Mamaroneck REVIEW THE
March 29, 2019 | Vol. 7, Number 13 | www.mamaroneckreview.com
Westchester receives opioid grant from Dept. of Labor Simon is hosting its annual Easter celebration festivities at The Westchester offering families the chance to participate in traditional and unique seasonal events. For more, see page 5.
Haloacetic acid levels found in WJWW water supply The Westchester Joint Water Works system recently violated a drinking water standard. Although this incident was not an emergency, as our customers, you have a right to know what happened and what we are doing to correct this situation. Quarterly water samples were taken for haloacetic acids on April 23, 2018; July 23, 2018; Oct. 22, 2018; and Jan. 22, 2019. The total haloacetic acid concentrations were 69, 70, 53, and 53 parts per billion (ppb), respectively, and averaged 61 ppb for the last year at one location. At another location, the total haloacetic acid concentrations were 86, 71,42 and 71 ppb, and averaged 68 ppb for the last year. These average levels are slightly above the state and federal drinking water standard of 60 ppb total haloacetic acids as a running annual average of four quarterly samples. What should I do?
There is nothing you need to do unless you have a severely compromised immune system, have an infant or are elderly. These people may be at increased risk and should seek advice about drinking water from their healthcare providers. You do not need to boil your water or take other corrective actions. If a situation arises where the water is no longer safe to drink, you will be notified within 24 hours. We will announce any emergencies on News12 Westchester or other local news networks (CBS, NBC, ABC and FOX). What does this mean? This is not an emergency. If it had been an emergency, you would have been notified within 24 hours. Haloacetic acids are disinfection byproducts formed during treatment of drinking water by chlorine, the most commonly
used disinfectant in New York State. Drinking water is disinfected by public water suppliers to kill bacteria and viruses that could cause serious illnesses. For this reason, disinfection of drinking water by chlorination is beneficial to public health. The amount of haloacetic acids in drinking water can change from day to day, depending on the temperature, the amount of organic material in the source water, the amount of chlorine added, and a variety of other factors. The presence of haloacetic acids at the concentrations detected in the water system does not constitute an immediate health hazard. Although the standard is slightly exceeded, it is not a âbright lineâ between drinking water concentrations that cause health effects and those that do not. The standard for haloacetic acids is set at a water concentration at which exposure is much
lower than exposures identified as causing health effects in animals. Thus, exceedance of the standard is not a trigger for health effects, but a trigger for water suppliers to take action to reduce the haloacetic acid concentrations and maintain what is already a large margin of protection against health effects. The risks for adverse health effects from the haloacetic acids in the drinking water are small compared to the risk for illness from drinking inadequately disinfected water. This paragraph summarizes and characterizes the available studies on human populations exposed to haloacetic acids, and provides a general summary of the health effects of haloacetic acids in animals, which occur at exposure levels much higher than exposures that could result through normal use of the water. WATER continued on page 8
Westchester County has received a grant from the New York State Department of Labor to assist local communities that have been affected by the opioid epidemic. The grant money, which totals $346,205, was allocated to Westchester to help train the employees who treat those battling addiction and substance abuse. âNo community is immune to the opioid crisis, and unfortunately there is a shortage of people who are trained to treat these individuals in Westchester,â said County Executive George Latimer. âThis funding, which is awarded to our Westchester-Putnam Workforce Development Board, will provide training and employment services to our workforce so we can better serve the communities that are struggling.âA number of Westchester County departments and community partners will work in tandem to provide management, training and leadership for those who will eventually treat victims of substance abuse, including Westchester-Putnam Workforce Development Board, Westchester County departments of Social Services and Community Mental Health, Westchester Career Centers, Westmed Medical Group, the National Council of Alcohol and Drug Dependence of Westchester, Westchester Community College and WestCOP. âThis grant will allow us to employ our residents who are eager to find or return to work while
at the same time providing the necessary training to help those who are affected by the crisis that is affecting our community and state,â said Thomas Kleiner, executive director of the Westchester-Putname Workforce Development Board. Participants will be required to attend a four-week âboot campâ of employment training that covers job skills, resume development, interviewing, self-esteem building and job showering. Following the boot camp, specialized employment and training activities will prepare participants for one of the following jobs: certified peer recovery support specialist, mental health technician, behavioral health recovery coach, paramedic and credential alcoholism and substance abuse counselor. âThis grant fills a real need,â said Kevin McGuire, commissioner of the county Department of Social Services. âOpioid addiction has been growing in Westchester County, particularly in communities that have seemed to have previously been immune from the scourge of addiction. This grant will allow us to train people to deal with this increase of those suffering from addiction.â The program is intended to serve all the communities in Westchester, with a primary focus on the cities of Peekskill, Mount Vernon and New Rochelle. (Submitted)
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