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Residents of about 50 homes in a section of Bells Corners have been told not to drink their tap water for now because a recent test found elevated levels of arsenic in it.
The community of Lynwood Village uses its own well water, not the common Ottawa supply from the Ottawa River.
Arsenic is a naturally-occurring mineral, and Ontario’s standards for drinking water allow minuscule amounts of it. Lynwood Village tests for arsenic every three months, and the latest test found it above the allowable level.
That has sent Ottawa Public Health staff door-to-door advising people to drink only bottled water. Boiling the water doesn’t help because it does not destroy arsenic.
“This has been a recent occurrence, something that happened within the water system where the levels have gone up,” said Dr. Robin Taylor, the city’s associate medical officer of health.
“They are working now to optimize the system.”
The system does have equipment to remove arsenic, she said.
Ontario’s Environment Ministry, which oversees drinking water supplies, wasn’t available Friday afternoon.
The level of arsenic isn’t high enough to cause immediate harm, but over the long term the substance is a carcinogen, she said.
“We are not worried about somebody have acute arsenic poisoning.”
She didn’t know the exact level in the recent test.
Taylor said she doesn’t know of any previous arsenic trouble in the community, but “there have been issues” in the past that have involved the Environment Ministry. As well, she said some people in the community have told Public Health staff this week that they already drink bottled water because it tastes better.
The order tells people not to ingest the water in any way, including tea, coffee, infant formula, boiling vegetables, or even brushing their teeth. It’s safe for showers and for washing clothes and hands, Taylor said.
tspears@postmedia.com
twitter.com/TomSpears1
查看原文...
The community of Lynwood Village uses its own well water, not the common Ottawa supply from the Ottawa River.
Arsenic is a naturally-occurring mineral, and Ontario’s standards for drinking water allow minuscule amounts of it. Lynwood Village tests for arsenic every three months, and the latest test found it above the allowable level.
That has sent Ottawa Public Health staff door-to-door advising people to drink only bottled water. Boiling the water doesn’t help because it does not destroy arsenic.
“This has been a recent occurrence, something that happened within the water system where the levels have gone up,” said Dr. Robin Taylor, the city’s associate medical officer of health.
“They are working now to optimize the system.”
The system does have equipment to remove arsenic, she said.
Ontario’s Environment Ministry, which oversees drinking water supplies, wasn’t available Friday afternoon.
The level of arsenic isn’t high enough to cause immediate harm, but over the long term the substance is a carcinogen, she said.
“We are not worried about somebody have acute arsenic poisoning.”
She didn’t know the exact level in the recent test.
Taylor said she doesn’t know of any previous arsenic trouble in the community, but “there have been issues” in the past that have involved the Environment Ministry. As well, she said some people in the community have told Public Health staff this week that they already drink bottled water because it tastes better.
The order tells people not to ingest the water in any way, including tea, coffee, infant formula, boiling vegetables, or even brushing their teeth. It’s safe for showers and for washing clothes and hands, Taylor said.
tspears@postmedia.com
twitter.com/TomSpears1
查看原文...
