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The American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM)

The Pure Water Place Inc. , a distributor of General Ecology® water purifiers, will be supplying the drinking water for The American Academy of Environmental Medicine at its upcoming events in February and April 2002.

Previously The Pure Water Place Inc. provided water for the Academy's 35 Annual Meeting held at Crowne Plaza Resort, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina from Sept. 28 to Oct. 1, 2000.

Coming in the mail: Tap- water content list

Tap water is joining the ranks of soda, potato chips and canned meats. Providers are now required to publish every unpleasant ingredient in it on an easy-to-read table mailed to customers annually. Think of it as a variation on nutritional labels. Only the water label does not count the calories. It counts chemical contaminants.

Activists applaud the rule, which requires the first round of these "consumer confidence" reports to be mailed by October. Philadelphia has sent its out already. But there is concern that many of the people who need the reports most- those in poor health and on a fixed income- might never see them. The problem: Few of the water companies plan to send the report to people who rent their homes, according to a survey by Clean Water Action, a state environmental advocacy group. "Companies are just mailing it to the bill payers, and they are missing a huge segment of the population," said Trudy Strassburger, a community organizer for the group.

Of the 46 water companies that responded to a Clean Water survey about how they planned to issue the reports, only 10 percent said they would mail them to all households. Strassburger said this was troubling because most renters did not pay a water bill; it goes to the landlord. "What good is a right to know if you don't even know something you have a right to exists?" she asked. The law requires that water companies make a good-faith effort to reach renters.

Ambler Borough Manager George Benigno said officials at the borough water authority were trying to do that. But they have been unable to reach all the renters since they do not know where they are. A simple mailing to all borough residents would not do, he said, because the authority also supplies parts of four surrounding towns. "We have no way of knowing how many people are in a given structure outside the borough limits," he said.

Bonnie Smith, a spokeswoman for the Environmental Protection Agency, which administers the federal law, said the EPA started its own publicity push to inform the public. The EPA is encouraging water companies to let the public know the reports are available through advertising, she said. But the Clean Water survey indicates that most local companies have no plans to place such ads.

Officials at Clean Water say the reports are of particular concern to people with immune-system disorders. They could experience adverse health effects from contaminants in the water supply at levels lower than what the EPA considers a health threat, Strassburger said.

By Evan Halper

The Philadelphia Inquirer, July 27, 1999

E. coli Outbreak Sickens Hundreds
As reported in U.S. News & World Report, September 20, 1999:

N.Y. State Health Officials believe an E. coli outbreak resulted in 600 illnesses at a recent Washington County fair in Greenwich, N.Y. Of these illnesses, 11 are children admitted to the hospital in serious condition for placement on kidney dialysis machines. 1 child's death has resulted from the outbreak of this waterborne disease.

It appears that a massive rain storm washed water tainted by the local livestock into the auxiliary well of the fairgrounds. This contaminated water was then supplied to the food and beverage merchants at the fairgrounds and eventually to the public attending the fair. Of concern to N.Y. Health officials is the possible continued spread of the disease from person to person contact.

Public concern was great with U.S. News & World Report pointing out "the greater problem [being that] treatment and monitoring of drinking water cannot be taken for granted." (See p. 56, U.S. News & World Report, September 20, 1999)


Note: General Ecology Inc. recommends usage of its water purifiers to help ensure the safety and enjoyment of your drinking water. Our purifiers are certified to meet EPA guide standard for microbiological purification including disease causing bacteria like E. coli. However, whatever method you choose, please educate yourself on the contents and pretreatment of your water before you drink it. Don't hesitate to ask restaurants, hotels and other food and beverage merchants about the quality of the water used in their establishments... especially during publicity about uncertain water quality in your region.