Aug 30, 2008 11:49 am US/Eastern
Water Warning For Pregnant Women, Kids In Hamilton
Pregnant Woman, Infants, Kids, Those With Hypothyroidism Affected By Advisory
HAMILTON (WBZ) ―
Pregnant women, nursing mothers, infants and children in the town of Hamilton are being warned not to drink water from the town's water supply after samples taken more than two weeks ago found high levels of perchlorate.
Low levels of
perchlorate are often found in drinking water and ground water, and perchlorate has been used to treat thyroid gland disorders. The town of Hamilton has also said people with hypothyroidism should also not drink water from the supply.
Hamilton Water Department officials said a sample taken from the School Street Well on Aug. 13 found levels of 44.4 parts per billion (ppb) of perchlorate. The Massachusetts maximum contaminant level for perchlorate is 2.0 ppb.
A repeat sample was taken only to return the same results on Aug. 28, officials said. Samples from the Idlewood Water Treatment Plant contained 32.2 ppb.
Perchlorate interferes with the normal function of the thyroid gland and thus has the potential to affect growth and development and could cause brain damage and other adverse effects, particularly in fetuses and infants.
The town has turned off the School Street Well and will remain so until it has been deemed safe to put it back into service, water department officials said.
Pregnant women, infants, children and those with hypothyroidism should not drink the water. Boiling the water will not remove the perchlorate.
Ice cubes, juices, baby formula and other beverages prepared before Aug. 29 should be thrown away, officials said.
According to the Hamilton Water Department, perchlorate is an inorganic chemical widely used as an oxidizer in fireworks, blasting agents and in other industrial products. It can also occur due to aging of hypochlorite used to disinfect water supplies.
Water department officials said the last monitoring for perchlorate at the Idlewood plant and the School Street Well in April 2007 did not detect perchlorate in the water.
The Aug. 28, 2008 samples from the Idlewood plant and Fire Station did not find perchlorate in the Town water supply. Additional testing will be done before the health advisory is lifted, officials said.
The Town is investigating the source of the contamination and evaluating next steps in cooperation with the
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.
Residents can call the Hamilton Water Department at 978-468-5581 for the latest updates on the situation.
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