Fallon meets EPA arsenic standard
Fallon water's arsenic level recently measured well below the new Environmental Protection Agency mandate of 10 parts per billion that went into effect Monday - and could sink even lower in the near future.
According to John Shaw, the lead operator for both Fallon's arsenic treatment plant and waste water plant, the water's arsenic level was last measured four times on Saturday. Those readings resulted in two 7 ppb measurements and two 8 ppb calculations.
The water's once-100 ppb arsenic level was also measured Friday at the significantly smaller mark of 5 ppb.
Shaw said the goal of city water works employees is to keep the water's arsenic level at a steady 7 ppb for the foreseeable future. That arsenic level has typically been between 8 ppb and 12 ppb in Fallon water during the past year.
He also added that the city would be submitting a sample of its water Wednesday for EPA testing.
Shaw said he anticipates the EPA will also require Fallon water works employees to submit another water sample on March 1.
Prior to the arsenic treatment plant's April 2004 opening, Fallon water contained naturally-occurring arsenic levels as high as 100 ppb. The city previously had to keep with the EPA arsenic standard of 50 ppb in drinking water, which was lowered to 10 ppb on Monday.
Fallon City Engineer Larry White credits the drop in the arsenic level to adjustments made to the water's pH and iron levels, whose coagulation makes the arsenic filter out more efficiently.
That work is possible with the monthly fee of $20.44 that city water users pay toward Fallon's arsenic treatment plant on top of their usage fees.
Fallon City Clerk Gary Cordes estimated that the city earned $1.6 million from that monthly charge during the 2005 fiscal year. Essentially all of that figure is needed to be spent on general maintenance at the plant.
Considering the $27,500-per-day fine - which extrapolates to more than $10 million per year - that Fallon could have been slapped with for having illegally high levels of arsenic in its drinking water, spending more than $1.6 million on plant maintenance is a much more welcome thought to city officials.
The reason for the threat of these past fines was because EPA officials also claimed the health of city water users was at stake. Arsenic, which has never been proven to result in leukemia, was previously earmarked with tungsten as possible causes of Fallon's previous childhood cancer cluster.
Since 1997, 17 local children have been diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia and three have died. The most recent ALL case was a then-28-month-old boy, who was diagnosed in December 2004.
Burke Wasson can be contacted at bwasson@lahontanvalleynews.com
According to John Shaw, the lead operator for both Fallon's arsenic treatment plant and waste water plant, the water's arsenic level was last measured four times on Saturday. Those readings resulted in two 7 ppb measurements and two 8 ppb calculations.
The water's once-100 ppb arsenic level was also measured Friday at the significantly smaller mark of 5 ppb.
Shaw said the goal of city water works employees is to keep the water's arsenic level at a steady 7 ppb for the foreseeable future. That arsenic level has typically been between 8 ppb and 12 ppb in Fallon water during the past year.
He also added that the city would be submitting a sample of its water Wednesday for EPA testing.
Shaw said he anticipates the EPA will also require Fallon water works employees to submit another water sample on March 1.
Prior to the arsenic treatment plant's April 2004 opening, Fallon water contained naturally-occurring arsenic levels as high as 100 ppb. The city previously had to keep with the EPA arsenic standard of 50 ppb in drinking water, which was lowered to 10 ppb on Monday.
Fallon City Engineer Larry White credits the drop in the arsenic level to adjustments made to the water's pH and iron levels, whose coagulation makes the arsenic filter out more efficiently.
That work is possible with the monthly fee of $20.44 that city water users pay toward Fallon's arsenic treatment plant on top of their usage fees.
Fallon City Clerk Gary Cordes estimated that the city earned $1.6 million from that monthly charge during the 2005 fiscal year. Essentially all of that figure is needed to be spent on general maintenance at the plant.
Considering the $27,500-per-day fine - which extrapolates to more than $10 million per year - that Fallon could have been slapped with for having illegally high levels of arsenic in its drinking water, spending more than $1.6 million on plant maintenance is a much more welcome thought to city officials.
The reason for the threat of these past fines was because EPA officials also claimed the health of city water users was at stake. Arsenic, which has never been proven to result in leukemia, was previously earmarked with tungsten as possible causes of Fallon's previous childhood cancer cluster.
Since 1997, 17 local children have been diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia and three have died. The most recent ALL case was a then-28-month-old boy, who was diagnosed in December 2004.
Burke Wasson can be contacted at bwasson@lahontanvalleynews.com
