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Letter from Dr. Aubrey J. Serewicz, Sept. 3, 2010:
On Monday August 30, I attempted to view the testing apparatus for H2S measuring at the Cortland School. I was summarily refused with the comment that such visits are not allowed on days when children are in school. Needless to say, I was there before the children arrived. (more…)
While Waste Management is jockeying for position and the School Board is pondering the bad hand it was dealt, the parents of Cortland are left in a quandary.
They need not be. Hydrogen Sulfide is not some new plague. The science of the damage it can wreck on people has been known for decades. The Federal EPA has spearheaded this study but Congress has allowed it to remain toothless. Just like with the West Nile Mosquito and the Lyme Deer Tick, parents will have to protect their children.
Every molecule of H2S eliminates one molecule of Copper within the child’s liver. There is no immunity to H2S, there is only reserve. The Copper in the liver helps to build white blood cells and to construct strong blood vessels. A normal 7 year old child with a healthy diet has a liver Copper concentration of 35 ug/g. With an average size liver of 110 g there should be a reserve of 3200 ug of Copper.
If we take a current case scenario from the Carnow, Conibear Report at Cortland School, the initial .080 ppm analysis can be shown to contain160 ug of H2S in 1470 liters of air. 1470 liters of air is also the volume of air that a 7 year old might breathe during a 7 hour school period. Since a 7 year child needs 400 ug of Copper per day this child could incur a deficit of 160 ug from its reserve. Unless this is compensated with increased copper, this reserve could fall below the 25 percentile level in 10 school days. A content of 15 ug/g in the liver could result and enter the critical range. From the actual reading in a classroom of .38 ppm and .62 ppm out of doors it is possible to gauge the potential range of the problem.
What happened to the children in the 2009-2010 school year? How could they now be protected? Copper concentration in the liver can be determined by a liver biopsy. Conveniently, though, hair analysis is an acceptable substitute and does reflect long term Copper status.
In fact, a recent study of adults living within .4 miles of this landfill was conducted by hair analysis. The landfill adults showed an average Copper concentration of 9.75 ug/g, while adults living at least 3 miles away tested at 29 ug. In addition, all of the landfill adults had critical cardiovascular problems. Veterinary Laboratories run hair analysis on valuable animals all the time. If a physician doesn’t know what to do with the hair analysis data a veterinarian can help.
Navarro and Wood (2003), Journal of Nutrition, determined that multi-mineral supplements had little short term effects with Copper. Fortunately, foods high in Copper are the best protection you can give your child. Consulting the USDA National Nutritional Database one will find these as highest in Copper. They are listed here in ug/oz: liver 2683/oz, cashews 633/oz, pacific oysters 452/oz, almond butter 257/oz, peanut butter 163/oz. Quaker Oat Granola 103/oz. How much does your child need? It depends on their current copper status and knowledge of the H2S burden from the landfill. Currently, the instrumentation that Waste Management is obliged to use to monitor their site activates at above 10 ppm.
One thing is certain. Don’t wait for help from your County or Village government.
EPA: Canister 15x more accurate than PID “Jerome”
Evaluation of Fugitive Emissions Using Ground-Based Optical Remote Sensing Technology
More Info: (From Dist428.org)
In this Video Report, Dr. James Briscoe expresses the need for DeKalb C.U.S.D., the Town of Cortland, Waste Management of Illinois, and others, to work together in the ongoing H2S detection and monitoring efforts at Cortland Elementary School.
