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GDPR Article 89.
Chlorine redux
There was just a short item in our small town newspaper's state briefs
about a fish kill in York PA. According to the article, the local water
company accidentally released 7,000 gallons of super-chlorinated water
into a creek (no mention of what the creek feeds into). It goes on to
say, "CHLORINE IS USED TO MAKE TAP WATER SAFE FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION [caps
mine; no mention that it is a deadly poison], but can be toxic to fish.
No long-term environmental damage was expected ..."
Ho hum.
If this had been a release of 7,000 gallons of ... oh, say malathion,
which is only a small fraction of the toxicity of chlorine ... by a
chemical company, it would have made national headlines. The language
would have been very different. Speculation on what might happen when it
reached the Chesapeake Bay would surely have been included.
I'm not against chlorine. I'm just wondering why this deadly poison is
treated so benignly in the press while far less toxic insecticides are
regularly pilloried.
I know that many on this list are committed organic gardeners, and I
suspect that some write often about the dangers of home pesticides, or at
least of the benefits of a pesticide-free home vegetable garden. And I
even agree that columns on the safe and careful use of such pesticides
are warranted; I do it myself. But I wonder how many have written, for
perspective, on ... let's say aspirin, which is many times more toxic
than any pesticide the home gardener can buy, which kills people every
year, and which we willingly swollow in quantities far greater than the
miniscule amount of pesticide residue that might be left on a tomato.
D
I am Duane Campbell and I approve this message
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