ORGANIZATION WATER DEFENSE FINDS CHLOROFORM IN FLINT WATER: SO WHAT THE HECK IS CHLOROFORM?

First, let me say what a wonderful organization Water Defense is. As many of you know Water Defense has been spending a lot of time in Flint lately testing the water in the city. They have a simple message. As stated on their website, "Water Defense is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to clean water". They believe, and I'm directly quoting their website, "That water is a fundamental human right". Their mission is, "To use technology and public engagement to inform people about what is in their water. That's pretty damn beautiful in my opinion in light of all the misinformation, lack of information or plain old non-information from the State of Michigan

Well, what has Water Defense found in Flint water? Plenty. Scott Smith, who is the Technology Officer and Investigator from Water Defense told MLIVE that, "Testing the water in Flint has shown trihalomethanes such as chloroform in the water in some of the homes". Again, this as reported in MLIVE Sunday April, 24, 2016, and is not a direct quote, but is based on information in the article.
Okay. Well what the heck is chloroform? I did some checking. According to Delaware Health and Human Services, " Chloroform is man-made and comes from chlorine which is used to disinfect water. It is also used in industrial processes. It is colorless with a sweet taste. The Delaware Health and Human Services also states that, "Low levels of chloroform are found in the air and inland rivers and lakes and ground water. It can also be found in the air above swimming pools".

"Chloroform is used as a solvent, and is used in paper and board industries. It is also used in pesticides".

According to Delaware Health and Human Services, "Most of the population is exposed to low levels of chloroform in food, drinking water and indoor air". According to the website, "Exposure to higher levels of chloroform is very unlikely for anyone outside industries using or manufacturing chloroform".

According to the Delaware Health and Human services website, "Chloroform effects the central nervous system , liver, and kidneys in humans exposed to large amounts of chloroform through drinking liquids or breathing air containing large amounts of chloroform". All of this information regarding chloroform is from the Delaware Health and Human Services website. In high enough amounts it can be very harmful.

For me, and I'm sure I'm not the only one, this does beg the question, how much chloroform has been found in the Flint city drinking and bathing water and at what levels? I can only speculate that because of the fact that it was mentioned by Water Defense that chloroform was found in water samples from some Flint homes that it not a normal finding. On top of all the other garbage going on in regard to the Flint Water Crisis I find this news confusing, disturbing and pretty damn frustrating to be honest. There seems to be an ever continuing maze of new and often times conflicting information. Again, I'll echo the sentiments Mayor Karen Weaver has stated many times, just dig up and replace all the pipes!

Stay tuned for up dated information on this complicated matter.

Jeff Brown
Editor in Chief
Purple Walrus Press