The old saying, “it’s never too late,” may apply in this case. Or better yet, perhaps “it’s too little, too late,” is more applicable.
More than 50 years after the fiasco that was Pacific Gas & Electric Company’s release of chromium 6 contaminated water into the groundwater around Hinkley, Calif., the company is now forming an advisory committee related to the cleanup of contaminated groundwater. The committee is to be comprised of local leaders and residents to act as monitors and share their concerns on the company’s environmental programs.
“None of those involved with the committee has made mention of the possibility of using water distillers or installing water distillation systems to deal with this issue,” said Larry Wardell, who writes for H2olabs.com, a provider of water distiller systems that provide truly pure distilled water.
The story behind the story here is that PG&E used chromium 6 to kill microbes and give their cooling tower corrosion protection. This went on all through the ’60s and ’70s, long before anyone cottoned on to the cancer risks of chromium 6.
The company also drained chromium 6 contaminated water from the cooling tower, into unlined ponds; where it promptly leached into the town’s groundwater. “If residents had known that was happening, they could have handled the issue by checking into the effectiveness of water distillers. If they wanted clean, fresh and safe water, water distillers would have been and are the best solution,” Wardell said.
Flash forward to 2011 and the town wants to implement civil penalties against the company for not controlling the spread of a chromium 6 contaminated plume beyond boundaries that were set out in 2008. It seems that not much was really done to deal with the problem that initially resulted in a lawsuit that settled in favor of the town residents for $333 million.
Apparently the company has been discussing, for a long time, how to clean things up. The town now feels the time for discussion has passed and it’s time for action to clean up the groundwater. “What the future may hold for Hinkley is anyone’s guess, but suffice it to say that cleaning up their groundwater, something that should have been done a long time ago, is a good place to start. Town residents might want to do some research into the benefits of water distillers to ensure clean and fresh water, on demand,” Wardell said.
To learn more, visit http://www.h2olabs.com.
