Baltimore sun arsenic

For these compliance-based violations, the EPA assigns point values to noncompliant utilities based on the severity of the violation. There are 38 utilities in Maryland with the highest amount of tap water violation points from the EPA.

These utilities serve over 2,, residents and have collectively accrued nearly violation points. Out of the 38 utilities with the highest violation points, 11 are listed as mobile home parks communities. Andrews explained that smaller water systems such as mobile home parks are more likely to have water quality violations compared to larger water systems. Many large water systems, such as the city of Baltimore, draw their water from multiple sources, and people within different parts of the system may get different fractions of water from each source.

Graphic: Capital News Service. EWG tests both groundwater and surface water, and either at treatment plants after it is treated or at individual sources. Media Images Present-day site : This Locust Point site of a toxic dumping ground is now homes and businesses.

Get Directions. Subjects Industry. Edelson, Mat. Kelly, Jacques. Pelton, Tom. Show Comments. The new civil marriage measure that was affirmed by Maryland voters in November, allowing same-sex couples to take their vows, has grabbed the most headlines, but less-publicized laws will take effect as well.

Most new laws adopted by the General Assembly and signed by the governor take effect July 1 or Oct. The arsenic ban, sponsored by Del. Tom Hucker, a Montgomery County Democrat, affects the drug Roxarsone, which includes arsenic among its components. Industry advocates contend the drug is an effective means of controlling the spread of disease in chicken houses, but environmentalists say its use results in the release of 30, pounds a year of a known carcinogen into the state's soil and waters.

Hucker said it took three years to push the legislation through over the opposition of the state's poultry industry and pharmaceutical interests. The impact of the ban could be limited because industry leader Perdue Farms discontinued its use of Roxarsone in , while the drug was withdrawn from the market last year by its manufacturer, a Pfizer Inc.

The Food and Drug Administration, which has found elevated levels of arsenic in the livers of chicken treated with Roxarsone, is reviewing the use of the drug.

A provision of the law would lift the ban if the FDA finds the product is safe to use in poultry. Another measure taking effect with the new year is a law intended to protect children from identity theft -- an increasingly common problem in the Internet age as thieves target the Social Security numbers of children before they enter the workforce.