Some very interesting facts about milk. It’s been around for so long that we tend to take it all for granted. The following link is a very informative infographic from the Dairy Council of California.
Thanks to Ellen, who posted it on her blog -
http://www.durrerce.blogspot.fr/2012/06/how-much-do-you-know-about-milk.html
Following is a presentation from the Dairy Council of California. It’s an excellent source of information about milk; one of our most precious commodites. Enjoy!
In an ongoing effort to reduce the dependence and amount of antibiotics used in farming, USDA scientists at College Station, TX have discovered that providing sodium chlorate in the drinking water or feed of livestock will reduce the intestinal concentrations of bacteria harmful to humans.
You can read a summary of the report here: http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/06/usda-makes-progress-on-alternatives-to-antibiotics/
The use and/or overuse of antibiotics on farms continues to generate controversy. While opposite sides continue to argue their respective positions, we feel that it’s important to maintain a level-headed position and research and examine all of the facts.
Without a doubt, antibiotics have improved the quality of life for all of us, including our livestock and food sources. Can you imagine a world without anitbiotics? Scary indeed!
We strongly agree with the agricultural community that a responsible antibiotic regimen is essential to maintaining a safe, healthy and efficient operation. However, it’s also common knowledge that antibiotic use has surged during the past decade, which has many experts worried that we are creating a dangerous level of resistance to bacteria and viruses.
The prestigious journal Nature this week called for reining in the use of antibiotics in agriculture, adding to the growing chorus of scientists and public health advocates seeking reforms. The editorial noted that the overuse of antibiotics in livestock raising is a global issue, in part because pathogens do not respect international borders — “As long as any one country pumps its pigs and poultry full of drugs, everyone is at risk.”
Following are links to the report and comments.
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v486/n7404/full/486440a.html
While the debate rages on, and various special interest groups lobby all levels of government, please don’t blame the farmers! They are all working hard to ensure that we all have safe, healthy food to feed our families, and also incurring a lot of extra expense in doing so.
We would like to remind you that one of the many benefits of using our Oxy Blast products is the reduced dependency on antibiotics. Why? Because they help antibiotics work more effectively and efficiently! This has proven to be an economical option for many of our clients.
We invite you to watch our short movie presentation at www.oxyblast.org/movie, introducing our products and services.
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release June 26, 2012
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Poultry Crisis in India
India - Poor Supply, Bad Weather Push up Chicken Prices
Scorching weather has affected poultry production, resulting in severe shortages and price increases over the past two months.
The wholesale price of live broiler chickens has increased from 50% to 100% over the past two months and the average quality and market weight of the birds has declined. Mortality rates in excess of 50% have been reported, but demand shows no signs of declining. In fact, with the muslim Eid festival approaching in two months, demand will spike dramatically.
The Poultry Federation of India (PFI) has been working in conjunction with the government of India to alleviate and resolve the severity of the situation. However, sources say that prices could only rise further in the coming days; a respite is expected only once the monsoon sets in and the temperature falls.
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This is serious news indeed and the entire poultry industry is struggling to regain its stability.
One lucky broiler chicken operator, however, is beating the odds. How?
He is using Oxy Blast!
Look at these amazing results, in comparison to the rest of the industry:
OXY BLAST WORKS!
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For more details about this story or for more information about Oxy Blast, please visit www.oxyblast.org/movie or call 1-866-466-8252. Additional dealerships are available in India and other international markets.
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We have many articles and studies on our website about the importance of water for health; both for us humans, as well as for our animals and livestock. All life forms depend on water; in fact, after air/oxygen, it is the single most important factor to sustain life! You can survive 3 minutes without air, 3 days without water, and 3 weeks without food. So it only stands to reason that the quantity, and especially quality of water, should be taken seriously.
However, water is not only a key ingredient to sustain life, it is also an important nutrient to maintain key bodily functions and the immune system. It is a critical agent to:
Water also serves the body in many other critical areas, including:
In addition to the important factors listed above, water also plays a key role in preventing disease, for all humans and animals.
Following is a recent report by scientists at the University of Georgia, focusing on poultry.
The importance of water
Factors affecting water consumption, water quality and management tips are reviewed by Brian D. Fairchild and Casey W. Ritz, Extension Poultry Scientists at the University of Georgia.
Water is a critical nutrient that receives little attention until a problem arises. Not only should producers make an effort to provide water in adequate quantity, they should also know what is in the water that will be flowing through the water lines to be used in evaporative cooling systems and consumed by the birds.
Water Functions
Water is needed for bird consumption, reducing air temperature (including evaporative cooling pad and fogging systems) and facility sanitation. Broilers consume approximately 1.6 to 2.0 times more water than feed on a weight basis. Water is a critical nutrient in bird metabolism and nutrition. From a physiology perspective, water consumed by the bird is used for nutrient transportation, enzymatic and chemical reactions in the body, body temperature regulation and lubrication of joints and organs.
There is a strong relationship between feed and water consumption, therefore, water can be used to monitor flock performance. Many of the electronic controllers in poultry houses have the ability to monitor daily water consumption and have inputs for multiple water meters. This would allow a water meter to be installed separately on the lines supplying water to the front and rear of the house. Bird uniformity between the front and back of the house can be monitored using water consumption. Water consumption will be greater in the area of the house that has more birds. When birds are not distributed evenly between the front and back of the house it increases the competition for feed and water space. This, combined with the extra heat from excessive numbers of birds, can reduce bird performance.
Figure 1. Water consumption in a tunnel ventilated broiler house
Factors Affecting Water Consumption
There are several factors that affect water consumption:
Bird age: Water consumption increases with age but decreases as a percentage of body weight.
Environmental temperature/heat stress: Birds consume more water as temperature increases. One of the main ways birds regulate body temperature is by evaporating water through the respiratory system during panting. As birds pant, water is lost and needs to be replaced in order to maintain body-water balance. Water consumption can double and even triple during periods of heat stress. Water consumption in broilers increases approximately seven per cent for each degree Fahrenheit increase in temperature.
A study at the University of Georgia examined the relationship of feed consumption to water consumption of seven consecutive flocks on a commercial broiler farm. As temperatures increased, the water consumed per pound of feed consumed also increased (Table 1).
Water temperature: Several studies have examined the effects of providing cool water to birds during hot weather. In most of these studies, water temperature has improved the performance of broilers and layers. Any water temperature below the body temperature of the bird will be beneficial. The water consumed will help dissipate body heat and aid the bird in body temperature regulation. However, it is very difficult to cool the water significantly when moving the water hundreds of feet down a house.
Electrolytes: During periods of potential heat stress, many producers supplement drinking water with electrolytes. Electrolytes are minerals that can be found in the blood and are important for normal cell function and growth. Electrolytes, as the name implies, help regulate nerve and muscle function by conducting electrical signals from nerves to muscles.
Electrolytes are also important for the acid-base balance of the blood and fluid retention. Some of the electrolytes found in blood plasma include sodium (Na), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), chlorine (Cl), bicarbonate (HCO3) and sulphate (SO4). The addition of the electrolytes not only replenishes those depleted during heat stress, but also stimulates water consumption. When the results of these are added together (electrolyte intake and increased water consumption), the mortality due to heat stress can be reduced.
Lighting programs: Light is another environmental factor that can influence bird water consumption. Birds will not drink if they are not eating and vice versa. During dark periods, the birds rest and as a result, they do not consume water. The exception is long dark periods. In dark periods exceeding eight hours, it is not unusual to see some water consumption register on the water meter. In operations that utilize lighting programs, two distinct water consumption peaks can be observed. The first peak is just after the lights come on (dawn) and the second is just prior to lights turning off (dusk).
The correlation of water consumption with feed intake and many environmental factors indicate its importance in bird metabolism and body function. Efforts should be made in all poultry operations to ensure that adequate and unlimited access to water is provided. Failure to do so will result in reduced feed intake, poor egg production, reduced growth and reduced feed efficiency.
Figure 2. Lighting influences water consumption
Water Quality
While water is composed of hydrogen and oxygen molecules (H2O), it is a universal solvent and as a result can contain many minerals and compounds. The only sure way to get pure water is to use distillation or other treatment methods to remove dissolved minerals and compounds. This can be expensive considering the volume of water a typical broiler farm consisting of four or more houses would consume. Water treatment should be done based on the results of water quality analysis. While poultry drinking water does not have to be pure, heavily contaminated water is undesirable.
Water composition varies with geographical region as the nature of the geological makeup changes. Water contamination can occur if surface water drains into the well. All farms should submit water samples to a qualified laboratory for testing to establish a baseline for water quality. This will help producers determine if and what water treatment might be warranted.
Water quality should be of concern to all poultry operations. Poor water quality may interfere with digestion and subsequent bird performance. The effectiveness of vaccines and medications administered through the water lines could be reduced when water quality is poor. Water contaminants could create equipment problems that would either restrict the amount of water available for consumption or the effectiveness of the evaporative cooling and fogging systems. Reduced water consumption or cooling capacity may have detrimental effects on both growth and reproduction. Poor water quality could also result in leaky water nipples inside the house, which will wet litter and lead to increased ammonia production. Poor litter quality and high ammonia can result in reduced performance and livability.
Standards for water quality should include factors that affect taste, solid buildup within water systems and toxicity. Factors that should be observed for poultry production include, but are not limited to those listed in Tables 2 and 3.
Many of the water quality standards for poultry drinking water were originally developed from those for human drinking water. Few of the standards recommended today are based on research utilizing broiler or layers.
Recently, a series of studies has been conducted examining the effects of iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), nitrates (NO3) and pH levels in drinking water on poultry performance. The results of these studies have found that very high levels of Fe, Mn and NO3 do not impact broiler health. In those studies no differences in performance were noted due to 600ppm of Fe, 600ppm of NO3 and 20ppm of Mn.
It should be noted that the water lines were thoroughly flushed between studies and that particulates that result from high Fe and Mn levels can lead to equipment problems such as leaky nipples and clogged fogging nozzles. Broiler performance is more likely to be affected by improper equipment function rather than bird health due to high concentrations of these substances. Poor water quality can lead to increased microbial growth (such as iron bacteria) and biofilm build-up.
Water Management Tips
Conduct water tests
Each farm should have its well water tested. Water quality can change during periods of heavy rain or drought and additional water tests during these periods will ensure that water lines continue to deliver adequate water volume for both the birds and the cooling systems. County agents can provide more information on the tests available, provide information on fees for testing and submit samples to the Agricultural and Environmental Services Laboratory at the University of Georgia.
Change filters regularly
Sediment and other particulates can cause leaky water nipples that can have negative effects on litter quality. Clogged filters restrict water flow to the drinker and cooling systems. In some cases, simple cartridge filters may not be adequate, such as for water with high iron. In those cases, other water treatments will need to be considered.
Flush water lines regularly
A high–pressure flush should be performed on water lines between each flock and after adding supplements through the medicator, e.g. vaccines, medications, vitamins, electrolytes, etc.
Plan ahead before treating water
Before implementing water treatment or sanitation programs, consult your county agent to ensure that contaminants in your water will not react negatively and cause the water system to become clogged.
References
Batal, A.B., B.D. Fairchild, C.W. Ritz and P.F. Vendrell, 2005. The effect of water manganese on broiler growth performance. Poultry Sci. 84 (Suppl. 1.).
Bell, D.B., 2002. Consumption and quality of water. In: Commercial Chicken Meat and Egg Production. D.D. Bell and W.D. Weaver, eds. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Norwell, MA. p411-430.
Carter, T.A. and R.E. Sneed, 1987. Drinking water quality for poultry. PS&T Guide No. 42, Extension Poultry Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC.
Dozier, D.A., M. Czarick, M.P. Lacy, and B.D. Fairchild, 2002. Monitoring water consumption on commercial broiler farms: Evaluation tool to assess flock performance. Poultry Sci. 80:154 (Suppl. 1.).
Fairchild, B.D., A.B. Batal, C.W. Ritz and P.F. Vendrell, 2006. Effect of drinking water iron concentration on broiler performance. J. Appl. Poultry Res. 15:511-517.
May, J.D., B.D. Lott and J.D. Simmons, 1997. Water consumption by broilers in high cyclic temperatures: Bell versus nipple waterers. Poultry Sci. 76:944-947.
Pesti, G.M., S.V. Amato and L.R. Minear, 1985. Water consumption of broiler chickens under commercial conditions. Poultry Sci. 64:803-808.
Schwartz, D.L. Water Quality. VSE, 81c., Penn. State Univ. (mimeographed)
Waggoner, R., R. Good and R. Good, 1984. Water Quality and Poultry Performance. Proceedings AVMA Annual Conference, July.
For more information about water quality studies, reports, resources, and solutions, please contact us or your local OxyBlast dealer: CONTACT PAGE
Following is one of the first major media stories exposing the threat to human health of the over-use of antibiotics in livestock, presented by Katie Couric with CBS. It is still compelling, in light of the recently announced FDA guidelines.
“It’s scary, I mean, you just can’t describe it really,” said Bill Reeves.
Two years ago, 46-year-old Bill Reeves, who worked at a poultry processing plant in Batesville, Arkansas, developed a lump under his right eye.
“It went from about the size of a mosquito bite to about the size of a grapefruit,” he said.
CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric reports doctors tried several drugs that usually work on this potentially deadly infection: methicillin resistant staph or MRSA – before one saved his life.
“You go from a just regular day to knowing you may die in a couple of hours,” Reeves said.
He wasn’t the only worker from this farming community to get sick. Joyce Long worked at the hatchery, handling eggs and chicks. She got MRSA at least a dozen times, and had to try several drugs as well.
“It was real painful. Shots don’t help, because it’s so infected, it don’t help much,” she said.
Within weeks, 37 people at the hatchery got sick. They’ve filed personal injury claims against the company, Pilgrims Pride, which has no comment.
This is not an isolated incident and chickens aren’t the only concern. A University of Iowa studylast year, found a new strain of MRSA — in nearly three-quarters of hogs (70 percent), and nearly two-thirds of the workers (64 percent) — on several farms in Iowa and Western Illinois. All of them use antibiotics, routinely. On antibiotic-free farms no MRSA was found.
To read the rest of the story and view the CBS video, follow this link:
http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-18563_162-6191530.html
The Public Health Agency of Canada is warning B.C. poultry farmers and veterinarians to stop using a bovine antibiotic on chickens.
The agency believes the practice is behind a significant spike in drug-resistant Campylobacter bacteria found in chicken tested from grocery stores.
The bacteria are resistant to an antibiotic commonly used to treat respiratory infections in human beings and cattle.
The dramatic spike in the bacteria was first noticed during routine sampling of B.C. chicken from grocery stores in 2009. Levels have remained stubbornly above normal in this province ever since.
Positive tests for the resistant strain of Campylobacter in retail chicken have ranged as high as 40 per cent in B.C. and 28 per cent in Saskatchewan compared with an average of less than four per cent in the other provinces monitored by the Canadian Integrated Program for Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance. Campylobacter is the most common food-borne pathogen in Canada; it is usually associated with substandard food handling and consumption of undercooked chicken.
The rate of human Campylobacter poisoning in B.C. has been about 30 per cent above the national average during the past 10 years, according to the BC Centre for Disease Control. People who contract drug-resistant Campylobacter from contaminated food can become more severely ill with diarrhea, fever and abdominal pain than those who get typical Campylobacter, the bulletin stated.
Thorough cooking kills the bacterium.
A total of 1,750 cases were reported in B.C. during 2009, but it is not known whether any of those cases were antimicrobial resistant.
CIPARS is comparing Campylobacter from human cases in B.C. and Saskatchewan with the bacteria from retail poultry to determine whether the same pathogen is infecting people who eat poultry.
A recent bulletin to be released to the web this week by CIPARS attributes the increase in drug-resistant Campylobacter in B.C. chicken to use of the antimicrobial drug fluoroquinolone. The agency says veterinary fluoroquinolones labelled for cattle are being used “off-label” to prevent salmonella in chicken in breeder flocks.
Antibiotics are sometimes used in crowded, large-scale chicken rearing to prevent fast-spreading illnesses from infecting entire flocks.
Health Canada requires fluoroqui-nolone-based veterinary drugs for cattle to carry a warning not to use them in any other species. Public health authorities want to curb the use of flu-oroquinolone in chicken because the risk of spreading drug-resistance to those medications could render them ineffective in human medicine.
It is not unusual for veterinarians to use antibiotics labelled for one species on another animal species, but steps are being taken within the poultry industry to stamp out the practice.
However, veterinarians are approved to prescribe veterinary and human drugs according to the recommendations of Health Canada or off-label at their discretion, according to John Brocklebank, deputy registrar of the College of Veterinarians of B.C.
B.C.’s poultry farming association has issued a warning written by agriculture ministry veterinarian Bill Cox in July instructing producers not to use prescription drugs on their flocks except under veterinary supervision and not to use any drug without a veterinary diagnosis.
Chicken Farmers of Canada executive director Mike Dungate said anti-microbial resistance is one of the industry’s “critical” concerns.
Chicken producers are required to report all medications given to their flocks to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency before they are sent for processing. That information is verified by government veterinarians, according to CFC safety program manager Steve Leech.
The CFC and CIPARS are developing a national on-farm surveillance program designed to record antimicrobial use and pinpoint the sources of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens.
The CFC hopes the program will explain B.C.’s persistently higher incidence of antimicrobial resistant Campylobacter and correlate that with on-farm practices,” Leech said. The CFC maintains there is no conclusive use of veterinary drugs on farms with the drug-resistant bacteria detected in samples taken from chicken in B.C. grocery stores.
But drug-resistant pathogens in food are known to pass to humans, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada. A spike in the incidence of Salmonella Heidelberg found in chicken tested from grocery stores in Quebec in 2003 and 2004 was accompanied by a rise in human cases of the same drug-resistant Salmonella in humans.
Although CIPARS doesn’t have the authority to collect data about veterinary antibiotic use at the provincial level, researchers learned from industry sources that 70 per cent of hatchery operators in Quebec were using the antibiotic ceftiofur on healthy birds to prevent E. coli infections, according to Rebecca Irwin, director of the surveillance division of the Laboratory for Foodborne and Zoonoses at the Public Health Agency of Canada.
The incidence of the drug-resistant strain subsided in both humans and chickens after Quebec hatchery farmers voluntarily stopped using the anti-biotic, she said.
rshore@vancouversun.com © Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
Madison, Wisconsin – Hydrogen peroxide isn’t just that bottled colorless liquid in the back of the medicine cabinet that’s used occasionally for cleaning scraped knees and cut fingers.It’s also a natural chemical in the body that rallies at wound sites, jump-starting immune cells into a viagra of events.
A burst of hydrogen peroxide causes neutrophils, the immune system’s first responders, to rush to the wound to fight microorganisms, remove damaged tissue and then start the inflammation process.
University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers now have discovered the molecular sensor that detects wound-induced hydrogen peroxide and orchestrates the marshalling of neutrophils and other immune cells, or leukocytes, including those that affect tumors.
Published in the Nov. 20, 2011, advanced online version of the journal Nature, the findings have broad implications for cancer biology as well as wound healing and the way the body fights infections.
“Our findings suggest that in the future we might be able to manipulate the new pathway we’ve found to make immune cells go where we want them to,” says lead author Dr. Anna Huttenlocher of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH).
A tumor is a type of unhealed wound, says Huttenlocher. Tumors and wounds both generate high levels of hydrogen peroxide, and immune cells responsible for inflammation seek out wounds as well as tumors.
But inflammatory cells can often be detrimental. The cells can contribute to a tumor’s ability to grow and invade other tissue, and they can cause chronic inflammation at wound sites.
“We now speculate that the recruitment of immune cells for wound healing and tumor growth involves a different molecular pathway than recruitment of immune cells for fighting infections,” says Huttenlocher, a professor of pediatrics and of medical microbiology and immunology in the School of Medicine and Public Health.
The researchers used transparent zebrafish larvae in a model they have developed to study immunity to watch neutrophils move to wounds in the tails of fish larvae.
They found that hydrogen peroxide modified a protein called Lyn, and that the modification let neutrophils go to wound sites along a specific cellular pathway.
“If we blocked Lyn, it’s possible cells could still get to infection sites, where they could be helpful, but not to wounds or tumors, where they could be harmful,” Huttenlocher says.
Sa Kan Yoo was first author on the paper; Taylor W. Starnes and Qing Deng were co-authors.
The experiments showed clearly that Lyn activation was dependent on hydrogen peroxide after tissue injury, and that blocking Lyn reduced the recruitment of neutrophils to wounds. Lyn is expressed specifically in leukocytes as a sensor for hydrogen peroxide.
Lyn is also a member of a powerful class of proteins known as Src family kinases (SFKs). Many of these kinases have been identified as cellular oncogenes, or precursors to cancer.
“Lyn bridges SFKs and the new pathway we have identified, broadly linking wound healing and immunity to changes in cell behavior in cancer,” says Huttenlocher. “That connection may help move us forward with a better understanding of wound healing and cancer.”
Lyn’s connection to hydrogen peroxide should also elevate the chemical’s status from the back of the medicine cabinet to a position of much greater interest.
Date Published: 11/21/2011
Gary Kazanjian / AP
At Lovell High School in Cutler, California, signs posted above the kitchen sink, warn students not to drink from the tap because the water is tainted with nitrates, a potential carcinogen, and DBCP, a pesticide that scientists say may cause male sterility.
The Associated Press
CUTLER, Calif.
Over the last decade, the drinking water at thousands of schools across the country has been found to contain unsafe levels of lead, pesticides and dozens of other toxins.
An Associated Press investigation found that contaminants have surfaced at public and private schools in all 50 states— in small towns and inner cities alike.
But the problem has gone largely unmonitored by the federal government, even as the number of water safety violations has multiplied.
“It’s an outrage,” said Marc Edwards, an engineer at Virginia Tech University who has been honored for his work on water quality. “If a landlord doesn’t tell a tenant about lead paint in an apartment, he can go to jail. But we have no system to make people follow the rules to keep school children safe?”
The contamination is most apparent at schools with wells, which represent 8 to 11 percent of the nation’s schools. Roughly one of every five schools with its own water supply violated the Safe Drinking Water Act in the past decade, according to data from the Environmental Protection Agency analyzed by the AP.
In California’s farm belt, wells at some schools are so tainted with pesticides that students
have taken to stuffing their backpacks with bottled water for fear of getting sick from the drinking fountain.
Experts and children’s advocates complain that responsibility for drinking water is spread among too many local, state and federal agencies, and that risks are going unreported. Finding a solution, they say, would require a costly new national strategy for monitoring water in schools.
Schools with unsafe water represent only a small percentage of the nation’s 132,500 schools. And the EPA says the number of violations spiked over the last decade largely because the government has gradually adopted stricter standards for contaminants such as arsenic and some disinfectants.
Children at risk
Many of the same toxins could also be found in water at homes, offices and businesses. But the contaminants are especially dangerous to children, who drink more water per pound than adults and are more vulnerable to the effects of many hazardous substances.
“There’s a different risk for kids,” said Cynthia Dougherty, head of the EPA’s Office of Groundwater and Drinking Water.
Still, the EPA does not have the authority to require testing for all schools and can only provide guidance on environmental practices.
In recent years, students at a Minnesotaelementary school fell ill after drinking tainted water. A young girl inSeattle got sick, too.
The AP analyzed a database showing federal drinking water violations from 1998 to 2008 in schools with their own water supplies. The findings:
* Water in about 100 school districts and 2,250 schools breached federal safety standards.
* Those schools and districts racked up more than 5,550 separate violations. In 2008, the EPA recorded 577 violations, up from 59 in 1998 — an increase that officials attribute
mainly to tougher rules.
* California, which has the most schools of any state, also recorded the most violations with 612, followed by Ohio (451), Maine (417), Connecticut (318) and Indiana (289).
* Nearly half the violators in California were repeat offenders. One elementary school in TulareCounty, in the farm country of the Central Valley, broke safe-water laws 20 times.
* The most frequently cited contaminant was coliform bacteria, followed by lead and copper, arsenic and nitrates.
The AP analysis has “clearly identified the tip of an iceberg,” said Gina Solomon, a San Francisco physician who serves on an EPA drinking water advisory board. “This tells me there is a widespread problem that needs to be fixed because there are ongoing water quality problems in small and large utilities, as well.”
Schools with wells are required to test their water and report any problems to the state, which is supposed to send all violations to the federal government.
But EPA officials acknowledge the agency’s database of violations is plagued with errors and omissions. And the agency does not specifically monitor incoming state data on school water quality.
Critics say those practices prevent the government from reliably identifying the worst offenders — and carrying out enforcement.
‘Just no excuse’
Scientists say the testing requirements fail to detect dangerous toxins such as lead, which can wreak havoc on major organs and may retard children’s learning abilities.
“There is just no excuse for this. Period,” said California Sen. Barbara Boxer, Democratic chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. “We want to make sure that we fix this problem in a way that it will never happen again, and we can
ensure parents that their children will be safe.”
The problem goes beyond schools that use wells. Schools that draw water from public utilities showed contamination, too, especially older buildings where lead can concentrate at higher levels than in most homes.
In schools with lead-soldered pipes, the metal sometimes flakes off into drinking water. Lead levels can also build up as water sits stagnant over weekends and holidays.
Schools that get water from local utilities are not required to test for toxins because the EPA already regulates water providers. That means there is no way to ensure detection of contaminants caused by schools’ own plumbing.
But voluntary tests in Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Seattleand Los Angeles have found dangerous levels of lead in recent years. And experts warn the real risk to school children is going unreported.
“I really suspect the level of exposure to lead and other metals at schools is underestimated,” said Michael Schock, a corrosion expert with the EPA in Cincinnati. “You just don’t know what is going on in the places you don’t sample.”
Stomach aches, nausea
Since 2004, the agency has been asking states to increase lead monitoring. As of 2006, a survey by the Centers for Disease Control found nearly half of all schools nationwide do not test their water for lead.
Because contaminant levels in water can vary from drinking fountain to drinking fountain, and different children drink different amounts of water, epidemiologists often have trouble measuring the potential threats to children’s health.
But children have suffered health problems attributed to school water:
* In 2001, 28 children at a Worthington, Minn., elementary school experienced severe
stomach aches and nausea after drinking water tainted with lead and copper, the result of a poorly installed treatment system.
* In Seattleseveral years ago, a 6-year-old girl suffered stomach aches and became disoriented and easily exhausted. The girl’s mother asked her daughter’s school to test its water, and also tested a strand of her daughter’s hair. Tests showed high levels of copper
and lead, which figured into state health officials’ decision to phase-in rules requiring schools to test their water for both contaminants.
Many school officials say buying bottled water is less expensive than fixing old pipes. Baltimore, for instance, has spent more than $2.5 million on it over the last six years.
After wrestling with unsafe levels of arsenic for almost two years, administrators in Sterling, Ohio, southeast of Cincinnati, finally bought water coolers for elementary school students last fall. Now they plan to move students to a new building.
In California, the Department of Public Health has given out more than $4 million in recent years to help districts overhaul their water systems.
But school administrators in the farmworker town of Cutler cannot fix chronic water problems at Lovell High School because funding is frozen due to the state’s budget crisis.
Signs posted above the kitchen sink warn students not to drink from the tap because the water is tainted with nitrates, a potential carcinogen, and DBCP, a pesticide scientists say may cause male sterility.
As gym class ended one morning, thirsty basketball players crowded around a five-gallon cooler, the only safe place to get a drink on campus.
“The teachers always remind us to go to the classroom and get a cup of water from the cooler,” said sophomore Israel Aguila. “But the bathroom sinks still work, so sometimes you kind of forget you can’t drink out of them.”
© 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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