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WHY ARE BUSH AND CHENEY AGAINST LOWERING THE ARSENIC WATER LEVEL? FOLLOW THE OIL...AND COAL Where does the arsenic in drinking water come from? According to the EPA, "...Arsenic is used in semiconductor manufacturing, petroleum refining, wood preservatives, animal feed additives and herbicides." Petroleum refining?!?!? Yes, that's what the Bush EPA says on its own web site: http://www.epa.gov/safewater/ars/arsenic.html But that's not all. What did the Clinton EPA say in 1998 about petroleum refining? Well, EPA added hazardous wastes generated by petroleum refining to its official hazardous wastes list. These wastes contribute arsenic (among other chemicals) to the environment, damaging human health. (And the petroleum industry hasn't forgotten the EPA's tightening of these regulations. Now it's payback time!) Here's a copy of the press release: http://www.tricatgroup.com/about_pressrelease.asp How real is the threat? Here's just one example (from Pennsylvania) of arsenic release from oil refining wastes: http://www.dep.state.pa.us/update/default.asp?ID=1355 But there's still more! If GW has his way, we'll be burning more fossil fuels in the U.S. (especially coal and oil) with fewer environmental rules, as part of the new Cheney energy program. And coal is a prime contributor of, you guessed it, ARSENIC. It what must be the ultimate irony, we could become just like the Chinese. Here's an ABC News story ("Coal Fires Poisoning Chinese") explaining the arsenic problem in that country, as documented by our own National Academy of Sciences: http://abcnews.go.com/sections/science/DailyNews/coalpoisoning990331.html It's a frightening vision of the future in this country. |
