Posted on 11/01/2012 8:11:10 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Water is everywhere in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy – in basements, on the streets and in transit systems – but the one place that flood water is most dangerous is in your body.
ABC News chief health and medical editor Dr. Richard Besser collected floodwater and drinking water in some of the areas hit hardest by Sandy and had them tested at The Ambient Group lab. The floodwater collected in Lower Manhattan tested positive for gasoline and two types of bacteria found in sewage: E. coli and coliform.
“Very dangerous,” Besser said. “Make sure you wear protective gear if you are coming into contact with flood water.”
Looking at the testing containers filled with Manhattan floodwater, Besser explained that the yellow glow indicated that coliform bacteria was present at high levels. The purple fluorescence tells us that there are sky-high levels of E. coli from sewage contamination.
Today, he went to Piermont, N.Y., an area hit so hard by the hurricane that it’s under a boil water advisory, meaning residents are instructed not to drink tap water without first boiling it or purifying it with bleach.
When a power outage knocked out one of Piermont’s water pumps, officials were concerned about tap water contamination. The water company tested water from a hydrant, which initially ran brown, but eventually cleared.
Besser tested the hydrant water as well, and smelt chlorine in it, which helps protect it from bacteria.
He also collected tap water from a family’s home faucet and expects to review the lab results tomorrow which will indicate whether the family’s water was contaminated. Several families in the neighborhood are already boiling their water as a precaution.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
PING!
I thought Mr. Appearing Presidential fixed all of this yesterday. I just saw a news “teaser” from NY with a woman screaming that they were cold and hungry and that they had been abandoned and were all going to die. I wonder why Barry always heads out to Vegas when people are dying. That’s weird.
I guess this comes as a surprise?
Something the J-school grad didn't mention is that boiled water tastes flat.
To help fix that, you can pour it between a couple of containers to aereate it and cool it at the same time. Tastes much better and is more palatable to children.
/johnny
That’s only a partial listing of what can be found in NYC floodwaters.
That shouldn’t surprise anyone.
More surprising than the fact that flood water is nasty is that any people can be found who expect it to be drinkable.
Such people should not be allowed to drive or carry anything sharp.
What the hell is this?
Is that different from regular old chlorine? I know if you leave smelt laying around it will develop an ammonia odor...but chlorine?
I’m gonna make a guess all of that was there Before sandy. Their just ‘noticing’ it now. Seriously .
How can you boil water if your power is out? What if all the supplies you prepared were washed away in the surge?
I Asked for Water (She Gave Me Gasoline)
Ah smelt that there klurreen in that there water . . .
“Toxic Soup” ping!
And this is news because? These contaminants are ALWAYS found in flood waters and their residue.
Maybe some lemonade made using this water and given to the MSM would serve them right.
I’m surprised that’s all they found. Given that the flood entered places in the city that haven’t seen water or sunlight in years if ever (subway and road tunnels among others) I would have expected all kinds of contaminants, like diesel soot, heavy metals, PCBs, asbestos etc etc.
More reason to stay home rather than getting out in it.
Berkey water filters.. not selling... just saying.
No personal interest but LOVE mine.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.