The Cupertino Courier
News
Residents voice chloramine concerns
By JASON GOLDMAN-HALL
Summer months bring a wave of residents playing in sprinklers, swimming in pools and sipping tall glasses of ice water.
But for a growing number of Bay Area residents, tap water is looked at the same way allergy sufferers look at pollen. In February 2004, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission--which governs water from the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir that provides almost half of Sunnyvale's water--switched its systems to use chloramine instead of chlorine as a disinfectant.
After two years of the chemical being in the water, and after a year and a half of outreach and attempts to get more attention, Citizens Concerned about Chloramine founder and leader Denise Johnson-Kula said while support is growing from the community, there has still been no action taken nor studies done.
"This is too important. This is a major public health issue, and it has been under the radar for too long," Johnson-Kula said.
Chloramine, a less expensive combination of chlorine and ammonia, stays in water systems longer to provide longer disinfectant action and is believed to cut down on the amount of possibly carcinogenic trihalomethanes released when chlorine reacts with such organic matter as vegetation or animal waste in water.
But according to a rising tide of anecdotal evidence from around the country, chloramine--a known irritant of mucus membranes--can cause extreme asthma-like attacks for some people, and has forced some--including Johnson-Kula and Sunnyvale employee Bruce Dronek--to avoid tap water altogether.
The problem, they say, is even though chloramine is a widely used chemical, there have not been adequate studies done on its health effects.
Dronek--who was first exposed to the chemical while showering in a Sunnyvale gym after work--can no longer use water from anywhere but his well-water-fed home in South San Jose.
"But at least I've got someplace to go," Dronek said. "A lot can't get away because it's used where they live."
Recently, on a two-month business trip to Philadelphia, he said he had persistent flu symptoms until he returned home, and later found out the water he had been drinking and showering in contained chloramine.
According to data collected on the CCAC's website, www.chloramine.org, there have been no adequate studies done on the effects of chloramine on skin and mucus membranes.
The only study done in response to citizen complaints was a 17-person phone survey conducted between September 2004 and January 2005 by the San Francisco Department of Public Health. The survey asked about skin problems, and 15 of the participants responded with claims of dry, burning, red skin and other problems.
The study concluded that there was no consistent pattern.
"There is anecdotal evidence, and it's growing, but we need formal studies done," Johnson-Kula said.
In early 2006, Assemblyman Ira Ruskin, who represents cities along the Peninsula from San Carlos to the Almaden Valley, wrote Assembly Bill 2404 to push for studies. That bill has stalled after being given a $350,000 price tag, more than twice the cutoff of $150,000 for projects.
"We asked for studies, and they gave us a website for $350,000," Johnson-Kula said.
A spokesman from Ruskin's office said there is still interest in chloramine studies, and it could come up as a bill next year again.
But even with study efforts stalled, Johnson-Kula and Dronek said they are encouraged by the interest they've seen from people all over the country, from nearby Oakland to Vermont.
To contact Citizens Concerned About Chloramine, call Denise Johnson-Kula at 650.328.0424 or visit www.chloramine.org. For other chloramine concerns, contact the Santa Clara County Public Health Department at 408.423.0700.
