Water - Poison threatens Attica

Poisoned water threatens Attica and the health of those who consume tap water. This is the result of an investigation, published in the following report by the newspaper "To Vima".

Reportage by MACHI TRATSA

The hexavalent chromium spewing from rivers and water supply networks in East Attica and Boeotia, staining the water red, is not the only deadly danger threatening the inhabitants of the region. Zinc, arsenic, lead, nickel, nitrates and other dangerous toxic elements - most of which are implicated in the development of serious diseases and even carcinogens - were detected in the waters of not only these areas, but many others in Attica, by researchers from the Institute of Geological and Mineral Research (IGME). Uncontrolled industrial and agricultural activities "enrich" the groundwater with substances harmful to public health and create an "explosive cocktail", unsuitable for any use. The water in Marathon, Mesogeia, Nea Makri, Schinias, Lavrio, Falirikos Ormos and Thriasio cannot be used for water supply, nor for crop irrigation or any other application.

However, many people, whether unknowingly or not, use the water from the "dirty" boreholes to irrigate their fields or produce food for crafts and industries. Thus, according to experts, toxic substances end up through the food chain on our plates and in our glasses. "Vima" today reveals the "red" pollution spots in Attica and the maps showing the exact spots in the Mediterranean where total and hexavalent chromium, zinc, nitrate ions, arsenic and chlorine ions were detected - in some of them the concentrations were found to be more than twelve times the upper drinking limit. The recording of the concentrations of harmful toxins on scientific maps is not only alarming, it confirms one of the worst nightmares... Water quality in the wider Mediterranean area is only satisfactory in the area of the new airport. The catchment area that starts from Kalyvia and develops peripherally to the areas of Markopoulou, Koropi, Peania, Gerakas, Pallini and Spata is severely degraded with nitrate concentrations that exceed ten times the drinking water limits, as revealed by data from IGME's groundwater research project. In the wider area of Koropi the researchers of IGME, with a maximum permissible limit for nitrates of 50 ppm (parts per million), measured up to 500 ppm! "Based on the first values that have been found, some in wells and others in boreholes, the first conclusion is that the well horizon in almost all of Attica has been contaminated to such a point that it is prohibited for any use, because it has been directly contaminated by the surface water that carries wastewater and waste", comments the IGME researcher Mr. Smyrniotis.

Nitrate values above the limit (over 100 ppm) were detected in a two-kilometre-wide zone from the coast in Nea Makri, at the exit of the Oinoi valley, and in the marshy area of Schinias. The elevated concentrations of nitrate ions are attributed to agricultural or past farming activities and to the free and uncontrolled disposal of urban waste water from the surrounding municipalities. Nitrates (substances that are also implicated in carcinogenicity) are contained in nitrogenous fertilisers, are easily dissolved in water and penetrate plants (through the roots), to end up in the human body via the food chain. The presence of nitrates in high concentrations in drinking water interferes with the transport of oxygen in the blood, especially in infants (methaemoglobinemia or infant cyanosis). The treatment of such water to remove nitrates is very expensive and complex. Over-pumping of water in areas that have been subject to intensive agricultural exploitation for decades (Marathon, Nea Makri and Mesogeia).