Article Not Quite Accurate

Today's tragic Californian story on the football player's death is well written and researched except for one fact. 

quote from article:  Based on air quality that day — in a range unhealthy for sensitive groups — the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District guidelines recommend outdoor activity only before 10 a.m.

The air quality that day may have been predicted to be unhealthy for sensitive groups but it turned out to be unhealthy for everyone which is a much more serious air quality category where vigorous sports practice should not be taking place under any circumstances.

The AQI is based on the maximum readings for each county.  The San Joaquin Valley maximum eight-hour ozone readings that day turned out to be 105, 103, and 108 ppm in Kern, Tulare, and Fresno Counties respectively.  The unhealthy range begins at 96 ppb and goes up to 115 ppb.  These are federal standards.

Bakersfield Wells Contaminated With Cancer Causing Chemical

At least 25 wells serving the City of Bakersfield are contaminated with 1,2,3-TCP.  The different levels of TCP in each city well from 2002 to 2006 can be found at this California Department of Public Health web page.

The Consumer Confidence Report for Bakersfield states that TCP is the only chemical in our water exceeding the government health standard.  TCP is a known and strong carcinogen in lab animals.  It is an item of concern to those drinking the water and to those breathing the vapors from the water such as when bathing or washing with hot water.

The Public Health Goal  for TCP is .0007 micrograms per liter (ug/L).  This is basically the lowest level at which the chemical can be detected.  The Consumer Confidence Report says the average for all Bakersfield wells is .02 ug/L  This makes the TCP levels in Bakersfield water about 30 times higher than the Public Health Goal.

Certain wells are worse than others.  The highest reading reported in the CCR is .27 ug/L.  Several wells have levels approaching this level.  People drinking the water from those wells may be exposed to far higher levels of TCP than residents in other parts of the city. 

Why is this allowed?  Basically, the federal Environmental Protection Agency and Cal EPA have neglected their duty to determine a Maximum Contaminant Level for this chemical.  The process is underway but can be, and has been, stalled for many years from the influence of certain industries such as DOW and Shell which are responsible for allowing the release of the chemical in the first place.  So, there is no law yet requiring a municipal water system to do anything about the contamination. 

The solution is a series of carbon filters which have been shown to effectively remove this chemical.  We have soiled our nest and now we need to pay the piper.  It is estimated to cost around 25 million to install the system of filters for the entire water supply.   If 25 lives are prevented from getting cancer  and dying prematurely it is worth the investment.

larger view

What are we doing to our youth?

Making 14 to 18 year old boys and girls practice football and cross country is ok when the temperature is over 100.  It is not ok when the air quality is unhealthy as it was this past week.

The ozone levels we experienced were well above the federal standard for most of the week.  This damages the lungs of all ages.  The young won't notice this damage so much right now because they generally have excess lung capacity.  It shows up chronically in the 50's and 60's when lung capacity starts to drop naturally.  It is similar to a knee injury a 16 year old suffers during football practice.  He can recover fine now but may need joint replacement when age 55.

We need to take better care of these kids.  Twice a day football practices need to be curtailed when the air is this bad.