Delaware Office of Drinking Water Office of Drinking Water 655 Bay Road, Suite 203 Dover, DE 19901 302.741.8630 Fax: 302.741.8631 TAPTALK H2Oh! Tapping Into Good Health Division of Public Health Wolume 8, No. 4 Fall 2008 Personal Care Products in the News By Donna Trader Pharmaceuticals including antibiotics, anticonvulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones are just a few of the substances detected by a nationwide investigation into the quality of drinking water. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the reason for the amounts of pharmaceuticals, caffeine and hormones in the drinking supply is because of human excretion. Our bodies are not able to metabolize all of the chemicals we ingest. Those not taken up by our bodies are then excreted. We should be concerned about our drinking water not solely because of the pharmaceuticals, caffeine and hormones, but because of all quality and quantity issues. While some people may drink more bottled water in the hopes of drinking cleaner water, that is not always true. In some areas, the water quality standards for bottled water are less stringent than for municipal water. The trace amounts of pharmaceuticals in water are not the result of improper disposal, however. The pharmaceuticals, caffeine and hormones are discharged along with the treated water into a surface water body, generally a lake or stream. Water treatment plants are not designed to remove these types of chemicals. One problem with the compounds is that they do not break down easily and are persistent in the environment and once they are in the surface water, they will last. To date,no evidence has been found of human health effects from pharmaceutical and personal care products in the environment. This includes drinking water sources. This leads to the question, “How do I properly dispose of unwanted pharmaceuticals? In February 2007, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy issued the first consumer guidance for the Proper Disposal of Prescription Drugs. Proper disposal of drugs is a straight forward way for individuals to prevent pollution. While discarded pharmaceuticals under the control of consumers are not regulated by Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), EPA encourages the public to take advantage of pharmaceutical takeback programs or household hazardous waste collection programs that accept pharmaceuticals. If there are no takeback programs near you, contact your state and local waste management authorities with questions about discarding unused pharmaceuticals, whether or not these materials meet the definition of hazardous waste or follow any specific disposal instructions that may be printed on the label or accompanying patient information. DELAWARE HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES Division of Public Health Office of Drinking Water Doc. No. 35-05-20/08/10/29 The Administrator’s Corner By Ed Hallock Program Administrator Office of Drinking Water The Approved Sampler Tester (AST) program began in January of 2006 requiring any individual who collected water samples or conducted daily water quality testing and was not a licensed operator to be certified as an approved sampler/tester. Individuals who were already licensed operators were encouraged to take the class and pass the test. Licensed operators received an AST endorsement on their license when they passed the test. The AST program information has now been incorporated into the base level operators course offered by Delaware Technical and Community College and the AST endorsement is now part of the base level license. So, any licensed operator may continue to collect samples and conduct daily tests without having to renew their AST endorsement. Remember that you will still need the continuing education credits every two years. The AST class is recommended for licensed operators who routinely collect samples and do daily testing. The class will provide information on any changes in the regulations and forms thatareused. A licensed operator does not have to take the test and will receive continuing education credit for the class. If anyone has questions they can call the Office of Drinking Water at 302-741-8630. I also want to remind all water system operators and owners, who use treatment chemicals, that they must use chemicals that meet NSF/ANSI standard 60. This standard ensures that the chemicals are safe to use in a potable water system. My staff has been out conducting sanitary surveys and has come across several small water systems that are using chemicals that are not certified. In one case a small system was using stabilized chlorine for swimming pools to batch chlorinate their well. Stabilized chlorine is not recommended for human consumption. All drinking water chemicals should be labeled with the NSF/ANSI 60 certification. If you are using a chemical and are not sure if it is NSF/ANSI 60 certified you should check with your supplier. They should be able to provide you with the certification. If you are still having trouble determining whether the chemicals you are using are approved contact the Office of Drinking Water and ask for Bill Milliken. Bill is one of our engineers and can consult with NSF to determine the status of the chemicals you are using. And please remember that any time you make a change to your water system you must notify the Office of Drinking Water before you begin any work. We will let you know what requirements we have regarding plan submittal, monitoring and final approval to operate. Employee Spotlight Welcomes: Rebecca Gibbs Fahey joined the Office of Drinking Water in July 2007. She has primary responsibility for oversight of the Lead & Copper Monitoring Rule for community and nontransient noncommunity public water systems. Fahey is a United States Air Force veteran with 9 years active duty, a graduate of California State University, Sacramento with a degree in Health and Safety and worked for Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) for 17 years in the Lead Poisoning Prevention Program. Prior to joining DPH she was MDE's chief of the Lead Accreditation & Oversight Division. She is a registered sanitarian, and maintains Delaware and Maryland Lead Risk Assessor certification. Becky lives in Camden with her husband Jim and their miniature schnauzer, Pez. ODW has scheduled the Basic and Refresher Approved Sampler/Tester (AST) Courses on December 29th at the Smyrna Rest Area, 5500 Dupont Pkwy in Smyrna, DE. The Basic Course will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 pm and the Refresher Course will start at 1:30 pm and end at 3:00 pm. Due to space availability it is required to call for advance registration. For more information contact Donna Trader at 741- 8594. Public Notices 2008 Date Returned System Name Violation Date Issued to Compliance Bargain Bill's Nitrate 08/14/08 Pending Biderman Golf Course Bacti 08/11/08 10/14/08 Bridgeville Commercial Park Nitrate 09/21/07 Pending Dow-Reichold Chemicals Bacti 09/19/08 Pending Forest Park Nitrate 10/25/05 Pending Frederica Water Department Treatment 08/17/07 Pending Granada Mobile Home Park Bacti 09/23/08 Pending Hoods Daycare Bacti 07/15/08 08/04/08 Middletown Water Department Monitoring 10/14/08 Pending Noah's Ark Daycare Center Bacti 07/28/08 08/26/08 Oak Grove Estates Bacti 07/24/08 08/26/08 Pepper Ridge Park DBP 01/09/08 Pending Pepper Ridge Park Bacti 05/30/08 06/18/08 Sandy Ridge Bacti 07/31/08 08/11/08 Savannah Place Nitrate 04/28/05 Pending Sea Breeze Longs Trailer Park Bacti 07/02/07 Pending Shore Stop 256 - Milford Bacti 07/24/08 Pending Smith Landing - System I Nitrate 10/08/08 Pending Sports at the Beach Nitrate 07/22/08 Pending Sussex Pines Country Club Nitrate 02/26/08 08/14/08 Tall Pines System 1 Bacti 09/11/08 Pending Tastee Freez Nitrate 05/29/08 08/06/08 Thomas England House Bacti 07/31/08 Pending Valeries Bar and Grill Bacti 08/18/08 Pending Williamsville Country Village Nitrate 09/03/08 Pending Willis Auto Mall Bacti 09/19/08 Pending Woodside Inn Bacti 07/24/08 Pending DTCC Owens Campus, Georgetown: (302) 855-1617 DATES •TEN LITTLE KNOWN WATER/WASTEWATER OPERATORS SECRETS 10/23 •THREE PHASE AC POWER WORKSHOP 10/24 •EXCAVATION 10/27 •LOCKOUT TAGOUT/RESPIRATOR USAGE/CONFINED SPACE ENTRY 10/28 •INTRO TO MAPPING AND GIS FOR OPERATORS 10/30 •DELAWARE'S HYDROGEOLOGY AND THE ROCKS AND FOSSILS OF 10/31 THE MID ATLANTIC •PREPARATION FOR THE STATE OF DELAWARE DEWATERING EXAM 10/31 •INPSECTION OF ONSITE WASTEWATER SYSTEMS 11/5 •TIME AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT 11/5 •WATER SUPPLY HYDROLOGY, SOURCES,AND WATER CONSERVATION 11/6 •PREPARATION FOR THE DELAWARE PUMP INSTALLERS AND 11/7 WELL DRILLERS EXAM •SUBMERSIBLE PUMPS 11/7 •BASIC MICROSCOPY FOR WASTEWATER OPERATORS 11/12 •ELECTRICAL TROUBLESHOOTING FOR OPERATORS 11/12 •USEPA GROUNDWATER COMPLIANCE WORKSHOP 11/13 •SOILS 11/14 •PUMP HYDRAULICS 11/18 •VALVES 11/19 •TEAM BUILDING 11/20 •ON SITE CONTROLS SYSTEMS 11/21 •INNOVATIVE & ALTERNATIVE ONSITE SYSTEMS (NEW) 11/25 •ON SITE 101 11/26 •ELECTRICAL BLUEPRINT READING FOR OPERATORS 11/26 •CUSTOMER RELATIONS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNICIANS 12/4 •INTRO TO SCADA 12/5 •BIOLOGICAL NUTRIENT REMOVAL 12/5 •ONSITE WASTEWATER TREATMENT AND DISPOSAL SYSTEMS 12/9 •PUMPS: MOTORS & CONTROLS 12/10 •NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT FOR OPERATORS 12/10 •PUMPS: INSTALLATION, MAINTENANCE & REPAIR 12/12 •REPLACEMENT ONSITE SYSTEMS 12/11 •BDMS WORKSHOP (NEW) 12/18 •SOILS BASED APPROACH TO SITING WASTEWATER DISPOSAL (NEW) 12/19 Terry Campus,Dover:(302)857-1406 •MATH REVIEW FOR WATER OPERATORS 12/11 •MATH REVIEW FOR WASTEWATER OPERATORS 12/9 DTCC Stanton Campus:(302)453-3000 •EFFECTIVE WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM FLUSHING 10/17 •DISINFECTION OPERATIONS FOR WATER & WASTEWATER SYSTEMS 11/13-11/14 •WATER OPERATOR CHEMICAL FEED FOR FLUORIDE, LIME, PH 11/11-12/16 ADJUSTMENTANDINHIBITORS DELAWARE HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES Division of Public Health 655 Bay Road, Suite 203 Dover, DE 19901 35-05-301