02/19/2023
Chicago land peeps! Our drinking water is reported to be affected by the Ohio disaster!
Here’s what else I’m finding out from my colleague, Lara Adler, and what you can do to protect yourself and environment.
We also know that the chemicals entered the Ohio River, which, through other rivers and tributaries connects to 14 states, and provides drinking water to around 5 million people.
It appears that vinyl chloride breaks down in within a few days in air, and that phosgene will dissipate on it's own in air. According to the NIH, the "biodegradation half-life of vinyl chloride in aerobic and anaerobic waters was reported as 28 and 110 days, respectively" - this means it may take 3 months or more for levels in water to be reduced by only half.
All of the chemicals released are highly toxic.
While the extend of the harm caused by this disaster won't be known for a long time, we know harm has already happened.
People are sick, pets and wildlife have died, and waterways are heavily contaminated.
Here are the few things folks can do if they are living in or near the affected areas:
1. Filter your water
These chemicals are volatile. This means two things: 1. they can volatilize in bath and shower water and 2. they can, generally speaking, be easily removed by activated carbon filtration.
Folks in the area that are on well water run a greater risk of contamination, and should test their water for these chemicals (vinyl chloride is the only chemical that municipalities have to test for under federal drinking water regulations, and the goal for that chemical is 0 because of it's carcinogenic nature.
TapScore, my preferred water testing company has a VOC testing kit that includes vinyl chloride.
Drinking water should be filtered through activated carbon. If folks are using an RO system, they should ensure that the system has an activated carbon pre-filter (RO systems almost always have this).
Shower filters or bath-ball type filters are a good idea. They are not perfect, but they can help to reduce at least some amount of VOCs in the water. Just make sure the primary media is activated carbon.
2. Filter your air
Folks living in the affected areas, or anywhere downwind may benefit from having an air filter running in their homes (this is true regardless of contamination, but certainly the case for getting one now is strong).
Many air filters rely on particulate capture only - ie HEPA filtration. These will not help at all as these chemicals are volatile gasses and require the same activated carbon we want in a water filter.
The more activated carbon, the better the VOC capture capacity. While many air filters have a small filter for carbon, ideally your filter has a substantial amount. Austin Air filters are my go-to choice because each unit contains 15 pounds of carbon to the maybe 1 pound found in popular brands like AirDoctor (which is a great brand, they're just weak on carbon volume).
That said, ANY carbon in an air filter, is better than none.
Anyone living with birds should absolutely get an air filter with a substantial amount of carbon as birds are exquisitely sensitive to these kinds of chemicals.
3. Supplementation
While I'm not clear on the toxicokinetics of all the chemicals released, but do know that some of them are metabolized via the glutathione pathway.
N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), a commonly found supplement that plays an essential role in glutathione production in the body. Supplementing with NAC may help increase glutathione levels in the body.
Glutathione is considered our most powerful anti-oxidant, and exposure to these VOCs is likely to result in oxidative damage.
Spinach, avocados, and asparagus are rich in glutathione, so increase their consumption.
Increasing the consumption of nutrient-dense foods will also help, in particular sulfer rich foods like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, kale, watercress and mustard greens - these can help increase glutathione levels in the body.
Vitamin C (either via food or supplementation) can also help, as it can go after oxidative damage (free radicals), so the body doesn't use up glutathione as fast.
Selenium is a glutathione cofactor - eat a few Brazil nuts a day, and you'll be covered.
I am learning about much of this along with everyone else. If I have anything to add to what's written above, I'll let you know!
