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Year 7 Science assignment 1995


Sydney's Drinking Water,



Its additives and effects on people and the environment.

Introducing the issue

The issue I have chosen is the quality of Sydney's drinking water, writing of the additives
and pollution in it. Australia is one of the few countries which does not have a legal
definition of pure water. In Australia and New South Wales there are no legal standards for
the amounts of chlorine,aluminium or fluoride added to the drinking water only guidelines.
In Europe and USA water is processed (standards set  by law )  according to the guidelines
developed by the World Health Organisation ( WHO ) but in Australia the  governments  set
their own relaxed  guidelines formulated in  the Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality in
Australia ,1987 . Do Australians have a greater resistance than other people to the
carcinogenic effects of heptachlor , chlordane , lindane  and  dieldrin or were these
guidelines set to a level so that the water authorities could met them .     Also Sydney's
population believe the water that they are drinking is fully filtered when really only 6% of
the water being used in homes is filtered.



Its additives and effects on people and the environment

Why is the issue important ?

This issue is important because of the effects it may have on the population of Sydney. Some
recent studies in  USA and Europe have shown that the amount of certain chemicals being
added can cause illnesses,such as chlorine and fluoride are believed to cause heart disease
and cancer, DDT and hexachlorobenzene could cause chronic fatigue syndrome and lead
poisoning from polyvinyl pipes and leadsolder used to seal them. These allegations made by
the press over the years have all been denied by the Water Board but it is not known how
much truth is in their denial but they were forced to acknowledge shortfalls in the  SMH 27
April 1990. Also here are the guidelines set by the World Health organisation (WHO) compared
to the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC).

                 Acceptable pesticide levels (expressed as micrograms
per litre)
               Name                               WHO          NHMRC

        Aldrin and Dieldrin                   0.03              1
        Chlordane                                0.3                6
        DDT                                          1                   3
        Heptachlor                                0.1                3
        Lindane                                     3                   100

As you can see the guidelines are quite different.
Also the fact that Australia has no legal definition of pure water and so there are no legal
standards that the Sydney Water  board has to meet.




        It's effects on the population.

>From  recent  scientific testing and research it is clear that  many diseases can be
>produced from the additives in the drinking water of Sydney .

The diseases which are  caused by the water additives are as follows

Heart disease and cancer (from chlorination and fluoridation),
Chronic fatigue syndrome (from DDT and hexachlorobenzene),
Lead poisoning (from polyvinyl chloride pipes and lead solder),
 Liver dysfunction (from blue-green algae),
Alzheimer's disease (from aluminium sulphate,
Birth defects (from pesticides),
Infant Methemoglobinemia , a disease affecting the red blood cells (from nitrates).
Another fact  is that sodium fluoride (one of the main
additives of our water) is the sole ingredient of rat poison.

Another  risk comes not from drinking water but from inhaling the gases from it ,  as the
heat in the shower ,bath , spas , dishwashers and washing machines changes chloroform into a
gas A joint study by the EPA and the National Academy of Science has attributed up to 1000
US cancer deaths each year to inhaling chloroform from water while bathing. Experts advise
people taking showers to close the bathroom door and open a window .


How is the issue changing over time?

The fact is that in the past not much has been done to try and
fix this problem , due to the fact that public awareness was very little.
Also the changing of technology and scientists being able to study
further into the effects of the chemicals progressed through the years
and these chemicals were not considered a hazard until later years.
Up to fifty different chemicals can be added to Sydney Water to ' purify it ' and the
figures detailing the actual quantities used are not available . Water - treatment experts
in Europe and the USA have become increasingly disturbed by the health implications of
chemicals added to purify the drinking water . Their concern is focused on three chemicals :
Alum , Chlorine and Fluoride .       In 1990 though the government of New South Wales
introduced a new $760 million improvement program to upgrade the old facilities and help
with the problem since then facilities have been upgraded but there is no difference to the
water



What Role has the wider community and Government played in this
issue?

The Government of NSW in 1990 introduced a new $760 Million plan to improve the quality of
our drinking water by upgrading the facilities and adding new ones. This was thought to have
made our water cleaner and safer but really to date it has done nothing to improve it. Also
in my local area the community and our local parliament member Dr. Peter Macdonald has been
trying to boost local awareness and try to get the government to improve this. Most people
in Sydney accept the drinking water unquestioningly- sometimes it is all right , at others
it has an unpleasant taste and odour . The majority of people do not question the purity of
the drinking water. The controversial and political nature of the problems of Sydney Water
makes it simpler for them to reassure the public that everything is under control and that
there is no cause for alarm. Sydney Water under the NHMRC guidelines are considerably more
relaxed than those put forward by the WHO still only after questions were asked in the NSW
parliament by Pam Allan , MLA did the Water Board admit that they had consistently failed to
meet the NHMRC guidelines ( SMH 27 April 1990 ).  What Role has the wider community and
Government played in this issue? ( continued )

What you the individual can do

If you have doubts about the quality of the water , you should contact  Sydney Water for
more information . Inquire about : the source of the water the treatment  it undergoes
before it reaches your home the nature and condition of the pipes it travels in to get there
  With the answers to these questions , you should be able to decide whether or not you have
a problem  and should adopt some of the steps listed below : Boil water to eliminate viral
or bacterial contamination , it takes only five minutes' boiling to kill harmful bugs and
reduce high levels of chlorine , trihalomethanes and other volatile  chemicals ; So will
aerating it in a blender or storing it before drinking it ( allowing the chemicals to
evaporate ) This is the strategy used by Sydney Water when ACA on channel 9 carried out a
tasting test of Sydney water. Sydney Water collected the water from Manly and took it to the
studios at Channel 9  allowing time for the chemicals to dissipate before the taste tests
were carried out .



Acknowledgments
(Name, Author/s)

Hidden Hazards, Dr Ronald S, Ashton John and Laura
On The Water Front, Archer John
Sydney Morning Herald 1990,Bailey Paul
Various releases from the Water Board
Choice , August 1991
Grollier Encyclopedia
Science Now  , Peter Stannard
Chemistry Outlines  Volume 2
The Macquarie History of Ideas
The Guiness Book of Answers









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