vaccinations.

References

Anonymous. “A Case of Junk Science, Conflict and Hype.” Nature.com Nature Publishing Group, 2008. Web 29 Nov. 2014.

Anonymous. “Vaccines.” Vaccine Benefits. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, 2012.  Web. 28 Nov. 2014.

Baker, Jeffrey P., MD, PhD. “Mercury, Vaccines, and Autism—One Controversy, Three Histories.” American Journal of Public Health 98.2 (2008): 244-53. Web

Dominus, Susan. “The Crash and Burn of an Autism Guru.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 23 Apr. 2011. Web. 27 Nob, 2014

Rattue, Petra. “The Effect of the Autism Scare on U.S. Childhood Vaccination Rates.” Medical News Today. MediLexicon Internationa, 15 June 2012. Web 27 Nov. 2014

Whalen, Jeanne, and Betsy McKay. “Fifteen Years After Autism Panic, a Plague of Measles Erupts.” The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, 09 July 2013. Web 29 Nov. 2014

Air Pollution In London - By Yoldas Yildiz

London is one of the biggest cities in the world. Therefore it is no surprise to the average person that London has high levels of pollution. However, what most people do not realize that according to recent studies, London is the most polluted city in the world – even more polluted than Beijing, China. London is the capital city of England. It is located in the south east side of England and has a population of approximately 8.31 million people. In a recent world wide study conducted in various cities around the world, the NO2 – Nitrogen Dioxide that is a pollutant gas – content of the air was measured and recorded. London, more specifically Marylebone Road, was found to have the highest amount of this gas in the air.  This blog aims to inform you about the many different pollutants present in London today, how they are released into our atmosphere and potentially our ecosystem but also how different initiatives can be taken place to reduce these emissions into the atmosphere.

First, there is the problem of Sulfur Dioxide. At standard atmosphere , it is a toxic gas with a pungent, irritating, and rotten smell.  Sulfur Dioxide is released through the combustion of fuel containing sulfur mostly coal and oil. Sulfur Dioxide is also produced during metal smelting and other industrial processes. Sulfur Dioxide causes breathing problems with asthmatic children and adults who are active outdoors. Short-term exposure to Sulfur Dioxide can cause wheezing, chest tightness and shortness of breath. Long Term exposure to Sulfur Dioxide can cause respiratory illness, alterations in the lungs' defenses and aggravation of existing cardiovascular disease. 

Next, as mention above, London also has a big problem with Nitrogen Dioxide. Nitrogen Dioxide is an intermediate in the industrial synthesis of nitric acid, millions of tons of which are produced each year. This reddish-brown toxic gas has a characteristic sharp, biting odor and is a prominent air pollutant. Nitrogen dioxide inflames the lining of the lungs, and it can reduce immunity to lung infections. This can cause problems such as wheezing, coughing, colds, flu and bronchitis. Increased levels of nitrogen dioxide can have significant impacts on people with asthma because it can cause more frequent and more intense attacks. Both Nitrogen and Sulfur Dioxide have major environmental issues too. They are the major precursors of acid rain, which causes acidified soils, lakes and streams, accelerated corrosion of buildings and monuments, and reduced visibility. Sulfur dioxide also is a major precursor of fine particulate soot, which poses a significant health threat.

Another major pollutant is Carbon Monoxide. Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas that is slightly less dense than air. It is toxic to humans when encountered in concentrations above approximately 35ppm, although it is also produced in normal animal metabolism in low quantities, and is thought to have some normal biological functions. It has major negative effects to human health. Low levels of CO is most serious for those who suffer from heart disease, like angina, clogged arteries, or congestive heart failure. For a person with heart disease, a single exposure to CO at low levels may cause chest pain and reduce that person's ability to exercise; repeated exposures may contribute to other cardiovascular effects. Carbon Monoxide also has effects to the central nervous system. High levels of CO can affect even healthy people. People who are exposed to high levels of CO can develop vision problems, reduced ability to work or learn, and reduced manual dexterity & difficulty performing complex tasks. When a person is exposed to extremely high levels, CO is poisonous and can actually cause death.

Another major pollutant in London is Benzopyrene.  Benzopyrene is usually found as pale yellow crystals. The most serious environmental impact of Benzopyrene is its significant accumulation in organisms exposed to it. In water, Benzopyrene attaches strongly to sediments and any other solid matter. Benzopyrene released to soils tends to bind very strongly to the soils particles, but small amounts can leach to ground waters. Benzopyrene can enter the body either by inhalation of air containing benzopyrene, ingestion of water or food containing benzopyrene. It causes respiratory tract irritation, gut irritation and skin irritation.. Damage the reproductive system and cause cancer.  Common sources of CO include the following wood, oil or gas fuelled appliances like Boilers, Room heaters, Furnaces, Charcoal grills, Cooking ranges, Water heaters, Vehicles run in closed garages, Fireplaces, Portable generators and Wood burning stoves. Benzopyrene are used in dyes. The vast majority of Benzopyrene are released to the environment when combustion is incomplete (usually because there is insufficient oxygen). Thus, most Benzopyrene are released from vehicle exhausts and domestic wood and coal fires. Trace amounts are found in cigarette smoke. Benzopyrene are also released naturally from volcanoes and forest fires, but the amounts are very small compared to those released from man-made combustion sources.

There are many different methods to remove these toxic chemicals from the environment. Carbon Monoxide can be removed by using a chemical called Hopcalite.  Hopcalite is a mixture of copper and manganese oxides used as catalyst to convert carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide when exposed to the oxygen in air. It is composed in a approximate ratio of 3:1 manganese oxide to copper oxide. Sulfur and Nitrogen Dioxide are prevented from being released into the atmosphere using various different methods. There is reducing the sulfur content of the fuel before combustion but also sulfur removal during combustion. Sulfur is removed during combustion using a process called Flue Gas Desulphurisation (FGD). Various chemicals are used to purify the gas and remove toxic chemicals before released into atmosphere. The problem with these methods stated above are that they are expensive and do not give any financial benefits to the company. To improve this situation in London and all around the UK, government initiatives can be put in place to help and aid companies to encourage them to place protocols in place to remove and minimize the amount of pollutant being released into the atmosphere.

Websites Used: 

[1] - http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2004/aug/27/water.environment

[2] - http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/jun/25/london-air-pollution-europe

[3] - https://www.london.gov.uk/priorities/environment/vision-strategy/clearing-londons-air/air-pollution-london

[4] - http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jul/30/boris-johnson-defends-londons-record-on-air-pollution

[5] - http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-05-27/london-s-dirty-secret-pollutes-like-beijing-airpocalyse.html

[6] - http://news.yahoo.com/eu-court-says-britain-must-cut-air-pollution-214626614.html

[7] - http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/nov/19/eu-court-rules-uk-government-must-clean-up-dangerous-air-pollution

[8] - http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/nov/20/london-air-pollution-not-the-world-worst

[9] - http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/nov/13/boris-johnson-admits-londons-oxford-street-is-one-of-worlds-most-polluted

[10] - http://www.air-quality.org.uk/27.php

[11] - https://www.london.gov.uk/priorities/environment/vision-strategy/clearing-londons-air/air-pollution-london