Tag Archives: Water

Scientists Track Fukushima Radiation off Pacific Coast

Scientists who are studying the impacts of a nuclear power plant accident in Japan have discovered radiation is spreading to more sites off the Pacific Coast of the United States.

But the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute reported Thursday that even a sample with the highest-documented radiation level to date is still far below a threshold that should cause alarm.

The institute has been tracking the spread of radiation from the March 2011 accident at the Fukushima power plant, in which an earthquake set off a tsunami that struck the plant and caused three meltdowns. That event released some radioactive material into the Pacific Ocean.

Ken Bruessler, the director of the institute’s Center for Marine and Environmental Radioactivity, is part of a research team that’s monitoring the ocean for traces of that radioactive material. Over the past four years, they’ve observed small amounts of material, cesium-134, off the coast of Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and California.

The team recently found its most contaminated sample to date — 11 becquerals per cubic meter of ocean water, according to a news release. A becqueral is a unit used to measure radioactivity, and this sample was 50 percent higher than any other that’s ever been found off the West Coast.

Even at its highest figure yet, scientists say the sample is still more than 500 times lower than government standards for safe drinking water. It’s also OK for recreational activities like swimming, and Bruessler said in the news release that it’s also below safety limits for sea life.

Contamination levels are higher near Fukushima.

While Bruessler said in the news release that contamination levels near Japan “are thousands of times lower” than they were following the 2011 accident, recent samples collected there contain 10 to 100 times more radioactive material than those collected off the Pacific Coast. He said that indicates that the plant is still releasing radioactive material, though how much remains unclear.

The scientists also note that virtually any sample of Pacific Ocean water will have some level of radioactive material, as atomic weapons testing was performed there in parts of three decades.

Scientists say they know the contamination they’re measuring is from Fukushima and not left over from atomic bomb detonations because the specific type of radioactive material is different.

Volcanic Eruptions Reduce Flow of Major Rivers

Scientists have found that volcanic eruptions affect the flow of the world’s major rivers.

New research from the University of Edinburgh shows that aerosol particles ejected into the air following volcanic eruptions don’t just contaminate the atmosphere, they can often trigger rainfall shortages that ultimately affect river systems worldwide.

In the first study of its kind, University of Edinburgh scientists Carley Iles and Gabriele Hegerl compared annual water flow in 50 rivers around the world with the timing of major volcanic eruptions, notably Agug in 1963, El Chichon in 1982 and Pinatubo in 1991.

For some rivers, records went back into the 19th century, making it possible to take into account earlier eruptions too.

They discovered that a year or two after these volcanoes hurled massive amounts of debris into the upper atmosphere they created a partial sunscreen and the flows of tropical rivers decreased.

On the contrary, river flow increased in some regions, including the U.S. southwest and parts of South America. Researchers linked this to the disruption of atmospheric circulation patterns.

Dr. Carley Iles, from the School of GeoSciences at the University of Edinburgh, said in a statement. “Our findings reveal the indirect effect that volcanoes can have on rivers, and could be very valuable in the event of a major volcanic eruption in future,”

The study, published in Nature Geoscience, cautioned against so-called geo-engineering schemes that have been proposed as an answer for cooling down an overheated planet or global warming.

“As well as affecting river flow and rainfall, volcanic eruptions have a cooling effect on climate,” Dr Iles said.

“All of these impacts come about because volcanoes inject particles — sulfate aerosols — high up into the atmosphere, and these spread out and reflect sunlight back out into space.”

Evidence of Water Found on Mars Announced by NASA

The strongest evidence yet of water on mars was announced by NASA Monday afternoon.

“Our quest on Mars has been to ‘follow the water’ in our search for life in the universe, and now we have convincing science that validates what we’ve long suspected,” said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator at NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington, D.C. “This is a significant development, as it appears to confirm that water — albeit briny — is flowing today on the surface of Mars.”

Although scientists are not sure where the water comes from, liquid water runs down the crater walls over the summer months and leave dark stains on the Martian terrain that have been measured hundreds of meters downhill before they dry up in the autumn when temperatures drop.  

Researchers say the discovery raises the chances of this being home to some form of life.  

Brain Eating Amoeba Found in Louisiana Drinking Water

The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals has confirmed that the deadly brain-eating amoeba Naegleria fowleri was found in the drinking water of the St. Bernard Parish water system.

The parish has been asked to conduct a 60-day “chlorine burn” to kill off the amoeba.  The parish said they would comply “out of an abundance of caution.”

“At this point that’s a decision that the DHH has to make. We trust their expertise in this field. We do we feel that the system is fine and this was an anomaly,” said St. Bernard Parish President David Peralta.

“One positive test was at a site at the water treatment plant before the water was treated,” reads a statement from the DHH. “The second positive test occurred at 948 Angela Street, which may have been contaminated by ground water due to a leak at the sampling station.”

“Someone hit it. They probably hit it with a car or tractor or lawn mower-never reported it. It pocketed some water, so when they took the sample some of the standing water infiltrated our line. And that’s what gave us a positive indication,” said St. Bernard Parish President Dave Peralta.

The DHH says that the water is safe to drink, but that people should avoid getting water in their nose when bathing, washing or swimming because that’s the method the amoeba reaches the brain.  Only three people in the world since the discovery of the amoeba have survived an infection.

Meraux homeowner Ashley Jolly told WDSU she was shocked to get an alert about the amoeba in the middle of giving her twin boys a bath.

“They like to play in the water. And they just went through swimming lessons and they’re learning to blow water in and out of their nose and their mouths,” said Jolly.

ISIS Using Water As Weapon

The Islamic terrorist group ISIS is reducing the water flowing into Iraq’s Anbar province as the government is trying to retake land from the terrorists.

The tactic is not new to Middle East conflicts.  ISIS had previously restricted water flowing through the ISIS controlled town of Fallujah but reopened locks after residents complained about the lack of water.

Anbar Provincial Council Member Taha Abdul-Ghani told the Associated Press the terrorists are blocking water at a dam on the Euphrates river that will dry up irrigation system and water treatment plans for the government and tribes that are opposed to ISIS.  Other areas to the south and central areas of the country would be provided water from the Tigris River.

The United Nations quickly condemned the terrorist’s actions.

“The use of water as a tool of war is to be condemned in no uncertain terms,” the spokesman for the U.N. secretary-general, Stephane Dujarric, told reporters. “These kinds of reports are disturbing, to say the least.”

He said the U.N. would work to bring water to the impacted residents of the region.

Military experts say the withdrawl of water also lowers the level of the river to where terrorists would be able to walk across, allowing for attacks in locations that previously had been impeded by the water.

Residents of Habbaniya, Husaybah and Khalidiyah have been fleeing out of fear of an assault by the terrorists.

California Governor Orders Mandatory Water Restrictions

For the first time, the governor of California has ordered mandatory water restrictions on all residents, businesses and farms.

All cities and towns are required to immediately cut their water consumption by 25 percent.

State officials say the cut of 25% will save 1.5 million acre-feet of water over nine months.

“This historic drought demands unprecedented action,” Brown said at a press conference.  “We have to pull together and save water in every way we can.”

The state suffered its lowest snowpack ever over the winter.  Experts say that over 11 trillion gallons of water will be needed for California to recover from this drought emergency.

“It is such an unprecedented lack of snow, it is way, way below records,” said Frank Gehrke, chief of snow surveys for the California Department of Water Resources.

Band of Brothers Prepping

On one of our recent shows, Pastor Scott Hunt came to share his wisdom about being ready for anything in his book, “The Practical Prepper’s Complete Guide to Disaster Preparedness.” There were many things he talked about that really hit home, but the two I want to talk about is: 1) the importance of community; 2) water.

Scott talked of the “Band of Brothers” and the concept of networking and prepping as a community so that everyone brings something to the table.  He emphasized that this is the key to survival in Times of Trouble.  I totally agree with Pastor Scott and have said so many times over many years.  It’s important who you have around you in these Last Days when we can almost count on going through at least some kind of difficulties as the prophecies of Matthew 24 come to pass. Good friends and family (including Church family) should come together and support each other with prayer and practical things. Continue reading →

Lake Erie Water To Be Examined

In the aftermath of Toledo, Ohio and its 400,000 residents having to go without water for almost three days because of toxins created by algae in Lake Erie, officials are now investigating to see what they can do to help keep the water supply safe.

“This is not just one community issue, this is the whole lake,” said state Rep. Dave Hall.

Intensive chemical treatments had to be made to the Toledo water system and in Lake Erie to reduce the level of algae-created toxin in the water level.  While the toxin was not completely removed from the water, it was reduced to a level that is safe to drink.

Governor John Kasich, who had declared a state of emergency for three counties around Toledo as many communities had pulled water from the Toledo system, said that he would launch an investigation to see if the problem was really the algae blooms or if there were significant problems within the Toledo water system itself.

Some residents said they’re waiting to use the tap.

“I’m waiting for two or three days,” Aretha Howard, of Toledo, told FoxNews. “I have a pregnant daughter at home. She can’t drink this water.”

Toledo Water Too Toxic To Drink For Two Days

Residents of Ohio’s fourth-largest city endured a weekend when the water coming from their taps was nothing but toxic trouble.

Officials with Toledo, Ohio announced early Saturday morning that the 400,000 residents of the city needed to avoid drinking, bathing or cooking with the water because of the amount of toxin in the water from an algae bloom in Lake Erie.  The city obtains its water from a pipe two and a half miles into the lake.

Mayor D. Michael Collins announced the ban just after 3 a.m. Saturday.  He said an algae bloom that normally does not move into the area of the water intake at this time of year was pulled in because of high winds and waves.  A satellite image of the lake showed the algae bloom centered right around the water intake.

The Ohio National Guard brought filtration systems and large shipments of bottled water into Toledo for residents. Governor John Kasich declared a state of emergency that ended Monday morning when the water was determined to have a safe level of algae related toxin.

Water plant operators along western Lake Erie have been concerned about the amounts of phosphorus going into the lake for years.  They have been able to compensate for blooms in past years but this year’s early blooming was unexpected.

The city was dealing with reports of price gouging.  One Toledo television station found a discount store selling bottled water at twice the normal price.

Major Chinese City Declares Tap Water Toxic

A major city in western China is in a panic after government officials said the tap water in the city is toxic.

Government officials in Lanzhou say that excessive levels of benzene have been found in the water system.  The amount of benzene is reportedly 20 times the acceptable limit to not be a toxic threat to someone who consumes it.

Benzene has been linked to leukemia and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

“Consuming foods or fluids contaminated with high levels of benzene can cause vomiting, stomach irritation, dizziness, sleepiness, convulsions, and rapid heart rate. In extreme cases, inhaling or swallowing very high levels of benzene can be deadly,” the American Cancer Society said.

Lanzhou is a city of 2.5 million people and witnesses report panicked residents flooding into stores to stock up on bottled water.

Chinese officials would not name a source for the toxic levels of the chemical in the water but a source inside the government told the Daily Telegraph that there was a spill from an unnamed chemical plant.

A 2012 study found that 60 percent of the groundwater in China is “heavily polluted.”