Health officials are currently investigating the cause of a food-borne illness which making people sick in across Texas and in the Rio Grande Valley.
So far this year, there’s been 156 cases of people who reported being sick from consuming food or water contaminated with the cyclospora parasite, according to the Texas Health and Human Services.
Of those, 15 cases were reported out of the Rio Grande Valley, including nine in Hidalgo County.
Texas has experienced past outbreaks of cyclospora in cilantro.
“We have people working in the fields and there’s no adequate sanitary situations.
That’s where they are going to the bathroom.” Black says that in most cases, the parasite will cause you to feel sick.
But in some people, and especially if it is not treated, it can be deadly.
“These are things that kill really young people, really old people and people who have underlying diseases,” said Black.
People are advised to cook vegetables to ensure the parasite is killed.
Last year, there were 319 reported cases of cyclosporiasis in Texas, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.

It has been about 2 and a half years since PFOA was first detected in drinking water in Bennington.
One of those schools is Grafton Elementary School.
More from VPR — 2 Vermont Schools Show Levels Of PFAS Above State Safety Standard [July 30] Vermont environmental officials have been widening the scope of their investigation ever since the chemical PFOA was discovered in about 300 wells in Bennington in early 2016.
Using geological maps that show underground aquifers, state officials tried to guess where the water might flow down from the airport.
Krista Reed was holding her two-month-old baby when DEC site manager Michael Nahmias knocked on her door to test the water.
There are still other industries and facilities that we will likely be looking at in the future as we learn more.” The national concern about the dangers of perfluorinated chemicals started near the factories where they were made.
But then as states like Vermont began testing smaller facilities that used products that contain the PFAS, it was showing up in water test after water test.
It’s a national problem.” The Environmental Working Group is national advocacy organization that’s been tracking the spread of known PFAS contamination across the country.
About a year ago, the group said there were 52 known sites in 19 states; Their latest interactive map shows that there are now 172 sites spread out across 40 states.
“So I think a lot of the interest in contamination came from residents, who were concerned, and often either residents or state officials had water samples detected, and once they realized they found some of this contamination, it became a bigger problem and more and more people started looking.” A recently issued Vermont report said there are still a number of businesses that might have used PFAS compounds including coated paper products, car washes, paint manufacturers and plastic industries.

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality tested four of the six storm-water outfalls at Selfridge that drain into Lake St. Clair.
They were found to have Perfluorooctanesulfonic (PFOS) and Perfluorooctanoic acids (PFOA) substances, or PFAS, contaminants above the Environmental Protection Agency’s health advisory threshold of 70 parts per trillion for drinking water, according to a news release from SANG.
“Gone are the days when the military and the government tries to hide something like this,” said Verkest, who had just attended a meeting to discuss another water problem: invasive species.
“You could see there was a conscious effort to treat this differently than they might have in the past.” Since the contaminated water drains into Lake St. Clair, which is a source of drinking water for several local communities including Mount Clemens, New Baltimore and Ira Township, officials also tested water samples in these communities.
The water was determined safe to drink despite low levels of contaminants being detected in each city’s water intake systems.
PFAS is a group of chemicals that are resistant to heat, water and oil and have been used for decades in many industrial applications and consumer products such as nonstick cookware, carpeting, waterproof clothing, upholstery, food-paper wrappings and firefighting – which is where the problems arise at SANG.
Now we’re finding out that they’re harmful,” Verkest said.
Verkest said a scientist representing the federal government who attended the meeting on PFAS would not confirm that it caused any of these conditions, only that they have found a correlation.
SANG has since installed several large domes that filter the storm water and move the PFAS.
Three thousand Michigan residents in Parchment and Cooper Township in Kalamazoo County learned this week that their drinking water is not safe due to PFAS contaminants.

Autoplay:Play Video0:00 0:00: 0%: 0%LIVE -0:00 HARRISON TOWNSHIP, Mich. – Tests performed by environmental regulators show contamination flowing from Selfridge Air National Guard Base into the Clinton River and Lake St. Clair.
The findings show Selfridge is a source for PFAS in the lake, a drinking water source for several communities.
The base was among many to use a PFAS-laden foam for training and firefighting.
That could include placing activated carbon filters at outfalls.
State officials say credible research shows the substances pose health risks.
Spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Scott Dean says they are actively testing 1,380 waters systems in Michigan for PFAS, as well as 461 schools.
He says the biggest concern is for people who use well water.
“We recommend people you know that have private wells to be very diligent in testing their wells for any form of contaminate,” said Dean.
Exposure to PFAS FPAS contamination may be in drinking water, food, indoor dust, some consumer products and workplaces, but the highest risk of exposure comes from drinking contaminated water and eating food that contains PFAS.
Products that may contain PFAS: Food packaging materials Nonstick cookware Stain resistant carpet treatment Water resistant clothing Paints, varnishes and sealants Firefighting foam Some cosmetics PFAS impact on health Although more research is needed to determine the full scope of the long-term effects of PFAS on people’s health, according to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, exposure in food and water may be harmful: Affect growth, learning and behavior of infants and older children Lower woman’s chances of getting pregnant Interfere with the body’s natural hormones Increase cholesterol levels Affect the immune system Increase risk of cancer For more information on FPAS impact on your health, visit the Center For Disease Control and Prevention.

These contaminants, widely used to make carpets, fabrics, food packaging and more, are pervasive; they can’t be easily broken down and effectively poison water sources.
While several states are rushing to clean up contaminated sites and act on safety regulations, EPA administrators have failed to take this issue seriously.
Despite new EPA guidelines set out in 2016, the Pentagon did not disclose the full scope of the contamination on military installations until March of this year.
Today, the U.S. Army says there are 146 military sites contaminated with PFAS and PFOA.
Environmental Working Group released a study showing that up to 16 million Americans use drinking water with such contamination.
In North Carolina, we’re falling behind in dealing with air and water pollution from GenX, an unregulated chemical released into the Cape Fear River for years — a river that provides drinking water for residents from Fayetteville to Wilmington.
The “hotspots” for PFAS and PFOA contamination are popping up in different locations every week — Colorado recently found new contamination in Boulder, potentially 4,800 public drinking water systems are threatened in Ohio, and Michigan has more than 30 known contaminated sites.
The Department of Defense can safeguard public health, and has the obligation to protect and provide for service members and their families.
The first step is notifying any who have been stationed at military bases where PFAS-containing foams were used.
Our public health leaders have not protected military families and neighboring communities from PFAS contamination, but there is still time to do the right thing.

We only know about it more here in Michigan because we’re the only state actually taking the initiative to begin the testing of every one of our municipalities across all 83 counties."
Health officials are telling people in parts of Kalamazoo County to stop drinking the water.
A spot in Cass County is already on the state’s radar.
As of right now there are no indications that the Cass County spot is at the level of being dangerous to health, but it is being monitored for levels of potentially dangerous chemicals.
"People just got to be more careful when they drive and come around to this curve,” said Roger Outlaw, who lives near site.
They’re the chemicals behind a "do not drink" order in parts of Kalamazoo County.
In Cass County the concern for those health conditions has yet not been raised.
The site was most recently tested in April 2018.
Then I’m assuming again they would let people know."
That intersection is the only active PFAS investigation in Cass County.

Many city drinking water systems add softening agents to keep plumbing free of pipe-clogging mineral buildup.
According to new research, these additives may amplify the risk of pathogen release into drinking water by weakening the grip that bacteria – like those responsible for Legionnaires’ disease – have on pipe interiors.
They are teeming with harmless microbial life and incidents of waterborne illness are rare.
Because of this, water treatment plants add chemicals called polyphosphates to dissolve the minerals to keep the scale buildup under control.” A recent study by co-author and civil and environmental engineering professor Wen-Tso Liu has shown that even with the addition of antimicrobial agents by water companies, the bacteria that grow on the mineral scale can reproduce to harmful levels in supplies that stagnate within indoor plumbing.
In a new study published in the journal Biofilms and Microbiomes, a team of University of Illinois engineers shows that the addition of anti-scalant chemicals cause the biofilms to grow thicker and become softer.
The analytical method, developed by Stephen Boppart, a professor of electrical and computer engineering and study co-author, allowed the team to quantify the effect that polyphosphate has on the strength of biofilms.
To reproduce what happens in engineered plumbing systems, the team used PVC pipe and groundwater from the Champaign-Urbana area source to grow biofilms.
“Of course, one solution could be to replace pipes once they become clogged with mineral buildup,” Nguyen said.
“But that would be a very expensive endeavor for public utilities and property owners in a country as large as the United States.” Nguyen believes that the most affordable and realistic solution will come through a better understanding of water chemistry, not by trying to kill all microbes, ripping out pipes or changing regulations.
“We will not be able to control how long a drinking water user will allow water to stagnate, but we can work to understand how the chemicals we add to our water interact with biofilms.” This article has been republished from materials provided by the University of Illinois.

GRAWN — State officials confirmed a chemical contamination site near a local school and its drinking water supply.
Michigan Department of Environmental Quality personnel confirmed a four-acre contamination site containing the chemicals perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl — or PFAS — 900 feet west of Blair Elementary School, according to a Grand Traverse County Health Department press release issued Thursday.
Carl’s Retreading, a scrap tire collection and recycling site, once operated there.
A 1995 tire fire sparked in a tire shredding machine and burned for weeks.
Officials used “aqueous film forming foam,” which contains PFAS, in attempts to douse the flames, the press release states.
State sampling efforts completed in May confirmed PFAS in the site’s groundwater, according to the press release.
Personnel from the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team and the county health department’s environmental health division continue working to identify drinking water wells that could be impacted, including Blair Elementary School’s water supply.
Personnel completed drinking water sampling at Blair Elementary School and another nearby residence July 16.
Results could be returned next week, according to the press release.
Follow Record-Eagle.com for further updates.

A new study found that running water to flush lead contamination may across increase levels Researchers from the Louisiana State University Health New Orleans School of Public Health found that running water to flush out lead is not consistently effective.
The study, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, surveyed homeowners and tested water samples from 373 New Orleans homes on the East Bank of the Mississippi River, the city’s water source.
By analyzing water of different temperatures after letting the taps run for three time increments, the researchers found that lead levels were actually higher after flushing for 30 seconds to 2 minutes.
In fact, the study found that only after flushing for 5.5 to 6 minutes did the lead levels begin to decrease and even then, only for a few hours.
Regular flushing for an extended amount of time is not economical or sustainable for many homes and the researchers concluded that public health messages need to change to ensure appropriate application of flushing and acknowledge its shortcomings.
“More effective interventions like certified water filters should be considered instead, particularly when replacing water service lines and plumbing is not economically possible,” Lead Researcher Adrienne Katner said.

Think before you drink!
While many consider winter Quebec’s most perilous season, summer, too, has its dangers.
That became especially clear a few weeks ago, when a historic heat wave killed over one hundred people in the southern part of the province.
But hazards also hide in the most innocuous places.
Deadly plants line hiking paths and even invade Canadians’ back yards.
Sharks sweep the Atlantic coast for easy food sources.
Most bacteria thrives in the summer.
In one Quebec town, residents are suffering the consequences.
In the worst cases, an infection can lead to a dangerous fever.
Above all, Quebec residents should informed of public announcements.