- Dear All - Here is a letter published in the Salt Lake
City Tribune, from Dr Robert Carton, former scientist at the US Environmental
Protection Agency.
-
-
- Unsafe Chemicals
-
- By Robert J. Carton, PhD
Comment Salt Lake City Tribune
October 16, 2001
-
- A Sept. 26 New York Times article on the security of
our water supplies is astounding in its misinformation. It states, "Poisoning
the voluminous rivers and reservoirs nourishing cities would require truckloads
of chemical or biological agents that would be difficult to produce and
relatively easy to spot, experts say."
-
- Well, guess what folks? There are truckloads of highly
toxic chemicals already sitting in most water treatment plants: chlorine
and fluorosilicic acid. In the tunnel fire in Baltimore this summer, what
chemical was feared most? "The most dangerous of the train's load
of chemicals, according to experts, is fluorosilicic acid," the Baltimore
Sun reported on July 20.
-
- Fluorosilicic acid, which is used to fluoridate water
supplies, has always been a toxic threat. Unlike chlorine, which is very
noticeable by its odor, fluorosilicic acid is odorless and tasteless. Numerous
incidents have occurred where pumps have failed and a toxic slug of acid
was injected into water supplies. Many people have become ill and some
have died (see www.fluoridealert.org/accidents.htm.) In one case in Middletown,
Md., the mayor considered calling out the National Guard to warn residents
not to drink the water after a spill, but decided not to because he did
not want to alarm the residents. They flushed out the entire system by
opening all the fire hydrants instead.
-
- There is a frightening parallel between the availability
of planes to hijackers and the ready availability of highly toxic chemicals
at water treatment plants. Tom Curtis of the American Water Works Association
was quoted in the Times story as saying: "We don't need to advertise
where the weakest links in the armor are."
-
- Maybe the terrorists already know.
-
- Robert J. Carton, PhD Neavitt, Md.
-
- http://www.sltrib.com/10162001/public_f/Public_f.htm
-
-
-
- Jane Jones Campaign Director National Pure Water Association
Tel: (UK) (0)1924 254433 http://www.npwa.freeserve.co.uk
|
