Iconic lawyer backs safe water campaign

Environmental campaigner and activist Erin Brockovich is backing locals in Connemara who fear a link between drinking water toxicity and high rates of cancer.

Almost double the accepted levels of toxic compound, which is potentially carcinogenic, has been detected in the drinking water supply in South Connemara.

Tests of the drinking water at An Cheathrú Rua public water supply, which is already the subject of a boil water notice due to the presence of cryptosporidium, has revealed higher than recommended levels of Trihalomethanes (THMs).

THMs are toxic compounds, including chloroform, which occur in drinking water as a result of reaction between organic materials, such as peaty soil, when chlorine is added as a disinfectant.

According to some studies, long-term exposure to THMs include an increased risk of certain cancers, such as bladder and colon; reproductive problems such as miscarriages, birth defects, and low birth rates; and damage to the heart, lungs, liver, kidney, and central nervous system.

Due to the presence of cryptosporidium, up to 5,000 residents have been advised to boil water. However, according to campaigners, boiling water kills off the cryptosporidium bacteria but actually increases exposure to THMs.

Friends of the Environment said: “It is universally accepted that THMs are volatile chemicals that present a specific and particular danger through inhalation. Yet, this is exactly what Irish Water has instructed consumers to do by bringing the water to a ‘vigorous, rolling boil’.

“We are not suggesting that Irish Water stop chlorinating the water before the infrastructure is rationalised, but it borders on the criminal to instruct consumers to boil the water without informing them of the necessary precautions, including ensuring adequate ventilation to protect themselves and their family from inhaling the dangerous chemicals released from boiling THM laden water.”

Ms Brockovich, an American legal clerk and environmental activist, became a household name after a 1990 film ‘Erin Brockovich’, starring Julia Roberts, detailed her work in exposing Chromium 6 in groundwater from a cooling tower system on a gas pipeline in California. In a recent Facebook post, referring to Ireland and troubles with THMs in Carraroe, Ms Brockovitch highlighted the dangers of THMs causing miscarriages as well as cancer.

For more on this story, see the Connacht Tribune.