St. John the Baptist Parish는 웨스크 뱅크 지역 주민을 위해 잠재적이고 치명적인 뇌세포를 먹는 아메바를 죽이기 위한 주의 높은 기준을 충족시키기 위해 4월 3일부터 식수 소독 공정을 변경한다.

Parich 관계자는 "chlorine burn"은 염소와 암모니아가 결합한 일반적인 클로라민보다 더 강하고 빠르게 소독된다고 밝혔다. 또한, 지역 주민이 burn공정 동안에 상수에서 염소 냄새나 맛을 느낄 수 있지만 이 물은 식수로 안전하다고 관계자는 안내했다.  

St. John the Baptist Parish will change its drinking water disinfectant process for west bank residents starting April 3 in an attempt to meet higher state standards imposed in an attempt to kill a potentially deadly brain-eating amoeba.

Parish officials will conduct a "chlorine burn" in which they infuse the water lines with free chlorine, a stronger, faster-acting disinfectant instead of the normal chloramines, a combination of chlorine and ammonia.

Residents may smell or taste chlorine in the tap water during the burn process, but the water is safe to drink parish officials said. Officials say they have not determined an end date for the burn.

St. John was among 73 water systems that the Department of Health and Hospitals issued violation notices to on Monday (March 24) indicating they were out of compliance with an emergency order that drinking water contain the increased level of chlorination to kill the rare Naegleria fowleri amoeba.

As of February 1, the state Department of Health and Hospitals said the Edgard treatment facility, which provides water to the parish's west bank, was not following the order.

The emergency rule requires that water systems maintain a higher residual disinfectant level and increase their number of sampling sites by 25 percent by Feb. 1.

While state officials say water that has not been treated with the higher chlorine level is still safe to drink, the precautions were imposed after a 4-year-old boy Mississippi boy contracted the amoeba and died after a visit to St. Bernard Parish last July.

St. John Parish President Natalie Robottom said the parish is attempting to comply with the order and will send a protest letter to state officials who she said failed to reply to an earlier request for a chlorine burn of the lines to ensure the disinfectant levels were adequate throughout the system.

She said the water is safe to drink and that parish officials have continually monitored the system for bacteria growth and found none.

The chlorine burn is a precautionary measure to ensure that there is no organism build up and will allow the west bank facility to reach the increased disinfectant levels, Robottom said.

Parish officials recommend that residents run the cold water tap for several minutes when water is not used for several days. Also, cold tap water can be refrigerated in an open pitcher for several hours, which should eliminate the chlorine taste and odor, officials said.

Filters that meet National Sanitation Foundation standards also can be used to reduce the taste and smell of chlorine.

[출처 = NOLA / 2014년 3월 28일]