Water Wells First says the Chatham-Kent Public Health Unit is contravening the health act by not testing local water well sediments. Oct. 26, 2017. (Photo by Paul Pedro)Water Wells First says the Chatham-Kent Public Health Unit is contravening the health act by not testing local water well sediments. Oct. 26, 2017. (Photo by Paul Pedro)
Chatham

CK Health Unit Accused Of Not Doing Its Job

Water Wells First (WWF) says the Chatham-Kent Public Health Unit is contravening the Health Act by not testing local water well sediments.

WWF is now looking to meet with the local medical officer of health and Chatham-Kent's chief administrative officer to demand that solids in tainted well water be tested.

WWF says municipal testing doesn’t go far enough and fears carcinogens in Kettle Point black shale will cause cancer.

Water Wells First says the Chatham-Kent Public Health Unit is contravening the health act by not testing local water well sediments. Oct. 26, 2017. (Photo by Paul Pedro) Water Wells First says the Chatham-Kent Public Health Unit is contravening the health act by not testing local water well sediments. Oct. 26, 2017. (Photo by Paul Pedro)

Retired Hydrogeologist Bill Clarke says WWF is now testing to get a geological fingerprint and variation of the sediment.

"It's not predictable as to what we're going to find and that's why we need to continue doing these samples from place to place so we get the bigger picture of how much variation and what is present in each well," says Clarke.

The local medical officer of health, Dr. David Colby, says the water doesn't pose a public health hazard because particles are not dissolved in solution.  Colby says they are in suspension and get excreted instead of getting absorbed by the body.

WWF says 14 wells are now down in North Kent.

The group is having another public meeting November 7 at County View Golf Club at 7pm.

Clarke says Kettle Point black shale is known to cause cancer and needs to be tested to determine its local makeup.

"The details of why one well is affected but somebody closer to the wind tower is not affected are all related to the geology under that land," Clarke says.

He says the tricky part is that no two wells are the same when it comes to toxic heavy metals.

"Earth Mother has deposited them in the way she does. There are high concentrations of certain things in some samples and lower concentration in others but higher in the heavy metals maybe instead of the radiological," says Clarke.

 

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