Got sick on an airplane flight?  It could have been the water.

The EPA has just published the Aircraft Drinking Water Rule (ADWR) to ensure that safe and reliable drinking water is provided to airline passengers and crew.  What prompted this was that in 2004, the EPA found all aircraft water systems to be out of compliance with the national primary drinking water regulations (NPDWRs).  According to the air carriers, it is not feasible for them to comply with all of the monitoring that is required in the existing regulations.

Subsequently, EPA tested 327 aircraft of which 15 percent tested positive for total coliform.  EPA considers this to be a high percentage of positive samples.  In response to these findings, EPA embarked on an accelerated process to tailor the existing regulations for aircraft public water systems.  In the interim, EPA placed 45 air carriers under Administrative Orders on Consent (AOCs). Until the final ADWR compliance dates, air carriers remain subject to the existing NPDWRs and AOCs where applicable.

It is great they are beefing up the system.  You can play safe by bringing an empty water bottle with you.  Fill it at the airport at water fountains located after security.

The EPA gives out Green Chemistry Awards to the design of chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate the use or generation of hazardous substances. Green chemistry applies across the life cycle, including the design, manufacture, and use of a chemical product.

When you are looking for green products, be sure to check out past Green Chemistry award winners.

A 2003 winner was the Environmentally Friendly Biofungicide Serenade from AgraQuest. It stops fruit and vegetable, rose, vines, and flower diseases.  It is Bacillus subtilis strain (QST713) based and compatible with IPM programs.

Fluoride Action Network is a site that is building public awareness of problems with the EPA’s approval of using Sulfuryl Fluoride to fumigate raw and processed food commodities like barley, bran, wheat.  Dow AgroSciences seeked approval because methyl bromide was being banned because of ozone depletion problems. Fluoride residue can result on the food that is consumed. There are no labeling requirements. This fumigant is also used when tenting building to kill termites. Science Daily reports that it is also a potent Greenhouse Gas that stays in the atmosphere for at least 30-40 years.

Stay tuned for more information.

Time to eat mostly organic?

Go for orange oil instead of Sulfuryl Fluoride when fumigating?