Date: Sun, 2 Aug 1998 12:24:05 -0700
X-Sender: hbreen@mail.island.net
X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Pro Version 2.2 (16)
To: Toxicscaucus@onenw.org
From: Howard Breen <hbreen@island.net>
Subject: TC: Tainted water causes panic in Australia
Sender: owner-toxicscaucus@onenw.org
Reply-To: Howard Breen <hbreen@island.net>


===== A message from the 'toxicscaucus' discussion list =====



A foreshadow of what will happen when y2K knocks out water filtration plants


Tainted water causes panic in Australia


Copyright (c) 1998 Nando.net
Copyright (c) 1998 The Associated Press



SYDNEY, Australia (July 31, 1998 3:46 p.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com) -- Panicked residents stocked up on bottled water Friday in Sydney amid fears that a treatment plant had pumped parasite-polluted water throughout the city.

Fleets of trucks delivered bottled water to businesses, schools, hospitals and homes as Sydney's 3.7 million residents were warned to boil their drinking water to make it safe. Vendors sold small bottles of water to drivers at stop lights.

Tests around the city earlier this week turned up signs of contamination in a small area of downtown. But emergency warnings were expanded to include suburban areas after the outbreak was found to be much more widespread than originally thought.

A special hotline was inundated with calls Friday from people concerned they drank tainted water and hundreds of people reported having upset stomachs.

Angry residents were demanding to know how the parasites cryptosporidium and giardia spread through the city's water system.

Authorities admitted failing consumers by not issuing early warnings to all city residents about the crisis and promised an investigation. Sydney Water also said that the treatment plant did not filter for one of the parasites.

The parasites have an incubation period of about a week, so any serious health problems are expected to develop next week.

Cryptosporidium causes symptoms similar to flu and can kill people with weak immune systems, such as the elderly and patients recovering from surgery.
Giardia, normally spread through human or animal fecal matter, can cause diarrhea and other gastrointestinal problems.

Urban Affairs Minister Craig Knowles said Friday that dead dogs have been found in a canal leading to the treatment plant. Sydney Water Managing Director Chris Pollett said foxes were found as well. But it was not known whether the animals contaminated the water.

"How they've got in there, goodness only knows," Knowles told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.

Pollett said the water system was being flushed and he hoped the tap water would be safe to drink in 48 hours. Water mains have been opened, and water gushed down curbs as the system was cleaned out.

Meanwhile, city residents were told to boil water for at least 60 seconds -- and preferably for three minutes -- to avoid the parasites.

In 1993, an outbreak of cryptosporidium in Milwaukee's drinking water contributed to the deaths of an estimated 100 people, many with immune systems already weakened by AIDS or cancer. More than 400,000 others got sick.

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Secretary of Defense William Cohen arrived Thursday with a contingent of American reporters, only to be greeted by Intercontinental Hotel bellhops informing them the tap water was not safe to drink. The two officials are in Australia for annual consultations with their counterparts.

The tainted water prompted fears that Sydney's reputation has been damaged ahead of the 2000 Olympic Games, which the city is hosting. Sydney Water, the city's water agency, had run ad campaigns featuring prominent Olympic athletes endorsing the water's purity.

"Having gone to the trouble of winning the Olympics, the very least a state government could do is make sure that the water is not poisonous," federal Sports Minister Andrew Thompson said.

"Of course it's embarrassing," Prime Minister John Howard told a radio station. "It's one of those unexpected things and everybody here's hoping it will be fixed up as soon as possible."

New South Wales State Premier Bob Carr vowed to fire those responsible but played down damage to the city's reputation.

"It's got nothing to do with the Olympics, it's got to do with being able to drink water from a tap knowing you're not in danger of getting a stomach bug," he told reporters.

By PETER JAMES SPIELMANN, Associated Press Writer

Translate this page automatically.