Coastal Heritage Society of La has tested the rainwater in Plaquemines Parish after requests by citizens to the EPA have gone ignored. No one has bothered to test what is falling upon our crops and livestock (into the food we eat and will be eating for time to come) upon the playgrounds where our children play and blanketing the area nearly daily as it does in the summer.
The results of the latest testing gave us reason to continue our work testing the rainwater and we have more samples going out now.
Chloride was found at over double the EPA safe standards at 650ppm - the EPA testing standards are 250. The lab was very surprised to find several metals in the rain water - something that they stated is unusual. While the metal levels in the quart of water are below the EPA safe levels it must be mentioned that the accumulative effect is important. In other words, this less than a quart of rainwater would be fine if that is all we are exposed to. It isn't. The rain falls upon the crops of our food - the livestock that we eat, into our drinking supply (of origin) and collect in our ground water. Saying that each person could be exposed to level in that quart over 1000 in the course of a summer is not over stating it at all. It accumulates in our bodies and everywhere else and this is where it becomes a concern. We do not wish to be alarmist but simply want to do our part in protecting not only the heritage and culture of coastal Louisiana but the people. This is why we continue testing.
Below is a list of the metals found in the rain in addition to the chloride (which was well over the EPA limits) Again, while we list them and note the toxic effects on humans bear in mind that the metals WERE under the EPA levels for the sample - but also bear in mind the accumulative effect.
Go to the NEWS page at the following site to get to the story, review the results and read more:
http://www.chslouisiana.org/
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