Chemical contamination of Grands Vaux Reservoir and nature of chemical concerned

1240/5(2333)

WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE PRESIDENT OF THEENVIRONMENT AND PUBLICSERVICES COMMITTEE BY THE DEPUTY OF ST. JOHN

ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 1st MARCH 2005

Question

Would the President advise members –

1. whether the Committee'sofficers investigated the recentchemicalcontaminationofGrands Vaux Reservoir, and, if so, confirm the nature of the chemical concerned and the quantityfound in the water supply. What action, ifany, has been taken by theCommittee to prevent the contaminatedwater getting into thefood chain? and,
2. has theCommitteereceived information on the possible dangers,ifany,posed to health as a result of the contamination?

Answer

1. A routine sampleofwatertakenbyJerseyWateron the 29th December 2004, at the outlet to Augres TreatmentWorksshowedthepresenceofcyanazine at a concentration of1.4micrograms per litre. The results of the analysis were reported to Jersey Water by the U.K. laboratory that carried out the analysison the 25th January 2005. Following this result, Jersey Water sampledGrandsVauxReservoironthefollowing day, 26th January 2005. The result oftheanalysisshowed the presenceofcyanazine at 1.5microgramsper litre. Cyanazine is a herbicideusedonnarcissi including daffodils. It is considered to beof low acutetoxicity to humans.No reports ofacute adverse effects ofingestion of cyanazinehave been reported or are known to the NationalPoisons Information Service (London).

F o r other operational reasons, Grands Vaux Reservoir had been taken out of service by Jersey Water on 5th

January 2005, and has not been used for supply purposes from that date. Further sampling of the Reservoir on the 9th February 2005, showed continued contamination by cyanazine at between 1.1 – 1.3 micrograms per litre. The Reservoir is now being drained and will be refilled with fresh water.

T  he statutory standard for cyanazine (and most other pesticides) in Jersey under the Water (Jersey) Law

1972, as amended, is 0.1 micrograms per litre. This is in line with EU standards and is more stringent than the World Health Organisation (WHO) standard of 0.6 micrograms per litre. The WHO standard is based on a lifetime exposure to cyanazine by a 60kg adult consuming 2 litres of water per day.

T  he Water Resources and Environment Departments are investigating the cause of the pollution and will

present their findings to the Committee and if necessary the Law Officers' Department for any enforcement action.

2. Jersey Water's advisor onwaterquality, a leading U.K.toxicologistwho advises the U.K.Government and the World HealthOrganisationconcluded that whilstthe level ofcyanazinewasabove the Jersey regulatory limit of 0.1 micrograms per litre, the concentration founddidnotpose a risk tohuman health and the water was safe to drink. Following consultation with the U.K. Health Protection Agency, the Jersey Health Protection Department concluded that adults consuming up to 2 litres of water a day would not have exceededtheir Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI).However, it was recognised that theTDIfor bottle fedchildren may have been marginally exceeded assuming theconsumptionofwater containing the highest recorded level of cyanazine for the full durationof the incident. However,given the short period ofexposure,believed to have less than 4 weeks, it wasconcluded that this smallexcessof the TDI should not result in any appreciable health effects, going by the current state of knowledgeoftheacute toxicity of cyanazine.