Poisoned Well : Scientific American July 2014, p. 12

On the editorial pages of the journal, the authors advocated stronger regulations to protect water supplies. They begin by citing major pollution events that have occurred around the country during 2014. These events demonstrate the frequency and severity of the problem.

The first, in January, involved Freedom Industries in West Virginia. The company, an industrial chemicals producer, polluted the Elk River with 10,000 gallons of chemicals. According to the authors, "the toxic liquids washed a short distance downstream into the region's largest drinking-water treatment plant, causing 500 residents to seek treatment at hospitals, 300,000 people without clean drinking water, and closed businesses. In February, Duke Energy's infrastructure failure caused coal ash to infiltrate the drinking water in Eden, North Carolina, affecting the water not only in North Carolina but also in Virginia. In addition to point source pollutions, non-point source industrial and agricultural pollutants flow into California's groundwater. Annually, 19 million people "become sick . . . from viruses, bacteria and parasites that sneak through ineffective municipal drinking-water treatment plants, according to a New York Times investigation" (p. 12).

The causes of the contaminations, as implied in the examples above, stem from aging and undocumented industrial equipment and storage containers, eluding inspector scrutiny. Additionally,
thousands of chemicals, old and new, have not undergone EPA testing to verify that they are safe. The authors state that the burden of testing rests on the EPA, an agency that tested on 500 of the 50,000 commercial chemicals. The Toxic Substance Control Act of `1976 allows companies to used untested chemicals. The authors also urge passage of the Chemical Safety and Drinking Water Protection Act, legislation that would force the inventory and inspection of chemical storage facilities. The authors suggest that expanding the robotic testing tools, Tox21 and ToxCast, should expedite the testing of currently untested chemicals and prompt more rigorous testing of those that fail initial screaning.

The adoption of new technologies, such as activated carbon filters and UAV (ultraviolet light)disinfection, by municipal treatment plants have improved the water treatment process. However, a concerted effort by the local, state, and federal governments can collectly push this effort.

The authors suggest that expanding the robotic testing tools, Tox21 and ToxCast, should expedite the testing of currently untested chemicals and prompt more rigorous testing of those that fail initial screening.