Deadly Water Going By Unregulated

This investigation from The New York Times examines water pollution records from across the country and finds more than half a million violations that are causing deadly pollution to local water resources.

1 minute read

September 15, 2009, 5:00 AM PDT

By Nate Berg


"In the last five years alone, chemical factories, manufacturing plants and other workplaces have violated water pollution laws more than half a million times. The violations range from failing to report emissions to dumping toxins at concentrations regulators say might contribute to cancer, birth defects and other illnesses.

However, the vast majority of those polluters have escaped punishment. State officials have repeatedly ignored obvious illegal dumping, and the Environmental Protection Agency, which can prosecute polluters when states fail to act, has often declined to intervene.

Because it is difficult to determine what causes diseases like cancer, it is impossible to know how many illnesses are the result of water pollution, or contaminants' role in the health problems of specific individuals."

The investigation shows that one out of every 10 Americans has ingested drinking water that contains "dangerous chemicals or fails to meet a federal health benchmark in other ways."

Saturday, September 12, 2009 in The New York Times

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