#watercontamination — Public Fediverse posts

#Cyclospora Spreads Through Human Feces. How Did It Get Into Our Food Supply?

The large number of cases suggests that excrement entered the food system on a “surprising scale.”

By Alice Callahan and Caroline Hopkins Legaspi
July 21, 2026

Excerpt: "Several cyclospora outbreaks linked to raspberries in the late 1990s illustrated one way the parasite can contaminate fresh produce, said Melvin Kramer, an epidemiologist who worked in several state and local public health departments before founding a food safety consulting group.

"In 1996, after collecting detailed food histories from people sickened with cyclospora, investigators traced the illnesses to raspberries from a few farms in Guatemala. There, investigators determined it was likely that the #insecticides and #fungicides sprayed onto the berries had been mixed with #ContaminatedWater. The farms had sourced the water from wells or a nearby river, both of which were vulnerable to #runoff from latrines, especially during the rainy season. Although the water was filtered, the filter removed only debris, not microbes like cyclospora.

"Before this year, the largest outbreak in the United States in recent history occurred in the summer of 2020, sickening 701 people in 14 states and hospitalizing 38. Federal officials linked it to Fresh Express bagged salads containing iceberg lettuce, red cabbage and carrots. They traced at least some of that produce to a farm in South Florida and detected cyclospora in a nearby #WaterCanal that had been used to irrigate crops on the farm. Later, genetic analysis confirmed that the cyclospora found in the canal water matched that found in people sickened in the outbreak, said Frank Yiannas, who was a top official at the #FDA from 2018 to 2023."

Archived version:
https://archive.ph/r7zv4

#WaterIsLife #Cyclosporasis #FoodContamination #BigAg #GrowYourOwnFood #WaterContamination

Cowboy State Daily: Cheyenne Won’t Take Data Center Wastewater After Meta Contractor Contaminated System. “The announcement was made by the Board of Public Utilities (BOPU) on Thursday in conjunction with naming the Meta company as the source of the initial contamination. It also comes more than four months after the Meta company — which is building a huge $800 million data center in south […]

Fuel spill contaminates water body in Ontario community, cleanup underway

https://web.brid.gy/r/https://globalnews.ca/news/11836914/fuel-spill-marsh-creek/

A 4.5 magnitude earthquake — the largest ever recorded near Orange, NSW — has forced Newmont's Cadia gold mine to suspend underground operations. All workers safely evacuated.
Cadia has long been accused of contaminating local water with heavy metals and forever chemicals via dust and tailings. Now it's shaking the ground too?
Is intensive mining (blasting, caving, and massive underground extraction) contributing to this seismic activity?

#CadiaMine #OrangeEarthquake #MiningPollution #WaterContamination #NSW

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-04-15/cadia-gold-mine-suspends-operations-after-orange-earthquake/106566178

Scientists Thought #Parkinsons Was in Our Genes. It Might Be in the #Water

New ideas about #ChronicIllness could revolutionize treatment, if we take the research seriously.

By David Ferry, December 10, 2025

Excerpt: "Sometime before 1953, a massive plume of #trichlorethylene, or #TCE, had entered the groundwater beneath #CampLejeune. TCE is a highly effective solvent—one of those midcentury wonder chemicals—that vaporizes quickly and dissolves whatever grease it touches. The spill’s source is debated, but grunts on base used TCE to maintain machinery, and the dry cleaner sprayed it on dress blues. It was ubiquitous at Lejeune and all over America.

"And TCE appeared benign, too—you could rub it on your hands or huff its fumes and feel no immediate effects. It plays a longer game. For approximately 35 years, Marines and sailors who lived at Lejeune unknowingly breathed in vaporized TCE whenever they turned on their tap. The Navy, which oversees the Marine Corps, first denied the toxic plume’s existence, then refused to admit it could affect Marines’ health. But as Lejeune’s vets aged, cancers and unexplained illness began stalking them at staggering rates. Marines stationed on base had a 35 percent higher risk of developing kidney cancer, a 47 percent higher risk of Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a 68 percent higher risk of multiple myeloma. At the local cemetery, the section reserved for infants had to be expanded.

"Meanwhile, Langston had spent the remainder of the 1980s setting up the California Parkinson’s Foundation (later renamed the Parkinson’s Institute), a lab and treatment facility equipped with everything needed to finally reveal the cause of the disease. 'We thought we were going to solve it,' Langston told me. Researchers affiliated with the institute created the first animal model for Parkinson’s, identified a pesticide called #Paraquat as a near chemical match to #MPTP, and proved that farm workers who sprayed Paraquat developed Parkinson’s at exceedingly high rates.

"Then they showed that identical twins developed Parkinson’s at the same rate as fraternal twins—something that wouldn’t make sense if the disease were purely genetic, since identical twins share DNA and fraternal twins do not. They even noted TCE as a potential cause of the disease, Langston says. Each revelation, the team thought, represented another nail in the coffin of the genetic theory of Parkinson’s."

Read more:
https://www.wired.com/story/scientists-thought-parkinsons-was-in-our-genes-it-might-be-in-the-water/

Archived version:
https://archive.ph/w8kFq

#TCE #Solvents #DryCleaningFluid #Toxins #ToxicContamination #ParkinsonsDisease #WaterIsLife #WaterContamination

@nilton @ubique environmental racism, water misuse and contamination also in the US :“We are breathing dirtier air, experiencing higher rates of asthma, and our children are spending more time in emergency rooms due to the misguided ambitions of billionaires who don’t see us as human.”
#WaterContamination #WaterForDataCenters #EnviromentalRacism #LandGrab #Colonialism
https://truthout.org/articles/big-tech-data-centers-compound-decades-of-environmental-racism-in-the-south/

New Map Shows Where Cancer-Causing Chemicals Are Polluting Water for Over 200M

https://murica.website/2025/09/new-map-shows-where-cancer-causing-chemicals-are-polluting-water-for-over-200m/

From my friend in Japan...

Two years after the release of treated water at the #FukushimaDaiichi #nuclear power plant began, more than a hundred thousand tons were washed into the sea, but new #contaminated water is occurring every day

August 24, 2025 at 06:00

"It has been two years since the ocean release of treated water accumulated at the #TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant began. The radioactive substance #tritium remains in the water even after the purification process. In June, China, which completely stopped importing Japanese seafood, resumed production in 37 prefectures, but Fukushima and other ten prefectures are still not eligible. There is no end to the ocean release, and the impact of the nuclear accident on the fishing industry continues.

"Tank treated water and contaminated water have been reduced by only fifty-six thousand tons.

"The ocean release was first released on August 24th, and the 14th time was launched on August 7th this month. Up to the 13th time, a total of one hundred and eighty-seven tons of treated water were released.

"The treated water and contaminated water stored in a tank on the site of the nuclear power plant before it was released into the ocean. So far, it has decreased to about fifty-six thousand tons, and it has not decreased by much the amount of release. The reason is that the contaminated water is generated about seventy tons every day, and the number of groundwater and rainwater increases due to the contact of molten nuclear fuel (debris) in the reactor building. Without the absence of contaminated water, we cannot stop releasing it into the ocean.

"As of July 30th, TEPCO paid about JPY790 billion in compensation in response to the slump in fish prices associated with ocean release. There is a possibility that some of China's resumption of imports will also change the price of fish, but Fukushima Prefecture continues to be stopped.

"37 Export application procedures for fishery products produced in Hokkaido Prefecture have begun. A person in charge of the processing and distribution section of the Fisheries Agency said, 'There are many applications, and the desire to resume is strong. We will continue to work with China to reopen the ten prefectures.' Riki Arai)

"The place where the 'sludge' due to the treatment of contaminated water is about to be full.

"Two years have passed since the release of treated water into the ocean due to the TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident. The treated water stored in the nuclear power plant is gradually reduced by ocean release, while the storage and disposal of sludge contaminated with high concentrations that continue to occur in the process of treatment of contaminated water is becoming an issue.

"In the process of removing radioactive substances from contaminated water, sludge is produced by precipitating impurities with chemicals. Liquids and solids are mixed... " [Unfortunately, the rest is behind paywall]

Source:
https://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/430612

#FukushimaIsntOver #TEPCOLied #TEPCOLies #WaterIsLife #OceansAreLife #WaterContamination #Radiation #Bioaccumulation #NoRadioactiveDumping #RethinkNotRestart #NoNukes #NoMoreFukushimas #NuclearWasteIsForever

Good thing I have NO PLANS to go to the beach any time soon... Ugh! 🤢

Taking a dip #LaborDay weekend? Swimmers face fecal contamination at beaches along US coastline

By PATRICK WHITTLE and MINGSON LAU
Updated 10:15 AM EDT, August 30, 2025

OGUNQUIT, Maine (AP) — "Thousands of Americans will head to beaches for one last summer splash this Labor Day weekend, but taking a dip might be out of the question: Many of the beaches will caution against swimming because of unsafe levels of fecal contamination.

"Beaches from #CrystalRiverFL, to #OgunquitME, have been under advisories warning about water quality this week because of elevated levels of bacteria associated with fecal waste. The advisories typically discourage beachgoers from going in the water because the bacteria can cause gastrointestinal illness, rashes and nausea.

"There have been closures this week at some of the country’s most popular beach destinations, including Keyes Memorial Beach in the #CapeCod village of Hyannis in Barnstable, Massachusetts; Benjamin’s Beach on #LongIsland in Bay Shore, New York; and a portion of the Imperial Beach shoreline near #SanDiego. Even on the pristine, white sand beaches of Hawaii, the Hawaii State Department of Health is warning of a high bacteria count at #KahaluuBeachPark on the #BigIsland.

"It’s a longstanding and widespread problem. Nearly two-thirds of beaches tested nationwide in 2024 experienced at least one day in which indicators of fecal contamination reached potentially unsafe levels, conservation group Environment America said in a report issued this summer.
"The group reviewed beaches on the coasts and #GreatLakes and found that 84% of #GulfCoast beaches exceeded the standard at least once. The number was 79% for #WestCoast beaches, 54% for #EastCoast beaches and 71% for #GreatLakes beaches.

"The report also said more than 450 beaches were potentially unsafe for swimming on at least 25 percent of the days tested. A key reason is outdated water and #SewerSystems that allows contamination from #sewage to reach the places where people swim, said John Rumpler, clean water director and senior attorney with #EnvironmentAmerica.

" 'These beaches are a treasure for families across New England and across the country. They are a shared resource,' said Rumpler, who is based in Boston. 'We need to make the investment to make sure that literally our own #HumanWaste doesn’t wind up in the places where we are swimming.'

"Other factors have also played a role in contaminating beaches, including increasingly #SevereWeather that overwhelms sewage systems, and suburban sprawl that paves over natural areas and reduces the #ecosystem’s ability to absorb #stormwater, Rumpler said."

https://apnews.com/article/beaches-labor-day-fecal-swimming-b0141df7f40ad2914d4e2cd31182e9af

#OceansAreLife #WaterIsLife #WaterContamination #Sewage #Pollution #HumanWaste

Sweden’s Kallinge suffered one of the world’s worst PFAS contaminations, residents drank toxic water for years before it was discovered.
Now their courts say elevated PFAS in blood is a personal injury.
Australia, take note. We’ve got hotspots too. Act before it’s too late.

#pfas #foreverchemicals #environment #publichealth #australia #watercontamination

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jun/19/world-worst-case-of-pfas-forever-chemicals-contamination-kallinge

As seawater creeps further into coastlines, salt threatens to pollute the freshwater reserves that people depend on. But this brine isn’t just coming from the ocean: New research shows freshwater ecosystems are facing widespread dual threats of salt contamination from the sea and land, made worse by climate change. @ArsTechnica reports:
https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/03/salty-threats-for-drinking-water-rising-seas-and-land-based-pollution/

#ClimateChange #Pollution #FreshWater #WaterContamination

Boil water alert for NSW Central Coast!
Residents in nine suburbs are being urged to boil their drinking water after E. coli was detected in a reservoir. The news has sparked a rush on bottled water, with some supermarkets already selling out.
#nsw #centralcoast #boilwateralert #watercontamination #staysafe

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-05/boil-water-alert-nsw-central-coast-ecoli-found-in-water/104898280

Australia’s drinking water is tainted with "forever chemicals," and our regulatory water guidelines are an international embarrassment. Meanwhile, the USA has set a new national standard requiring water providers to filter out PFAS chemicals linked to various deadly conditions. #PFAS #WaterContamination #EnvironmentalHealth #Australia #CleanWater

https://7news.com.au/news/aussie-drinking-water-standards-an-international-embarrassment-according-to-pfas-expert-c-15697266

Devon residents told to boil tap water over risk of parasitic disease | Water | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/may/15/devon-resident-told-to-boil-tap-water-over-risk-parasitic-disease-south-west

#Water
#Contamination
#WaterContamination
#RequiredToBoilWater
#Devon
#SouthWestWater
#Diarrhoea
#Cryptosporidium
#Cryptosporidiosis
#UKHealthSecurityAgencySouthWest
#Mangnall
#BottledWater

West Coast attorneys general + environmental groups asking U.S. federal commission to reconsider decision to approve controversial #fracked "natural" gas pipeline project in #PNW

#fracking #methane #GHG #watercontamination #carcinogenic #ClimateAction

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/west-coast-attorneys-general-ask-federal-commission-to-rethink-approval-of-gas-pipeline-project/

Five deaths put Karnataka Dalit village on edge, residents demand probe

Since the start of August, over 200 residents, including 44 children, have been hospitalised in Kavadigarahatti. They had all consumed the water from the village’s sole overhead water tank on July 31.

#karnataka #chitradurga #kavadigarahatti #dalits #water #caste #WaterContamination #CasteViolence #casteism #india

https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/five-deaths-put-karnataka-dalit-village-edge-residents-demand-probe-181155

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/03/02/health/brain-eating-amoeba-florida-wellness/index.html?dicbo=v2-9gso7ft&obInternalId=71118 Hell no.  

A person in Charlotte County, Florida, has died after being infected with the rare brain-eating amoeba Naegleria fowleri.

The infection possibly resulted from “sinus rinse practices utilizing tap water as a nasal rinse without boiling it first #Health #WaterContamination