home.social

#wastewater — Public Fediverse posts

Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #wastewater, aggregated by home.social.

  1. Israel completely destroyed Gaza's #water and #wastewater systems and now raw sewage is pouring into the Mediterranean, worsening an algal bloom that has forced the shutdown of 5 of 6 Israeli desalination plants.
    The unintended water-related consequences of war.

    haaretz.com/opinion/editorial/

  2. Hi, these are the weekly #washingtonstate #kingcounty (that is, #seattle and environs) #COVID #COVID19 #wastewater toots.

    A quick reminder that this King County respiratory disease data comes from Washington State, not the federal government.

    The West Point (WSPT) sewage treatment plant's 7 day running average is, well, sucky. The last 7DRA calculation was on 8/25. The only thing I can say about this is that this running average was just bouncing around, but then completely busted out in the two days from 8/23 to 8/25. It will be good to get some more data points next week to tell us if this is some super crazy outlier or not.

    Also, you might notice the banner above the graph that says: "The CDC updated how it measures wastewater viral activity level (WVAL) in August 2026. Our dashboard currently uses the previous method while we work to incorporate these new updates." WVALs are the CDC categories used to describe very high/high/moderate/low/very low virus detection levels, and they get a fair amount of criticism because the category recalculations result in changing baselines that obscure year-over-year trends. I believe these WVAL categories get used in the state's "Statewide view" tab, so the CDC changes will affect that. By contrast, the facility-level graphs that I post each week are linearly-scaled graphs of seven day running averages of detected concentration levels. Whatever happens with the WVAL category definitions, it won't affect this facility-level reporting.

    WSPT is one of three King County(-ish) sewersheds in this dataset. You can find overviews, individual sewershed results, and a breakdown of variants for the state wastewater surveillance program, along with other metrics like case counts and hospitalizations for Covid-19 and other respiratory illnesses, at doh.wa.gov/data-and-statistica. If you go to the page and click "learn more" in the statewide view tab, you can find out lots of details about how these data are calculated and how to interpret them. The dashboard gets updated every Wednesday (generally). The Department of Health is here on the fediweb, at @WADeptHealth

  3. #Ontario #wastewater graph updated with August 23 data
    - Kingston, London, Peel, Toronto updated: wwater.ca/Ontario
    - Also updated: AB, BC, MB, NB, NL, NS, PEI, QC, SK, YT
    - I'm trying out gander.social: gander.social/profile/ndrwy.ga

    wwater.ca

    Source: health-infobase.canada.ca/wast

  4. "Testing underway on new solar wastewater system to tackle Hawaii’s cesspool crisis" hawaiinewsnow.com/2026/08/27/t

    unfortunately the article provides no details about the system itself. is it aerobic? anaerobic? what does it do?

    the official that they showed in the video gave no information aside from "there's lots of data", "it's top of the line", and "it's solar-powered".

    also, it says that it can handle 600 gallons per day. for reference, the department of health assumes that a building produces 200 gallons per day per bedroom. so 600 gallons per day is a 3 bedroom house.

    unrelatedly, i saw something in the video about it being a "meander tank", so i started searching around, and ended up on a website for "kauai wastewater solutions", which inspires 0 confidence with its AI graphics. what are those boys in the top picture even putting in the ground????? kauaiwastewatersolutions.com/b 🤦

    #wastewater #hawaii #offgrid #AI #slop

  5. Metro Vancouver wastewater COVID surveillance data was published August 28. The most recent test was August 16. #covid #covid19 #wastewater #vancouver #yvr

  6. Greetings, these are the weekly #washingtonstate #kingcounty (that is, #seattle and environs) #COVID #COVID19 #wastewater toots.

    A quick reminder that this King County respiratory disease data comes from Washington State, not the federal government.

    The West Point (WSPT) sewage treatment plant's 7 day running average climbed up some more from last week's numbers. The last 7DRA calculation was on 8/18. PS, it looks like the data for the ~ six week outage early this summer got backfilled for all three sites.

    WSPT is one of three King County(-ish) sewersheds in this dataset. You can find overviews, individual sewershed results, and a breakdown of variants for the state wastewater surveillance program, along with other metrics like case counts and hospitalizations for Covid-19 and other respiratory illnesses, at doh.wa.gov/data-and-statistica. If you go to the page and click "learn more" in the statewide view tab, you can find out lots of details about how these data are calculated and how to interpret them. The dashboard gets updated every Wednesday (generally). The Department of Health is here on the fediweb, at
    @WADeptHealth

  7. #Ontario #wastewater graph updated with August 16 data
    - Kingston, Peel, Toronto updated: wwater.ca/Ontario
    - Also updated: AB, BC, MB, NB, NL, NS, PEI, QC, SK, YT

    wwater.ca

    Source: health-infobase.canada.ca/wast

  8. #KyodoNews:
    "
    170,000 tons of Fukushima plant treated water released in 3 years
    "
    ".. completed its third year of releasing treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea, with 172,700 tons released in 22 rounds so far."

    english.kyodonews.net/articles

    24.8.2026

    #AKW #Atomkraft #Atomkraftwerk #Atommüll #Dilution #Fukushima #Japan #Kernenergie #NPP #NuclearPower #NuclearWaste #Pollution #TEPCO #Umweltverschmutzung #Verdünnung #Wastewater

  9. Unfortunately, both articles are behind paywalls -- but you get the gist...

    #GallupNM #datacenter water deal draws #Navajo concerns

    By Donovan Quintero | May 14, 2026

    "A proposed data center on Gallup’s eastern industrial edge has raised questions about water, jobs, public notice and whether the project could affect the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project.

    "The Gallup City Council is considering whether to extend a long-term reclaimed water option tied to #TeraplexDataCentersLLC, a Virginia limited liability company identified in city documents as seeking to develop industrial and commercial uses, including a data center, on roughly 330 acres in Gallup.

    "Public materials describe Teraplex as a modular data center and power infrastructure company focused on #AI computing, integrated power systems and factory-built infrastructure. Publicly available company materials do not clearly identify completed or operating data center campuses owned by Teraplex."

    navajotimes.com/reznews/gallup

    Gallup data center proposal raises water, jobs and notice concerns

    Marcus Williams, 5/17/2026

    "A 330-acre #GallupTradeport data center could send nearly 110 million gallons of #wastewater a year into a water-stressed region already waiting on #NavajoGallup deliveries.

    "Gallup City Council put off action April 29 on a wastewater deal tied to a proposed 330-acre data center in the Gallup Tradeport, and the scale alone sharpened the stakes: nearly 110 million gallons of wastewater a year could be routed to the project if the agreement advances.

    "That number is now colliding with a much larger question in McKinley County and across the Eastern Navajo Nation, who bears the risk if a private technology campus moves ahead in a region where water is already scarce. At a May 14 discussion, speakers raised concerns about water use, public notice and whether the project could affect the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project, the long-delayed system meant to carry municipal and industrial water from the #SanJuanRiver to Gallup, the eastern #NavajoNation and the southwestern #JicarillaApache Nation."

    prismnews.com/local/mckinley-n

    #ClimateCrisis #ExtremeDrought
    #Dine #WaterIsLife #WaterShortage #NoWaterForDatacenters
    #NativeAmericanNews #AIDatacenters

  10. From 2024: Locals Say #SpaceX Is #Polluting #SacredLand. This Project Aims to Preserve It.

    “This wasn’t just something we wanted to do,” said 35-year-old Monica Sosa, who grew up in #BrownsvilleTX, a short drive from #BocaChica Beach. “We felt like we needed to do it.”

    by Cat Cardenas October 30, 2024

    "Among the #CarrizoComecrudo people of Texas, it is said that the state’s rivers are like ancestors. As they flow toward the sea, they bring their abundance, their beauty, and their knowledge with them. In South Texas, the place where these rivers meet and empty into the Gulf of Mexico is a sacred life source — the location they believe to be the birthplace of the first woman. Today, most Brownsville locals know it as #BocaChicaBeach — a public stretch of sand located at the end of #Highway4, along the southernmost edge of the Texas coast. But to many people outside of the #RioGrandeValley, that land, its name, and its history have largely been swallowed up by the operation of the #RocketLaunch facility just up the road: SpaceX’s #Starbase.

    "Growing up a short drive from Boca Chica Beach in Brownsville, 35-year-old Monica Sosa told The Barbed Wire she still remembers it as an escape: a piece of unspoiled coastline that was free for everyone to enjoy. On lazy summer weekends, she and her siblings would hop into her mom’s blue Chevrolet Astro van. The back seats pulled down to make room for more passengers as they stopped to pick up more family. Once there, they’d look forward to hours and hours of endless sunshine, and a cooler packed full of ham and cheese sandwiches, sodas, Cheetos, and fruit.

    "As an adult, many of those happy memories have turned bittersweet. The beach, while still free to the public, is frequently plagued by the closure of Highway 4 each time there’s a rocket launch or other 'space flight activities.' And even when it’s open, the construction has fundamentally changed the landscape: There’s a tall metal SpaceX launch and catch pad towering over the once-untouched sand dunes.

    " 'Boca Chica was bliss,' Sosa said earlier this month. 'I came from a working class family, and being out there was one of the only times we would come together and play. We’d be in the water, sitting in the sun, running through the lomas (hills), or burying each other in sandcastles. You could spend the whole day out there. But now there’s someone who has the right and the ability to privatize a beach that people have used for decades and decades.'

    "SpaceX’s operation in the Rio Grande Valley has been far from smooth. In recent years, they’ve been cited by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for multiple violations of #wastewater regulations and been the subject of multiple legal complaints. The company has disputed these claims as 'factually inaccurate' and has been allowed to continue their operations.

    "In April of this year, multiple Valley-based environmental groups filed a lawsuit against the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department over a proposed land swap that would grant 43 acres of #BocaChicaStatePark to #SpaceX in exchange for land near Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge. In addition to their concerns about #pollution, the groups also argued that the land proposed in the swap was sacred to the #CarrizoComecrudoTribe.

    " 'SpaceX has always been polluting,' Christopher Basaldú, a member of the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe told the Texas Tribune, which first reported on the allegations. 'And I think people are kind of brainwashed into thinking that rockets — constructing rockets, testing rockets and blowing up rockets — that somehow that’s not causing pollution.' "

    Read more:
    thebarbedwire.com/2024/10/30/l

    #ProtectTheSacred #Colonialism
    #CorporateColonialism #OccupySpaceX #TwoHeartedPeople #GarciaPasture #EndangeredSpecies #EnvironmentalRacism #AncestralLand #ElonSucks #StarbaseCity

  11. High tide for #Holtec

    #Tritium dumped into #CapeCodBay will wash back onto community shores, says a new report

    "The permanently closed Pilgrim nuclear power plant is now owned by Holtec, which wants to dump #RadioactiveWastewater into Cape Cod Bay. While waiting for a permit, so far denied, the company is quietly venting #tritium into the air."

    by Linda Pentz Gunter, Posted on December 29, 2024

    "Holtec, the company that has purchased a number of permanently closed #nuclear reactors in order to decommission them, has encountered yet another obstacle to its '#dilution is the solution to pollution' plans.

    "One of the reactor sites Holtec has taken over is #PilgrimNuclearPlant in Plymouth, Massachusetts, on the Cape Cod Bay, which closed permanently in 2019. Holtec’s not-so-little problem there is what do with what started out as at least 1.1 million gallons of radioactively contaminated #wastewater stored at the site.

    "The company first suggested it would simply release the wastewater into Cape Cod Bay, assuring residents and the immediately alarmed fishing community not to worry because (a) the wastewater isn’t dangerous anyway (b) everyone does this all the time at reactor sites and no one has gotten sick so far and (c) it would quickly disperse into the wider ocean. Holtec chose this disposal method for one reason alone: it is the cheapest.

    "The proposal was vigorously fought by citizens, the state, and powerful Massachusetts Democrat, Senator Ed Markey. The state of Massachusetts effectively banned the discharge option, a decision Holtec is contesting.

    "That Final Determination to Deny Application to Modify a Massachusetts Permit to Discharge Pollutants to Surface Waters was issued by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection [#MassDEP] Division of Watershed Management on July 18, 2024. A month later, Holtec launched its appeal to reverse the decision, something that could take months or longer to find its way to court.

    "In the meantime, help has come from a new quarter in the form of an in-depth study by the prestigious Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution [#WHOI], also, as it happens, based on the Massachusetts shoreline, near Falmouth.

    "The study — Model-Based Study of Near-Surface Transport in and around Cape Cod Bay, Its Seasonal Variability, and Response to Wind — found that contrary to Holtec’s claims, the wastewater would not immediately disperse into the ocean, but would linger potentially for months, and wash up on the shores of area communities.

    “'We found virtually no out-of-the-Bay transport in winter and fall and slightly larger, but still low, probability of some of the plume exiting the Bay in spring and summer,' said Woods Hole study leader and physical oceanographer, Irina Rypina.

    "The radioactively contaminated wastewater stored at Pilgrim is contaminated with what Holtec and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health have described as 'four gamma emitters — #Manganese54, #Cobalt60, #Zinc65 and #Cesium137 along with #Tritium, a beta radiation emitter'.

    "While the Woods Hole Study did not look at the health outcomes of releasing the radioactive water into Cape Cod Bay — only at the plume pathway — there are plenty of data that demonstrate the harmful effects of these #radioisotopes on human health, especially women and children.

    "After acquiring the Pilgrim reactor, Holtec’s President and CEO, Kris Singh, assured surrounding communities that,
    'the decommissioning of Pilgrim will replicate the superb record of public health and safety and environmental protection that typified the plant’s 47 years of operations.'

    But since that acquisition, Markey observed, 'Holtec has fallen woefully short on this commitment.' He noted of the Woods Hole report that 'In light of these recent findings, I urge Holtec to develop a wastewater discharge plan that is informed and guided by scientific fact and community input.'

    "Long-time #PilgrimWatch activist, #MaryLampert, welcomed the report’s initial findings and said that 'Holtec dumping Pilgrim’s radiological and chemically #contaminated wastewater into semi-enclosed CapeCod Bay is harmful to human health, the environment, and our marine economy.'

    "In a handbook explaining Pilgrim’s decommissioning process on the Pilgrim Watch website, the authors note that 'Cape Cod Bay, #PlymouthBay, #DuxburyBay, and #KingstonBay are all protected #OceanSanctuaries. Cape Cod Bay is a critical habitat for right whales and other endangered or special species. Dumping this #radioactive and chemically contaminated wastewater into them would cause incalculable economic damage and would harm both the environment and public health.'

    "Absent a liquid discharge permit, Holtec’s preferred solution since has been to quietly evaporate the wastewater into the air. It has done this, as revealed during a Pilgrim Nuclear Decommissioning Citizen Advisory Panel meeting, by installing submerged electric heaters to increase the plant’s ambient temperature, ostensibly in order to improve worker comfort and expedite the drying of plant components.

    "But, as Markey noted in an April 30, 2024 letter to Singh, the consequence of installing the heaters in that location 'is an increased rate of wastewater evaporation above the pace at which it occurs naturally.' That 1.1 million gallons is now down to 880,000 gallons remain, according to Holtec’s own reports.

    "As Lampert points out, 'Meteorology studies show 60% of winds blow offshore,' which means at least some of that evaporated wastewater is going to fall into the bay anyway.

    "Under Nuclear Regulatory Commission rules, Holtec has four disposal options: liquid discharge, evaporation, storage onsite, and shipping to a licensed facility. None of them are good solutions.

    "In August, Holtec filed an appeal against the state’s ban on liquid radioactive discharges, in part claiming that the decision on whether or not to allow the discharge falls under federal not state jurisdiction.

    "This, argue some opponents of Holtec’s discharge plans, is a stall and a distraction while it quietly gets on with the gradual evaporation of all the wastewater.

    "'They’re using the appeal to buy themselves time,' Andrew Gottlieb, executive director of the Association to Preserve Cape Cod, told radio station WBUR. 'And what they buy themselves, with time, is the ability to continue to induce evaporation of the wastewater, so that ultimately it’s gone, at minimal cost to them.'

    "Lampert agrees. 'Holtec can evaporate all the water to meet its schedule to dismantle the reactor building,' she said.

    "In October, Lampert, along with other citizens representing the fishing, environmental, real estate and medical communities traveled to Boston to meet with staff in Massachusetts Governor Mary Healy’s office to demand that Healy’s administration call a halt to the evaporation.

    "'There are laws on the books already that prohibit #AirbornePollution,' Diane Turco of #CapeDownwinders told the local NPR station after the Boston meeting. “And we’re asking our governor to immediately enforce those laws… She’s been very strong about no dumping in the bay. And we see this as a parallel assault on our communities,' Turco said.

    "So far the governor has not taken action."

    beyondnuclearinternational.org
    #HoltecLies #PilgrimNuclear #NuclearPowerCorruptionAndLies #NoNukes #RethinkNotRestart #NoRadioactiveDumping #WaterIsLife #AirIsLife #RadioactiveWaterDumping #NewEngland #BeyondNuclearInternational

  12. Interesting article... So, ammonia found in humanure inhibits methane production. However, the addition of chicken feathers seems to be a workaround! I did not know that!

    @BrambleBearGrrrauwling @Spr1g

    How #biogas from human waste will lead to energy independence

    Chicken feathers enhance the quality of biogas produced from human waste, allowing impoverished communities to generate their own power.

    by Victoria Corless | Apr 14, 2022

    "Accessible and affordable biogas

    The solution they propose centers around the production of biogas, conventional sources of which include #FoodScraps, #wastewater, and animal #manure. But human waste could provide a viable, renewable source of energy, especially in regions of the world where energy supplies are unstable.

    "'The shift into animal waste such as poultry droppings and cattle dung has huge prospects, but it is not sustainable in the long term as rural farmers depend on it,' said the researchers. 'The use of human excreta is the most available and sustainable due to the human population.'

    "One challenge, however, is the ammonia naturally found in human waste, which inhibits the growth of #methane-producing bacteria and results in impure biogas with high levels of nitrogen. Chemical and microbial pretreatments are an option, but the team wanted to develop a truly sustainable and accessible solution to meet energy demands in impoverished regions.

    "The trick, according to the study published recently in Global Challenges, is to combine the waste with powdered chicken feathers. The feathers are themselves useful in generating biogas, but only when pretreated to make them amenable to anaerobic digestion. Instead of adding an additional treatment step, the scientists let the microbes found naturally in human waste do all the work for them.

    "In a laboratory-scale biodigestor, the team mixed together powdered chicken feathers and human waste in a 1:5 ratio and allowed the solution to incubate, measuring the quantity and quality of biogas produced over roughly two months. Compared to controls that contained no powdered chicken feathers, the biogas produced when the feathers were co-digested with the human waste contained, at minimum, 68% less nitrogen and 73% more methane.

    “This experimentation means that there could be minimum nitrogen content with more microbes in the human excreta acting on the chicken feather as biotreatment,” said the authors. “The extensive effect of the microbes can be seen in the improved carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide content [of the biogas].'"

    advancedsciencenews.com/how-bi

  13. #PlasticRain Is the New #AcidRain

    Plastic rain could prove to be a more insidious problem than acid rain.

    by Matt Simon
    June 12, 2020

    "Hoof it through the national parks of the western United States—Joshua Tree, the #GrandCanyon, Bryce Canyon—and breathe deep the pristine air. These are unspoiled lands, collectively a great American conservation story. Yet an invisible menace is actually blowing through the air and falling via raindrops: #Microplastic particles, tiny chunks (by definition, less than 5 millimeters long) of fragmented plastic bottles and microfibers that fray from clothes, all #pollutants that get caught up in Earth’s atmospheric systems and deposited in the #wilderness.

    "Writing in the journal Science, researchers report a startling discovery: After collecting #rainwater and air samples for 14 months, they calculated that over 1,000 metric tons of microplastic particles fall into 11 protected areas in the western US each year. That’s the equivalent of over 120 million plastic water bottles.

    "'We just did that for the area of protected areas in the West, which is only 6 percent of the total US area,' says lead author Janice Brahney, an environmental scientist at Utah State University. 'The number was just so large, it's shocking.'

    "It further confirms an increasingly hellish scenario: Microplastics are blowing all over the world, landing in supposedly pure habitats, like the #Arctic and the remote #FrenchPyrenees. They’re flowing into the #oceans via #wastewater and tainting #deepsea #ecosystems, and they’re even ejecting out of the water and blowing onto land in sea breezes. And now in the American West, and presumably across the rest of the world given that these are fundamental atmospheric processes, they are falling in the form of plastic rain—the new acid rain.

    "Plastic rain could prove to be a more insidious problem than acid rain, which is a consequence of #SulfurDioxide and #NitrogenOxide emissions. By deploying #scrubbers in power plants to control the former, and catalytic converters in cars to control the latter, the US and other countries have over the last several decades cut down on the #acidification problem. But microplastic has already corrupted even the most #RemoteEnvironments, and there’s no way to scrub water or land or air of the particles—the stuff is absolutely everywhere, and it’s not like there’s a plastic magnet we can drag through the oceans. What makes plastic so useful—its hardiness—is what also makes it an alarming pollutant: Plastic never really goes away, instead breaking into ever smaller bits that infiltrate ever smaller corners of the planet. Even worse, plastic waste is expected to skyrocket from 260 million tons a year to 460 million tons by 2030, according to the consultancy McKinsey. More people joining the middle class in #EconomicallyDeveloping countries means more #consumerism and more #PlasticPackaging. "

    Read more:
    getpocket.com/explore/item/pla

    #Crapitalism #BanPlastics #WaterIsLife #OceansAreLife

  14. The New York City Department of Environmental Protection has finally released recent #wastewater #COVID results to the State monitoring page (but not yet to the City Open Data portal).

    The #COVID19 concentrations vary, but are trending higher, consistent with case, hospitalization and death rates.

    To reduce summer waves we need to reduce #ClimateChange that drives people indoors.

    New Yorkers can do that by starting #CongestionPricingNow

    cc @noneck

    coronavirus.health.ny.gov/covi

    #CovidIsNotOver

  15. The New York City Department of Environmental Protection has finally released recent #wastewater #COVID results to the State monitoring page (but not yet to the City Open Data portal).

    The #COVID19 concentrations vary, but are trending higher, consistent with case, hospitalization and death rates.

    To reduce summer waves we need to reduce #ClimateChange that drives people indoors.

    New Yorkers can do that by starting #CongestionPricingNow

    cc @noneck

    coronavirus.health.ny.gov/covi

    #CovidIsNotOver

  16. The New York City Department of Environmental Protection has finally released recent #wastewater #COVID results to the State monitoring page (but not yet to the City Open Data portal).

    The #COVID19 concentrations vary, but are trending higher, consistent with case, hospitalization and death rates.

    To reduce summer waves we need to reduce #ClimateChange that drives people indoors.

    New Yorkers can do that by starting #CongestionPricingNow

    cc @noneck

    coronavirus.health.ny.gov/covi

    #CovidIsNotOver

  17. The New York City Department of Environmental Protection has finally released recent #wastewater #COVID results to the State monitoring page (but not yet to the City Open Data portal).

    The #COVID19 concentrations vary, but are trending higher, consistent with case, hospitalization and death rates.

    To reduce summer waves we need to reduce #ClimateChange that drives people indoors.

    New Yorkers can do that by starting #CongestionPricingNow

    cc @noneck

    coronavirus.health.ny.gov/covi

    #CovidIsNotOver

  18. The New York City Department of Environmental Protection has finally released recent #wastewater #COVID results to the State monitoring page (but not yet to the City Open Data portal).

    The #COVID19 concentrations vary, but are trending higher, consistent with case, hospitalization and death rates.

    To reduce summer waves we need to reduce #ClimateChange that drives people indoors.

    New Yorkers can do that by starting #CongestionPricingNow

    cc @noneck

    coronavirus.health.ny.gov/covi

    #CovidIsNotOver

  19. Good Muggy Morning SARS2PAians! ☁️💐☁️

    I hope you are having a safe Spring!

    #VOCs

    The top news lately are the newest variants causing country-wide summer waves including Spain: ibb.co/hRpvjt5

    and Portugal: ibb.co/khTtyJX

    They are KP.3.x.y and LB.x.y.

    These new immune evasive variants are filling up hospitals and causing notable increases in deaths.

    KP.3 is now the variant "grandfather" that is the fastest, the most immune evasive, and the most easily bound to cells. Specifically, the most watched upcoming variant is its grandchild, KP.3.1.1.

    The newest variants that have a very good chance of causing a sizeable increase in numbers, if not a full blown-out wave, are variants of KP.3 that already have immune evasive mutations (FLuQE) but also have an advantageous specific spike deletion (S:S31del).

    These new and fastest variants are immune evasive to BOTH current vaccinations, AND prior infections.

    Nationally, KP.2 is still just barely at the top of the leaderboard. KP.2.3 is right behind it, already a variant that is being watched.: ibb.co/p0d8G8n

    🔴KP.3.1.1 is absolutely blazing fast and burning through Spain, Portugal and other countries, and is part of KP-DEL31.

    _____

    NOTE: "KP-DEL31" is gonna be my nickname for it, not variant hunters or virologists. Just to call it something easily condensed and recognizeable for now. They might decide on a different nickname soon. These names are just for convenience. (You don't call your cousin Mister James Robert Smith every time, do you? You call him JimBob or Smitty. It just makes talking easier.)

    _____

    I've highlighted FLiRT in pink on the national screenshot but I'll drop it soon as KP-DEL31 becomes more and more relevant.

    There's no specific results for PA on the Tableau site. Probably not enough testing here.

    In NY/NJ, I've highlighted KP-DEL31 in green on the NY/NJ leaderboard, and as you can see, all the top 5 variants there have this very important spike deletion. But KP.3.1.1 is the variant to keep eyes on.: ibb.co/Jcv0rF7

    KP.3.1.1 is already found (in only a few days!) in TX, NY, CA, CO, NJ, WA, and VA.

    🔴If you've dropped wearing respirators for now you might want to reconsider putting them back on as KP.3.1.1 makes gains and spring moves along.

    ________________

    #Wastewater

    Wastewater has returned to HIGH levels in the Eastern and Southern states. KP.2, KP.3 and LB.x.y variants are working together on driving this.: ibb.co/0nHqQPS

    In our region, specifically testing in Maryland is showing a return to higher levels.: ibb.co/99MSpy0

    The PA wastewater dashboard is showing LARGE increases in Philly, and sizeable increases in Centre and Indiana counties.: ibb.co/0J14Tty

    MASK UP, oh my Philly ❤️️!

    ________________

    #Vaccines

    Whoa I had a whole angry thing typed out here and juuuuuuust checked back on Twitter, and Dr. Eric Topol wrote just 2 hrs ago that the US FDA has changed its decision for the upcoming vaccine base!!: ibb.co/xzB6GVb

    The newest mRNA vaccines will be based on KP.2 and NOT JN.1!

    This is a wise decision and fantastic news!!

    This will certainly better prepare us for Summer.

    (NOTE: **Novavax** will have a JN.1 based booster. Novavax is completely different as it has proven effective through multiple years with ONE base so that vaccine will probably not have to be changed as often.)

    _______________
    🔴Even with vaccines, there are always other things we can do to practice source control!

    keep those windows OPEN

    wear a respirator

    keep the air clean

    move meetings outside

    work from home

    build a Corsi-Rosenthal box

    stay home if you are sick!

    Continue to have a great and safe Spring!! 💐💐💐

    #COVID19 #COVID #COVIDisNotOver #SARS2PA #Pennsylvania #PA
    #FLiRT #F456L #R346T #spike_f456l #spike_r346t
    #FLuQE #Q493E
    #KP2 #KP3 #LB1 #Moderna #Pfizer #Novavax
    #WearAMask #CleanTheAir #WashHands #VaccinesSaveLives #StayHomeIfSick !

  20. Update for 5/6/2024!

    Good Morning SARS2PAians!

    Yes I have an update today aaaaand unfortunately that's kinda never a good thing. You DON'T want to hear from me here!

    (I am asking you once again....to please make this hobby of mine obsolete 🙏😔 Filter the air, be aware of social contacts, wear a quality respirator, and wash hands for the gastro stuff.)

    __________
    VOCs

    We are dealing with FLiRT now, but there are two groups of incoming variants that are becoming concerningly successful in other countires including right next door in Canada.: ibb.co/fkG3gpg

    One is an earlier-new group consisting of JN.1.32 and KP.3.

    Another, far off-new yet, is KW.1 and its child, KW.1.1.

    All of these variants have been proven faster than FliRT in Australia, UK, etc. KP.3 is exceptionally fast.

    🔴Due to antigenic drift, vaccines and previous infection are NOT as effective to protect you with these upcoming variants.

    🔴This does NOT mean vaccines don't work, so do not go spreading that. (You should also be mightily shunned for spreading that.)

    Again: Vaccines are safe and effective...but these incoming variants are starting to yet again DRIFT TOO FAR AWAY from the current XBB vaccines.

    I've highlighted the upcoming concerning variants in teal, as opposed to the FLiRT group which is in pink. KW.1.1 isn't above the fold yet nationally at 0.16% so I made a note on the image so I remember to keep track of this number.

    Nationally, JN.1.7 and JN.1 are a tthe top of the board. JN.1.32 at 2.23% and KP.3 also at 2.23%. KW.1 at a little under half a percent. These numbers might be higher in actual meatspace because there is not nearly enough labwork/sequencing available to make laser-focused predictions.: ibb.co/bRpvDP7

    In PA, we do not have group 2 of the far-off variants yet here but we do have KP.2. Gotta watch this one.: ibb.co/3kPMBwM

    In NY/NJ, whoa, KP.3 already clocking in at over 3%, in the top 10 of random sequencing already. I haven't been watching this one so when I have more time I'll go back and check this one out.: ibb.co/qM7C4CY

    KP.2 already at over 10%. That's fast, and antigenic drift is absolutely not helping here as any protection we might have had against this new stuff is starting to slip away.

    We might be in for a bump up in numbers this spring, as something similar last year happened too.

    Just giving everyone a heads-up on what we might be in for this spring/summer.

    We can keep it in control by practicing some very comon-sense, easy things!

    Have a safe spring!! 💐💐💐

    #covid #Covid19 #SARS2PA #CDC #CovidIsNotOver #Wastewater #Pennsylvania #PA #JN1 #FLiRT #F456L #R346T #spike_r346t #spike_f456l

    #KP2 #KP3 #JNOne32 #JN132 #KS1

    #KW1 #KW11

    #WearAMask #CleanTheAir #WashHands #StayHomeIfSick !

  21. Good Morning/Afternoon SARS2PAians!!

    I hope you are enjoying this GORGEOUS Spring weather 💐💐💐

    1/2 Update for May 3, 2024!

    __________
    :all_the_things: State of the Subreddit/Fediverse posts:

    There's not much new to report for COVID right now except some closely watched new mutations, so basically TL;DR is that COVID levels are very very low, enjoy it but please keep source control safety always on the backburner.

    So. I don't mean to only have this as a once-a-week thing but it's kind of turning into that. I also don't mean to have people waste their time checking in here if I don't post, but I'm always hesitant to call it a once-a-week-thing as COVID is so volatile and mutations can always manifest something very weird in a short amount of time.

    I have no idea when info will be available so I'm keeping it a "twice-a-week thing", Monday and Friday but sometimes I just don't have enough info/anything new/time for a Monday, so Friday is always much better for a full post for me.

    I hope you continue to find this informative useful and I suuuuuper apologize if you check in and I don't post. 🙏

    But even better, go check out the links for yourself and follow people smarter than me for COVID stuff!

    __________
    VOCs

    Nationally, JN.1 and JN.1.7 still at the top of the leaderboard. FLiRT variants JN.1.4 and KP.2 keeps chipping away at their lead.: ibb.co/JqWkBSD

    KP.2 seems to be the fastest mover of the whole FLiRT mutation block and the one the virology world is keeping their eyes on.

    In PA, we don't have KP.2 showing up on Rajnarayanan's Tableau site so far, whcih is good but we still have quite a few FLiRTs here.: ibb.co/vP5yH4G

    In NY/NJ, we can see here KP.2 has climbed above all the other FLiRTs, is in 4th place at >8% and is right behind JN.1 now.: ibb.co/ZzLcRxJ

    The WHO is now looking to JN.1 being the next mutation that will be the base of the newest COVID vaccine.: who.int/news/item/26-04-2024-s

    🔴PLEASE GET VACCINATED if available. Don't be a tuff guy. Go get it.

    Upcoming fast variants are KP.3 and JN.1.32👀, which are not FLiRTs but very fast. I have them highlighted in teal on the charts as they are both already up to almost 5% of national sequencing.

    In PA, we have JN.1.32 in low but measurable amounts at a little over 3% of random sequencing and these two variants wil have to be watched.

    __________
    CDC

    CDC has stopped requiring reporting COVID hospital admissions, hospital capacity or hospital occupancy data at the beginning of May. 🙄 This plus nowhere near enough testing and sequencing makes this....hard to keep up with the virus.

    "Effective May 1, 2024, hospitals are no longer required to report COVID-19 hospital admissions, hospital capacity, or hospital occupancy data to HHS through CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN). CDC encourages ongoing, voluntary reporting of hospitalization data. Data voluntarily reported to NHSN after May 1, 2024, will be available starting May 10, 2024, at COVID Data Tracker Hospitalizations."

    "The source of hospital information on the COVID Data Tracker home page will change from the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) to COVID-NET. Instead of displaying national counts of new hospital admissions, it will show COVID-19 hospitalization rates per 100,000 people. More information on COVID-Net is available on COVID-NET Laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 Hospitalizations."

    covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-track 🙄

    __________
    Other Pathogens

    WastewaterSCAN now has SARS2 as LOW! YEAH! :canparrot:

    Also FluB and RSV! Woohoo! :canparrot:

    Still HIGH though are FluA, Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV), parainfluenza, and gastro bugs Noro and Rotavirus.: ibb.co/By0g9Xt

    __________
    H5N1 follows in second post......

    #covid #Covid19 #SARS2PA #CDC #CovidIsNotOver #Wastewater #Pennsylvania #PA #JN1 #FluB #Influenza #Norovirus #HMPV #FLiRT #F456L #R346T #spike_r346t #spike_f456l

    #H5N1 #CleanFeedNOW

    #WearAMask #CleanTheAir #WashHands #StayHomeIfSick !

  22. Good Afternoon SARS2PAians!

    I hope your spring is healthy and productive! 💐💐💐

    __________
    VOCs

    Nationally, the most concerning variants are, as I posted last week, the FLiRT variants that have specific mutations enabling fast transfer. JN.1.4 and KP.2 are already almost at 10% of variant share but remember the amount of testing and sequencing right now is dismal and it makes everything harder to evaluate.: ibb.co/KDt0Bh4

    FLiRT variants are highlighted in pink on my screenshot. Expect these to push further and further near the top in the next few weeks (and the CDC NOWCAST confirms this prediction.)

    In PA, we still have a few FLiRTs here and you can already see them starting to move toward the top of the variant chart.: ibb.co/kc9CQyZ

    In NY/NJ, FLiRTs KP.2, JN.1.4, JN.1.16.1, and JN.1.18 already account for ~20% of random sequencing.: ibb.co/TrcS9rW

    __________
    Wastewater

    The GOOD news is COVID is stil fairly low; we've gone below the higher level of two years ago, and are at the lower level of last year at this time!: ibb.co/Q83BR3k

    We still must watch to see if the FLiRT crew push this metric upwards.

    __________
    CDC

    The new hospital admits map has changed. High increases all through Central PA excepting Centre Co. and also over tehre in Mercer Co. Philly and Pitt looking very good!: ibb.co/Xp8tCJV

    The Inpatient Beds Map looks pretty good, some increases in McKean, Potter, and Cameron counties and also around Somerset and Cambria Cos.: ibb.co/fD7JYTf

    ICU beds over all showing stability, with lots of counties in Central PA and the old coal region on the decrease! Some increases from Lycoming over to McKean though.: ibb.co/jMTdyCT

    __________
    NOWCAST

    The CDC Nowcast is now including multiple fast-moving FLiRT variants in its tracking: KP.2, KP.1.1, KQ.1, JN.1.18.: ibb.co/wBY45FV

    According to current estimates, these variants combined account for over a third of illnesses already.

    These are moving FAST.

    __________
    NonSARS2 Pathogens

    More good news: according to WastewaterSCAN, there are now lots of pathogens considered LOW nationally!

    Just be warned that they are still showing HIGH in the Northeast, like FluB, which is LOW nationally but regionally still HIGH. Hopefully these numbers will lower even more as the Spring enables more outdoor/well ventilated activity.: ibb.co/vYGmTd1

    __________
    H5N1

    H5N1 particles have been found in dairy milk, and are assumed to be inactivated due to the pasteurization process.

    We MUST demand healthy cows, testing and tracking of sick herds, and transparency from the meat and dairy insustries.

    This is not necessarily to keep H5N1 out of dairy products.

    The more IMMINENT concern than being found in dairy milk is letting this thing percolate until it gains new mutations, whether to infect swine or enable human-to-human transfer.: ibb.co/FVbNnky

    Some things you can do that are obviously proactive and not panicking about this:

    🔴Demand clean feed for cattle and swine.

    🔴Demand transparent testing, tracing of cattle illness.

    🔴Demand high levels of sampling and sequencing of sick herds.

    🔴AVOID raw dairy products. Seriously, people, DO NOT contribute to this thing by consuming raw dairy products, even if your State allows its sale (and Pennsylvania DOES as far as I know!)

    🔴Try ultra-pasteurized milk, it's the most common milk sold in European countries.

    Here's a nifty guide that compares pasteurized/ultra-pasteurized/UHT (ultra high temperature) methods of treating dairy products:

    britannica.com/technology/past

    🔴Avoid undercooked or rare meats. Meats must be heated to 162 degrees for at least 15 seconds to destroy pathogens like tuberculosis.

    🔴Switch to providers that are not battery farms and practice humane farming. This is NOT just to be kind to animals (although that's a huge bonus), it is PRACTICAL and keeping herds not densely packed will lessen disease transmission. So far, H5N1 has a 50% kill rate even in non-bird species and we MUST keep outbreaks of it controlled.

    I hope you have a FANTASTIC, well-ventilated, healthy and fun Spring!! 💐💐💐

    #covid #Covid19 #SARS2PA #CDC #CovidIsNotOver #Wastewater #Pennsylvania #PA #JN1 #FluB #Influenza #Norovirus #HMPV #FLiRT #F456L #R346T #spike_r346t #spike_f456l

    #H5N1 #CleanFeedNOW

    #WearAMask #CleanTheAir #WashHands #StayHomeIfSick !

  23. Good Afternoon SARS2PAians!

    It's going to get a bit chilly the next few days , butin spite of that I hope you're haivng a great Spring! 💐💐💐

    🔴Reminder: If you've built a Corsi-Rosenthal box, you can get lots of seasonal allergy relief by running it! CR boxes have many, many practical uses besides just controlling air particles that carry pathogens.

    There was nothing much new to post on Monday plus I had a bunch of family things to handle (and doing this, admittedly takes time) so I apologize again for not posting. But you know the saying "no news is good news" and that defintiely applies to these updates.

    I'm going to try and update the link list ASAP.

    I hope you still find all this useful and informative. I hope the medical community finds these accurate and reliable.

    __________
    VOCs

    While we are experiencing a MOST welcome lull in COVID numbers right now, disease modelers are predicting a bump up in numbers at the end of this month.: ibb.co/YpnpfMF

    This is due to a variant block that have specific mutations. Together they are nicknamed the FLiRT group and are named so because their most important mutations are located at S:F456L and S:R346T within the structure of the pathogen.

    🔴Right now FLiRT mutes have an 8% advantage even over JN.1. That's fast.: ibb.co/NshJLK6

    The most important VOCs out there right now are the variants that have the FLiRT designation, and I've highlighted these mutes on these screenshots in pink.

    Remember that there is nowhere near the amount of national testing or sequencing that should be implemented, so it makes trying to predict growth activity more difficult.

    Nationally, lots of FLiRT mutations out there. It is unknown whether they are fast enough to cause a wave altogether, but they're fast enough to compete with JN.1 to eventually take over quite a bit of the current leaderboard.: ibb.co/S7kCkpH

    In PA, we have quite a few FLiRT mutation here but these mutes are in relatively low numbers, so far.: ibb.co/bdhJwKv

    In NY/NJ, FLiRT mute JN.1.4 already in second place on the leaderboard at over 9% of random sequencing. The other FLiRT variants will undoubtedly catch up.: ibb.co/ZBgYP2G

    Here you can see FLiRT's innate growth advantage compared to JN variants.: ibb.co/3swYQ4r

    Here you can see JN.1's innate growth advantage compared to older variants.: ibb.co/DfH6j53

    __________
    Wastewater

    Nationally we're still on the bottom of the lull. This might be the lowest point of the whole year as our numbers ongoing could match 2022/2023, where we had quite a bump up in the middle of the summer (because, reminder: COVID doesn't have a "season", it can bump those numbers up anytime it gets lucky with a new mutation!).: ibb.co/3mVzfx9

    In PA, wastewater still low pretty much everywhere which is great. MontCo SMASHING it, going way below national levels!!: ibb.co/TbrQgk7

    __________
    CDC

    The counties showing high increase in hospital admits has shifted around. Now the counties with the highest increases are along the NY border and down in the Southwest corner surrounding Greene Co. Adams and York also showing high end increases. Philly corner showing moderate increases.: ibb.co/cQRgbwM

    The % inpatient beds map looks very good! stable or decreasing everywhere, except some increases in Columbia Co up going Northeast to Wayne Co.: ibb.co/Q8JMZvh

    Staffed ICU beds in the vast majority of counties steady or going down...except Columbia, Luzerne and Wyoming in the eastern half of the State and Centre, Clearfield and Jefferson in Central PA.: ibb.co/5kXgcYR

    __________
    Other Pathogens

    We're still high in non-SARS2 respiratory pathogens according the WastewaterSCAN. FluA, FluB, and Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) are still HIGH.

    Gastro stuff is very high too, Norovirus and Roitavirus.

    🔴Keep the air clean, be aware of social contacts and wear a quality respirator in crowds and in places where air filteration is suboptimal. Stay home of you are sick to beat the respiratory stuff.

    🔴WASH HANDS with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds to beat Noro and Rota. Rinse off fruits and veg before you eat them. Be aware of food handling safety in the kitchen. Don't send kids to school with this.

    Mostly because...Noro and Rota are not only extremely contagious, they're also just...gross. 🤢

    I hope you have a GREAT and safe Spring!! 💐💐💐

    #covid #Covid19 #SARS2PA #CDC #CovidIsNotOver #Wastewater #Pennsylvania #PA #JN1 #FluA #FluB #Influenza #Norovirus #Rotavirus #HMPV #FLiRT #F456L #R346T #spike_r346t #spike_f456l

    #WearAMask #CleanTheAir #WashHands #StayHomeIfSick !

  24. #MaineTribes and Leading #Environmental Organizations Join Forces To Oppose Proposed #Mine in Shadow of #Katahdin

    Proposed #ZincMine at #PickettMountain being pursued by virtually unknown Canadian company

    June 28, 2023

    "Two Tribes in Maine today joined forces with leading environmental groups and a national public interest environmental law organization to oppose a proposed mine that would be located in the shadow of #BaxterStatePark and the #KatahdinWoods & Waters National Monument.

    "The proposed zinc mine at Pickett Mountain is being pursued by a virtually unknown Canadian company, #WolfdenResources, that has never operated a mine before. A previous version of Wolfden’s request was widely opposed because the region holds enormous cultural and natural significance to #Wabanaki Tribes, outdoor recreation businesses, and Maine people.

    "The #HoultonBandOfMaliseets, the #PenobscotNation, and the #NaturalResourcesCouncilOfMaine [#NRCM], represented by #Earthjustice and #Brann&Isaacson, joined the #ConservationLawFoundation in petitioning to intervene in the review of Wolfden’s permit application to the Land Use Planning Commission (#LUPC) to rezone the area for #industrial uses.

    "'The Penobscot Nation strongly opposes the rezoning of this #ecologically important area. We share significant concerns over impacts to the #water quality and f#isheries of the area, which our members rely upon,' said #ChiefKirkFrancis of the Penobscot Nation. 'The West Branch of the #MattawamkeagRiver contains abundant, high-quality, cold-water fish habitat and Designated #CriticalHabitat for #endangered #AtlanticSalmon, identified as necessary for the recovery of Atlantic salmon in the Penobscot River. This mine would impact our traditional territories and forever alter our ability to maintain our relationship to this place.'

    "The area Wolfden wants to mine is next to three State Heritage Fish Waters and is a centerpiece of the region’s growing outdoor economy. It contains the headwaters of the West Branch of the Mattawamkeag River, which is sacred to the Penobscot Nation and provides key, federally designated critical habitat for endangered Atlantic salmon.

    "'The Katahdin region’s wild beauty and clean water are extraordinary. One look at this landscape demonstrates that this is no place to put a mine,' said Nick Bennett, staff scientist at the Natural Resources Council of Maine. 'Wolfden’s claims that it will treat #wastewater more effectively than any mining company on earth are not credible. This is too big a risk for #Maine.'

    "'The legacy of metallic mineral #mining in Maine is one of empty promises of economic development, acid mine drainage #polluting waters and killing fish, and multi-million dollar c#leanups funded by taxpayers and not the fly-by-night mining companies like Wolfden,' said #SeanMahoney, vice-president and senior counsel at the Conservation Law Foundation. 'Rezoning this area to allow mining would fail to recognize the cultural and spiritual importance of the land to the #WabanakiTribes and threaten the natural resources and experiences valued by generations of Maine citizens.'

    "After withdrawing its initial request because it was riddled with errors, Wolfden submitted a second rezoning petition in January that sparked another review by the LUPC. Comments by Wolfden’s CEO disrespecting Maine tribes and #MininLlaws have prompted outrage from the Penobscot Nation, Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, and #conservationists. The company has lost tens of millions of dollars over the past decade.

    "'This is one of the absolute worst areas to rezone for a mine,' said Aaron Bloom, a senior attorney with Earthjustice. 'The region is known for its vast contiguous forest, pristine streams, high-quality lakes, and aquatic species like wild brook trout and landlocked salmon. Why would we risk that, along with the outdoor economy that depends on it, on a half-baked proposal from an unproven mining company? The Commission must put Maine’s unique natural resources, and the well-being of the people of Maine and Maine’s Wabanaki Tribes, before short-term industry profits.'

    "More than 700 hundred Mainers and local businesses, including Bradford Camps, Chandler Lakes Camps and Lodge, and the #MaineWildernessGuidesOrganization, have spoken out against Wolfden’s plans. In May 2022, residents of #Pembroke voted overwhelmingly to ban industrial-scale metallic mineral mining in their town in response to Wolfden’s plans to develop a mine there."

    Source:
    earthjustice.org/press/2023/ma

    #WaterIsLife #Maine #WabanakiNations #Environment #Mining #CorporateColonialism #NoMining

  25. Update for 12/8-9/2023!

    Good morning SARS2PAians!

    I hope your early winter is going well! ❄️❄️❄️

    There's no new CDC county info today.

    __________
    VOCs

    Nationally, HV.1 still at over 25% of random sequencing. JN.1 right behind it at a distant 5% but we'll see how well it fares against a variant that is clocking in at a very similar speed.: ibb.co/fYDyhcW

    XDD is a variant discovered a few weeks ago that is a recombo of EG.5.1.1 (which ="HK") and JN.1, and is clocked as faster or equally as fast as JN.1 in theory, and must be closely watched.

    In PA, HV.1 at over 20%. FL.1.5.1 at over 10% of random sequencing. JN.1 is at 1.33%, still weirdly not climbing as fast. I see lots more people wearing masks as they are out and about so even a few people doing this will greatly help control things into January.: ibb.co/hWZXfg5

    In NY/NJ, HV.1 at over 27% of random sequencing. JN.1 behind at 10% already 👀 👀 👀: ibb.co/HNhBRV8

    __________
    Wastewater

    Nationally, wastewater SARS2 material increasing greatly through last time I posted it.: ibb.co/L6960t5

    Regionally, SARS2 increasing or leveling in all regions, with the Midwest and northeast going almost vertical.: ibb.co/HH3NB2v

    In PA, the few stations that are current are showing increases. Chester and Luzerne increasing exponentially! Bucks going vertical. MontCo doing soooooooo fantastic this whole time and now quickly catching up to national averages.: ibb.co/Z8GJtZ2

    According to WastewaterSCAN, the Dauphin shed is also very steadily increasing concentration, too.: ibb.co/86F2K41

    Please consider wearing quality respirators or tight-fitting surgical masks in these areas if you are out and about!

    WastewaterSCAN shows SARS2, RSV and Norovirus (the "24 hr stomach flu") as all HIGH.: ibb.co/zXCqSGR

    SARS2 HIGH in all regions.: ibb.co/LQN0JTB

    All of these can contribute to ER cases and hospital stays. PLEASE use caution this winter as JN.1 plows through these leaderboards.

    __________
    CDC

    The CDC NOWCAST has been updated for today, breaking out JN.1. You can see the bonkers estimated growth of this variant in chart form: ibb.co/LzBSY9S

    and according to region in map form!: ibb.co/n8s7jj4

    Guysssssssss please use some form of caution now before the rest of the major holidays. GET THOSE XBB VACCINATIONS. It's not bullet-proof but it's shown to help enough with JN.1 to get ASAP.

    Wear those quality respirators. Keep careful track of who you hang out with through the winter to contribute to source-of-infection control. Test test test, repeatedly if needed as infective levels aren't always picked up by rapid tests.

    Have a safe winter and if we all contribute to source control, we can have a GREAT post-holiday season!! ❄️❄️❄️

    #covid #Covid19 #SARS2PA #CDC #CovidIsNotOver #Pennsylvania #PA #BA286 #JN1 #HV1 #WearAMask #CleanTheAir #VaccinesSaveLives #XDD #RSV #Norovirus #Wastewater

  26. #Fukushima #Nuclear Power Plant starts 3rd round of #wastewater release, potentially impacting #seafood quality in U.S.

    By Belle Lewis - November 14, 2023

    "The #FukushimaDachii nuclear plant started its third release of nuclear wastewater on Nov. 2 as scientists warn that seafood products from the #PacificOcean could be #contaminated

    "Although the International Atomic Energy Agency approved the 30-year water release plan, scientists and civilians in nations bordering the Pacific Ocean have questioned the safety of the plan, especially as it relates to seafood.

    "In a press release approving of the plan, the IAEA stated, 'the discharges of the treated water would have a negligible radiological impact to people and the environment.'

    "#PaulDorfman, member of the Irish Government Environmental Protection Agency Radiation Protection Advisory Committee and chair of Nuclear Consulting Group, explained that some scientists have questioned IAEA’s approval of the water release.

    "'I and others are concerned by IAEA’s attitude,' Dorfman said. 'Normally even low levels of radioactive pollution will find its way into local seafood, one way or another.'

    "In 2020, #Japan exported 332,926 kilograms of frozen scallops to the U.S. Japan exports many fish products to the U.S.

    "Samantha Valeriano, a psychology student from Hawaii, said she eats seafood about once a week. She does not often think about where her food comes from but wants to be more cautious following the nuclear water release.

    "'I think I would be a little more cautious of what I ate, checking labels a little bit more,' Valeriano said. 'I would be conscious of what I ate and where it came from.'

    "As the People’s Republic of #China has imposed bans of Japanese fish exports, the #USA has supported the Japanese market by increasing fish purchases.

    "In a press release, the #UnitedStates Embassy and Consulate in Japan explained that military bases in Japan will carry Japanese seafood as a way to buoy up seafood markets and undermine the PRC’s ban.

    "'United States elected representatives and senior government officials have stood in solidarity with Japan during this baseless ban,' the statement said. 'Another step to help provide additional sales to counter the ban was to start selling Japanese seafood at the U.S. military facilities in Japan, both through the commissaries and mess halls.'

    "According to the statement, government officials like former speaker #KevinMcCarthy ate seafood from Japan as a testament to Japan’s safety standards.
    However, other U.S. agencies, like the National Association of #MarineLaboratories question whether accurate research was conducted by the IAEA and Japanese Government to determine safety of seafood products.

    "They explain that the lack of data on potential health impacts is a cause for serious concern.

    "'Many of the #radionuclides contained in the #accumulated waste cooling water have half-lives ranging from #decades to #centuries, and their deleterious effects range from #DNADamage and #cellular stress to elevated #cancer risks in people who eat affected marine organisms, such as #clams, #oysters, #crabs, #lobster, #shrimp and fish,' the statement reads. [Not to mention all the critters that feed off them! Bioaccumulation works up the food chain!]

    "Eve Nagareda, medical laboratory science major from Hawaii, shared she wants to avoid seafood from dumping grounds even if levels are considered safe.

    "'I think I would try to go as far as possible from it,' Nagareda said.

    "Kylee Wasano, pre-communications disorders student from Oahu, agreed. She explained she feels that she might already be consuming contaminated seafood.

    "'I feel like I already am eating that, and I just don’t know,' Wasano said. 'Anything that could expose you to (radiation) you should be considerate about.'

    "As organizations weigh safety concerns, scientists turn to the water release process to determine potential effects."

    universe.byu.edu/2023/11/14/fu

    #WaterIsLife #NoDumping #Hormesis #TEPCOLies #Corruption #Bioaccumulation #RethinkNotRestart #NoNukes #NoNewNukes

  27. #Fukushima #Nuclear Power Plant starts 3rd round of #wastewater release, potentially impacting #seafood quality in U.S.

    By Belle Lewis - November 14, 2023

    "The #FukushimaDachii nuclear plant started its third release of nuclear wastewater on Nov. 2 as scientists warn that seafood products from the #PacificOcean could be #contaminated

    "Although the International Atomic Energy Agency approved the 30-year water release plan, scientists and civilians in nations bordering the Pacific Ocean have questioned the safety of the plan, especially as it relates to seafood.

    "In a press release approving of the plan, the IAEA stated, 'the discharges of the treated water would have a negligible radiological impact to people and the environment.'

    "#PaulDorfman, member of the Irish Government Environmental Protection Agency Radiation Protection Advisory Committee and chair of Nuclear Consulting Group, explained that some scientists have questioned IAEA’s approval of the water release.

    "'I and others are concerned by IAEA’s attitude,' Dorfman said. 'Normally even low levels of radioactive pollution will find its way into local seafood, one way or another.'

    "In 2020, #Japan exported 332,926 kilograms of frozen scallops to the U.S. Japan exports many fish products to the U.S.

    "Samantha Valeriano, a psychology student from Hawaii, said she eats seafood about once a week. She does not often think about where her food comes from but wants to be more cautious following the nuclear water release.

    "'I think I would be a little more cautious of what I ate, checking labels a little bit more,' Valeriano said. 'I would be conscious of what I ate and where it came from.'

    "As the People’s Republic of #China has imposed bans of Japanese fish exports, the #USA has supported the Japanese market by increasing fish purchases.

    "In a press release, the #UnitedStates Embassy and Consulate in Japan explained that military bases in Japan will carry Japanese seafood as a way to buoy up seafood markets and undermine the PRC’s ban.

    "'United States elected representatives and senior government officials have stood in solidarity with Japan during this baseless ban,' the statement said. 'Another step to help provide additional sales to counter the ban was to start selling Japanese seafood at the U.S. military facilities in Japan, both through the commissaries and mess halls.'

    "According to the statement, government officials like former speaker #KevinMcCarthy ate seafood from Japan as a testament to Japan’s safety standards.
    However, other U.S. agencies, like the National Association of #MarineLaboratories question whether accurate research was conducted by the IAEA and Japanese Government to determine safety of seafood products.

    "They explain that the lack of data on potential health impacts is a cause for serious concern.

    "'Many of the #radionuclides contained in the #accumulated waste cooling water have half-lives ranging from #decades to #centuries, and their deleterious effects range from #DNADamage and #cellular stress to elevated #cancer risks in people who eat affected marine organisms, such as #clams, #oysters, #crabs, #lobster, #shrimp and fish,' the statement reads. [Not to mention all the critters that feed off them! Bioaccumulation works up the food chain!]

    "Eve Nagareda, medical laboratory science major from Hawaii, shared she wants to avoid seafood from dumping grounds even if levels are considered safe.

    "'I think I would try to go as far as possible from it,' Nagareda said.

    "Kylee Wasano, pre-communications disorders student from Oahu, agreed. She explained she feels that she might already be consuming contaminated seafood.

    "'I feel like I already am eating that, and I just don’t know,' Wasano said. 'Anything that could expose you to (radiation) you should be considerate about.'

    "As organizations weigh safety concerns, scientists turn to the water release process to determine potential effects."

    universe.byu.edu/2023/11/14/fu

    #WaterIsLife #NoDumping #Hormesis #TEPCOLies #Corruption #Bioaccumulation #RethinkNotRestart #NoNukes #NoNewNukes

  28. #Fukushima #Nuclear Power Plant starts 3rd round of #wastewater release, potentially impacting #seafood quality in U.S.

    By Belle Lewis - November 14, 2023

    "The #FukushimaDachii nuclear plant started its third release of nuclear wastewater on Nov. 2 as scientists warn that seafood products from the #PacificOcean could be #contaminated

    "Although the International Atomic Energy Agency approved the 30-year water release plan, scientists and civilians in nations bordering the Pacific Ocean have questioned the safety of the plan, especially as it relates to seafood.

    "In a press release approving of the plan, the IAEA stated, 'the discharges of the treated water would have a negligible radiological impact to people and the environment.'

    "#PaulDorfman, member of the Irish Government Environmental Protection Agency Radiation Protection Advisory Committee and chair of Nuclear Consulting Group, explained that some scientists have questioned IAEA’s approval of the water release.

    "'I and others are concerned by IAEA’s attitude,' Dorfman said. 'Normally even low levels of radioactive pollution will find its way into local seafood, one way or another.'

    "In 2020, #Japan exported 332,926 kilograms of frozen scallops to the U.S. Japan exports many fish products to the U.S.

    "Samantha Valeriano, a psychology student from Hawaii, said she eats seafood about once a week. She does not often think about where her food comes from but wants to be more cautious following the nuclear water release.

    "'I think I would be a little more cautious of what I ate, checking labels a little bit more,' Valeriano said. 'I would be conscious of what I ate and where it came from.'

    "As the People’s Republic of #China has imposed bans of Japanese fish exports, the #USA has supported the Japanese market by increasing fish purchases.

    "In a press release, the #UnitedStates Embassy and Consulate in Japan explained that military bases in Japan will carry Japanese seafood as a way to buoy up seafood markets and undermine the PRC’s ban.

    "'United States elected representatives and senior government officials have stood in solidarity with Japan during this baseless ban,' the statement said. 'Another step to help provide additional sales to counter the ban was to start selling Japanese seafood at the U.S. military facilities in Japan, both through the commissaries and mess halls.'

    "According to the statement, government officials like former speaker #KevinMcCarthy ate seafood from Japan as a testament to Japan’s safety standards.
    However, other U.S. agencies, like the National Association of #MarineLaboratories question whether accurate research was conducted by the IAEA and Japanese Government to determine safety of seafood products.

    "They explain that the lack of data on potential health impacts is a cause for serious concern.

    "'Many of the #radionuclides contained in the #accumulated waste cooling water have half-lives ranging from #decades to #centuries, and their deleterious effects range from #DNADamage and #cellular stress to elevated #cancer risks in people who eat affected marine organisms, such as #clams, #oysters, #crabs, #lobster, #shrimp and fish,' the statement reads. [Not to mention all the critters that feed off them! Bioaccumulation works up the food chain!]

    "Eve Nagareda, medical laboratory science major from Hawaii, shared she wants to avoid seafood from dumping grounds even if levels are considered safe.

    "'I think I would try to go as far as possible from it,' Nagareda said.

    "Kylee Wasano, pre-communications disorders student from Oahu, agreed. She explained she feels that she might already be consuming contaminated seafood.

    "'I feel like I already am eating that, and I just don’t know,' Wasano said. 'Anything that could expose you to (radiation) you should be considerate about.'

    "As organizations weigh safety concerns, scientists turn to the water release process to determine potential effects."

    universe.byu.edu/2023/11/14/fu

    #WaterIsLife #NoDumping #Hormesis #TEPCOLies #Corruption #Bioaccumulation #RethinkNotRestart #NoNukes #NoNewNukes

  29. #Fukushima #Nuclear Power Plant starts 3rd round of #wastewater release, potentially impacting #seafood quality in U.S.

    By Belle Lewis - November 14, 2023

    "The #FukushimaDachii nuclear plant started its third release of nuclear wastewater on Nov. 2 as scientists warn that seafood products from the #PacificOcean could be #contaminated

    "Although the International Atomic Energy Agency approved the 30-year water release plan, scientists and civilians in nations bordering the Pacific Ocean have questioned the safety of the plan, especially as it relates to seafood.

    "In a press release approving of the plan, the IAEA stated, 'the discharges of the treated water would have a negligible radiological impact to people and the environment.'

    "#PaulDorfman, member of the Irish Government Environmental Protection Agency Radiation Protection Advisory Committee and chair of Nuclear Consulting Group, explained that some scientists have questioned IAEA’s approval of the water release.

    "'I and others are concerned by IAEA’s attitude,' Dorfman said. 'Normally even low levels of radioactive pollution will find its way into local seafood, one way or another.'

    "In 2020, #Japan exported 332,926 kilograms of frozen scallops to the U.S. Japan exports many fish products to the U.S.

    "Samantha Valeriano, a psychology student from Hawaii, said she eats seafood about once a week. She does not often think about where her food comes from but wants to be more cautious following the nuclear water release.

    "'I think I would be a little more cautious of what I ate, checking labels a little bit more,' Valeriano said. 'I would be conscious of what I ate and where it came from.'

    "As the People’s Republic of #China has imposed bans of Japanese fish exports, the #USA has supported the Japanese market by increasing fish purchases.

    "In a press release, the #UnitedStates Embassy and Consulate in Japan explained that military bases in Japan will carry Japanese seafood as a way to buoy up seafood markets and undermine the PRC’s ban.

    "'United States elected representatives and senior government officials have stood in solidarity with Japan during this baseless ban,' the statement said. 'Another step to help provide additional sales to counter the ban was to start selling Japanese seafood at the U.S. military facilities in Japan, both through the commissaries and mess halls.'

    "According to the statement, government officials like former speaker #KevinMcCarthy ate seafood from Japan as a testament to Japan’s safety standards.
    However, other U.S. agencies, like the National Association of #MarineLaboratories question whether accurate research was conducted by the IAEA and Japanese Government to determine safety of seafood products.

    "They explain that the lack of data on potential health impacts is a cause for serious concern.

    "'Many of the #radionuclides contained in the #accumulated waste cooling water have half-lives ranging from #decades to #centuries, and their deleterious effects range from #DNADamage and #cellular stress to elevated #cancer risks in people who eat affected marine organisms, such as #clams, #oysters, #crabs, #lobster, #shrimp and fish,' the statement reads. [Not to mention all the critters that feed off them! Bioaccumulation works up the food chain!]

    "Eve Nagareda, medical laboratory science major from Hawaii, shared she wants to avoid seafood from dumping grounds even if levels are considered safe.

    "'I think I would try to go as far as possible from it,' Nagareda said.

    "Kylee Wasano, pre-communications disorders student from Oahu, agreed. She explained she feels that she might already be consuming contaminated seafood.

    "'I feel like I already am eating that, and I just don’t know,' Wasano said. 'Anything that could expose you to (radiation) you should be considerate about.'

    "As organizations weigh safety concerns, scientists turn to the water release process to determine potential effects."

    universe.byu.edu/2023/11/14/fu

    #WaterIsLife #NoDumping #Hormesis #TEPCOLies #Corruption #Bioaccumulation #RethinkNotRestart #NoNukes #NoNewNukes

  30. #Fukushima #Nuclear Power Plant starts 3rd round of #wastewater release, potentially impacting #seafood quality in U.S.

    By Belle Lewis - November 14, 2023

    "The #FukushimaDachii nuclear plant started its third release of nuclear wastewater on Nov. 2 as scientists warn that seafood products from the #PacificOcean could be #contaminated

    "Although the International Atomic Energy Agency approved the 30-year water release plan, scientists and civilians in nations bordering the Pacific Ocean have questioned the safety of the plan, especially as it relates to seafood.

    "In a press release approving of the plan, the IAEA stated, 'the discharges of the treated water would have a negligible radiological impact to people and the environment.'

    "#PaulDorfman, member of the Irish Government Environmental Protection Agency Radiation Protection Advisory Committee and chair of Nuclear Consulting Group, explained that some scientists have questioned IAEA’s approval of the water release.

    "'I and others are concerned by IAEA’s attitude,' Dorfman said. 'Normally even low levels of radioactive pollution will find its way into local seafood, one way or another.'

    "In 2020, #Japan exported 332,926 kilograms of frozen scallops to the U.S. Japan exports many fish products to the U.S.

    "Samantha Valeriano, a psychology student from Hawaii, said she eats seafood about once a week. She does not often think about where her food comes from but wants to be more cautious following the nuclear water release.

    "'I think I would be a little more cautious of what I ate, checking labels a little bit more,' Valeriano said. 'I would be conscious of what I ate and where it came from.'

    "As the People’s Republic of #China has imposed bans of Japanese fish exports, the #USA has supported the Japanese market by increasing fish purchases.

    "In a press release, the #UnitedStates Embassy and Consulate in Japan explained that military bases in Japan will carry Japanese seafood as a way to buoy up seafood markets and undermine the PRC’s ban.

    "'United States elected representatives and senior government officials have stood in solidarity with Japan during this baseless ban,' the statement said. 'Another step to help provide additional sales to counter the ban was to start selling Japanese seafood at the U.S. military facilities in Japan, both through the commissaries and mess halls.'

    "According to the statement, government officials like former speaker #KevinMcCarthy ate seafood from Japan as a testament to Japan’s safety standards.
    However, other U.S. agencies, like the National Association of #MarineLaboratories question whether accurate research was conducted by the IAEA and Japanese Government to determine safety of seafood products.

    "They explain that the lack of data on potential health impacts is a cause for serious concern.

    "'Many of the #radionuclides contained in the #accumulated waste cooling water have half-lives ranging from #decades to #centuries, and their deleterious effects range from #DNADamage and #cellular stress to elevated #cancer risks in people who eat affected marine organisms, such as #clams, #oysters, #crabs, #lobster, #shrimp and fish,' the statement reads. [Not to mention all the critters that feed off them! Bioaccumulation works up the food chain!]

    "Eve Nagareda, medical laboratory science major from Hawaii, shared she wants to avoid seafood from dumping grounds even if levels are considered safe.

    "'I think I would try to go as far as possible from it,' Nagareda said.

    "Kylee Wasano, pre-communications disorders student from Oahu, agreed. She explained she feels that she might already be consuming contaminated seafood.

    "'I feel like I already am eating that, and I just don’t know,' Wasano said. 'Anything that could expose you to (radiation) you should be considerate about.'

    "As organizations weigh safety concerns, scientists turn to the water release process to determine potential effects."

    universe.byu.edu/2023/11/14/fu

    #WaterIsLife #NoDumping #Hormesis #TEPCOLies #Corruption #Bioaccumulation #RethinkNotRestart #NoNukes #NoNewNukes