Title: Drinking at Home: Liquor Store Sales Rose During Pandemic
Category: Health News
Created: 8/24/2021 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/24/2021 12:00:00 AM

Title: What Are the Benefits of Drinking Tea With Milk?
Category: Health and Living
Created: 8/26/2022 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/26/2022 12:00:00 AM

Title: Magic Mushroom Hallucinogen May Treat Problem Drinking
Category: Health News
Created: 8/24/2022 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/25/2022 12:00:00 AM

New research shows that levels of overall and heavy drinking among Americans are still higher than they were in 2018.

Watch Video | Listen to the Audio

JUDY WOODRUFF: It’s been almost a month since Hurricane Maria destroyed much of Puerto Rico and killed at least 48 people. The island and its residents are still coming to grips with the scale of the devastation.

William Brangham brings us the latest.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Many Puerto Ricans are still in the dark, without electrical power. Hundreds of thousands still have no access to running water, and the rebuilding of the countless damaged homes, roads and facilities is just beginning.

The Associated Press reported yesterday that almost half the sewage treatment plants on the island are still out of service, increasing the risk of contamination and disease.

I’m joined now by David Begnaud. He’s a correspondent from CBS News who’s been doing some very strong reporting there from since when the storm hit, and is just back from his latest trip to the island.

David, welcome to the NewsHour.

I wonder. We saw many of your reports and others of people still three weeks out from the storm who are still drinking from streams and creeks. You heard — I mentioned this AP report about fears of contamination.

Can you just tell us what is going on there? How are people getting water now?

DAVID BEGNAUD, CBS News: Well, let me tell you this.

The governor of Puerto Rico said this morning that he’s aware of those reports and that they’re looking into it. What’s concerning, William, is that three weeks after the storm and at least a week after the allegations first surfaced that people might be trying to drink from toxic wells at what’s known as Superfund sites, the governor of Puerto Rico is still saying, we’re looking into it and telling people to stay out of rivers where sewage may be spilling into the river.

And, he said, we want them to stay away from the coastal areas.

How are people doing? They’re still desperate to get water. No one seems to be able to figure out how to get enough water to every single person on that island who needs it. And as long as people need water, it’s still an emergency phase.

Nearly four weeks later, no one seems to be able to move from the emergency to the recovery.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: So, people who are — we see them drinking out of these PVC pipes that they have kind of rigged and sort of poked into the side of a creek.

People are just drinking that water straight, without purification, without boiling it; is that right?

DAVID BEGNAUD: Absolutely.

Look, they have got the PVC pipes tapped into the mountains so that it’s coming out of the stream that way. And they literally are — I saw a woman walk up to a potable water tank that the military had brought in, and she had a Clorox bottle.

And I said, “Ma’am, you’re putting drinkable water in a Clorox bottle?”

And she said, “It’s all I have got.”

Now, that was a good scenario. The other scenarios are people right now who are drinking from streams and creeks and rivers who have no water filters, who have nothing, right? They’re just taking this water.

Now, listen, the government got a million water-purifying tablets within the last week. It took almost three weeks to get those. Now there’s a large push to bring in water filters.

I have got to tell you, most of the water filters I’m seeing brought in are coming from the private sector, and civilian samaritans who are getting 1,000 or more from the mainland and flying them over to Puerto Rico and personally hand-delivering them.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: That’s really incredible.

Medical facilities were another big — just a huge devastation on the island. I know you have been doing a lot of reporting on the USS Comfort.

DAVID BEGNAUD: Yes.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: This is the huge Naval hospital that is now just offshore Puerto Rico.

But I understand it hasn’t been fully utilized. Can you tell us what your reporting has found there?

DAVID BEGNAUD: The two men running the ship told us that nearly 87 percent of the ship is empty. Sounds alarming, right? They have 200 beds, and 87 percent are empty.

Now, here’s what they said: We stand ready for whatever the government wants to do. We are waiting to be told by the government.

So, I went to the governor, and said exactly what’s happening. And he said: “Look, I’m not satisfied with what the protocol was from the beginning.”

He said, initially, they were prioritizing only the most critically ill patients go to the Comfort. And he said there was a layered process that was complicating things.

So, the governor, Ricardo Rossello, said: “I started to take out some of those layers, and I, said, listen, take people on the ship who may not be critically ill, but need good medical care and can’t get it at the hospital, where the lights are flickering and the A.C. is not running.”

That’s what the governor said.

Within a matter of hours, I got a tweet from a third-year medical student who said: “Let me tell you what a nightmare it has been to reach the Comfort.”

He said: “We have got a pediatric patient who desperately needs to get off this island, either to a hospital on the mainland or to the Comfort.”

And he said: “I went through Google and the local newspaper to find the number. I couldn’t find it.”

Now, here is how things work. Within about 30 minutes of that tweet going out and that medical student’s story being posted, the governor’s spokesperson responded with numbers that should be able to help.

The bottom line here, William, is that asking relentless questions and the good work of journalism is what’s making a difference there. It’s no one person. There’s no heroic work that’s being done by any journalist, other than people who are going back to the same officials and asking some of the same questions, relentlessly seeking the right answer that will make a difference.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: One of the other pieces of reporting that you did that was very early in the story was this backlog of supplies trapped in container ships on the ports in Puerto Rico.

I understand some of that — some of those supplies are now moving. Can you tell us, are they getting to where they need to be throughout the island?

DAVID BEGNAUD: So, the shipping containers you’re talking about, about 3,000 sitting in the Port of San Juan, have been moved out, not all of them, but a majority of them.

And they were intended for grocery stores around the island. Right? So, those were private companies that had brought in these shipping containers, paid for the supplies, but couldn’t move them because their truck drivers were either at home, because the home had been destroyed, or the road was impassable.

More and more supplies are getting out. But let me tell you, the grocery stores around the island, they have a lot of nonperishables, Pringles, candy, cookies, all on the shelf.

But when you go to the meat section, it’s nearly 75 percent empty at the stores we have been to, the produce section 90 percent empty. And finding bottled water there is almost like playing a game.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: David Begnaud, CBS News, thank you so much for your reporting. Thanks for your time.

DAVID BEGNAUD: You bet.

The post Puerto Ricans still don’t have reliable drinking water, and fears of contamination are rising appeared first on PBS NewsHour.

On day one of Donald Trump's presidency, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he'll be advising Trump to take fluoride out of public water. The former presidential hopeful — and prominent proponent of debunked public health claims — has described fluoride as "industrial waste."

Mamoudzou (AFP) Nov 12, 2024
Around half the people in the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte were without potable water Tuesday after a "technical incident" at a treatment plant, a local authority said in a statement. The "event of electrical origin" at the Ouroveni plant overnight from Monday to Tuesday "is leading to water cuts mostly located in the centre and south" of Mayotte's main island Grande Terre, the p

Highlights: Chemicals in plastic bottles can seep into water, risking health Repeated use of single-use plastic

Henry Roman shares deeper insight into the problem and its possible solutions.

The post Sewage water turns into drinking water first appeared on International Water Management Institute (IWMI).

Although there are many drinking green tea benefits. But not a kind of health care products can be suitable for...

Although there are many drinking green tea benefits. But not a kind of health care products can be suitable for...

Each place has its own distinct feature of eating habits. As there are diversities in races so are the differences in food habits. So, below mentioned are some places with eye-popping customs of drinking or eating habits

Cambridge, MA. : National Bureau of Economic Research, 2023

rediffGURU Shreya Shah explains how you will start loving this habit.

Experts urge water industry to study plastic pipes’ vulnerability

Source of perfluorocarbon pollution as yet unknown, state says

Almost everyone is familiar with the beautiful, large and colourful flowers of the hibiscus plant. The hibiscus flowers not only create a natural beauty in your garden, but they also have medicinal uses. You can make teas and liquid extracts from

The Indian government's decision of starting the sale of liquor during lockdown to handle the states' economies, became a major topic of debate amongst people on social media. Some of them welcomed the decision and others criticised it by stating that

A South African couple died after drinking homemade beer to get around strict alcohol restrictions during the coronavirus lockdown. ......

NEW DELHI: An Indian pharmacist died and his boss was left hospitalised after the pair drank a chemical concoction they had developed in an effort to treat coronavirus, police said Saturday.The men worked for a herbal medicine company and were testing their treatment — a mix of nitric oxide...

NEW DELHI: An Indian pharmacist died and his boss was left hospitalised after the pair drank a chemical concoction they had developed in an effort to treat coronavirus, police said Saturday. The men worked for a herbal medicine company and were testing their treatment — a mix of nitric oxide...

NEW DELHI: An Indian pharmacist died and his boss was left hospitalised after the pair drank a chemical concoction they had developed in an effort to treat coronavirus, police said on Saturday.The men worked for a herbal medicine company and were testing their treatment -- a mix of nitric oxide...

Saturday Night Live kicked off its season 45 finale this weekend with a tip of the hat to the Class of 2020. The cast members appeared on-screen remotely in the cold open as graduating seniors, with Alec Baldwin joining them as President Donald Trump. Wearing a red “Make America Great Again” cap, Baldwin offered a […]

David Warner has opened up about how his wife Candice changed his approach to cricket, spurring him on to become more disciplined in a bid to develop into one of the world’s best batsmen.

Although there are many drinking green tea benefits. But not a kind of health care products can be suitable for...

Although there are many drinking green tea benefits. But not a kind of health care products can be suitable for...

Each place has its own distinct feature of eating habits. As there are diversities in races so are the differences in food habits. So, below mentioned are some places with eye-popping customs of drinking or eating habits

On Wednesday, a Twitter troll shared a snap of his winning moment while penning: 'We have an unhealthy relationship with alcohol in Scotland. This doesn't help'

K Sivanesan, 47, and his colleague Rajkumar worked for a herbal medicine company and tested their treatment - a mix of nitric oxide and sodium nitrate - at a home in southern Chennai city.

Almost everyone is familiar with the beautiful, large and colourful flowers of the hibiscus plant. The hibiscus flowers not only create a natural beauty in your garden, but they also have medicinal uses. You can make teas and liquid extracts from

A one-and-a-half year old infant died after accidentally consuming paint thinner in Balekundri, Bujurg village in Belagavi district on Saturday. The p

To understand the long-term effects of a prolonged tropical storm in the Panama Canal watershed, Robert Stallard, staff scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and research hydrologist at the U.S. Geological Survey, and Armando Ubeda, the LightHawk Mesoamerica program manager, organized four flights over the watershed to create a digital map of landslide scars.

The post Smithsonian hydrologist discovers that rainfall has dried up Panama’s drinking water appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Radon in household water supplies increases peoples overall exposure to the gas, but waterborne radon poses few risks to human health, says a new report by a committee of the National Research Council.

The federal government should not increase the maximum level of copper allowed in drinking water, because higher levels could lead to liver poisoning in infants and children with certain genetic disorders.

Good morning. I am Richard Bonnie, chair of the Committee on Developing a Strategy to Reduce and Prevent Underage Drinking.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys standard for the maximum amount of fluoride allowed in drinking water -- 4 milligrams of fluoride per liter of water -- does not protect against adverse health effects.

Evidence exists that people who lived or worked at Camp Lejeune Marine Base in North Carolina between the 1950s and 1985 were exposed to the industrial solvents tricholorethylene (TCE) or perchloroethylene (PCE) in their water supply, but strong scientific evidence is not available to determine whether health problems among those exposed are due to the contaminants, says a new report from the National Research Council.

The presence of plastics in aquatic environments is a growing concern across the EU. This study explored the amount of microplastic particles present in raw and treated water at three water-treatment plants in the Czech Republic. While treated water contained fewer particles than raw1 fresh water, the amount found in treated water was not negligible, and largely comprised tiny particles of <10 micrometres (μm) in diameter. Ways to filter microplastics from potable water must be identified and their risk to humans, sources and routes into drinking water determined, say the researchers.

Long-term, low level exposure to arsenic in drinking water may increase a person’s risk of skin cancer, according to a new study conducted in Hungary, Romania and Slovakia. The study suggests that levels of inorganic arsenic previously thought to be harmless may have a carcinogenic effect over a longer period of time.

The presence of organic pollutants in waste water and drinking water can have alarming environmental and public health implications. Current water treatment methods have limitations: they can only remove certain contaminants, to certain extents, and also produce harmful by-products. New and improved methods are required. A recent review paper presents radiation processing as a promising approach, providing strong evidence of its efficacy, efficiency, safety, and feasibility. Focusing particularly on the use of electron-beam processing for the removal of organic pollutants from waste water and drinking water, the researchers present a compelling picture, relevant to stakeholders involved in water treatment and management.

The presence of disinfection by-products (DBPs) in drinking water is an emerging health concern. DBPs come in many classes and are chemically diverse, making them challenging to monitor. Swedish researchers have evaluated a new method for the simultaneous determination of a broader range of DBPs than typically possible using other available techniques. The method uses gas chromatography (a laboratory technique that separates and analyses vaporisable compounds in a mixture), together with a halogen-specific detector (XSD). Having been tested in real water samples from two municipal waterworks in Sweden, the method has been optimised for the simultaneous determination of a wide range of neutral DBPs.

A new study finds that drinking water quality near Marcellus shale gas extraction sites could be compromised.

With a major summertime 'drinking holiday' just around the bend, make sure that you have a few libation-related odds and ends on hand for when your thirsty part

'Drynuary' was created to offset the wretched excess of the holidays, but is it beneficial?

Mayor Sadiq Kahn wants Londoners to stay hydrated with public water fountains while generating less plastic waste.

Santa Monica's iconic amusement pier is the site of this year's Land Art Generator Initiative. The Pipe is an offshore desalination concept that's making waves.

May 14, 2011, is Stamp Out Hunger Day and World Fair Trade Day. It's one of those occasions when you can do some good for other people while you're still in you