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Daily Archives: April 5, 2021

We sampled tap water across the US and found arsenic, lead and toxic chemicals

“A nine-month investigation by the Guardian and Consumer Reports found alarming levels of forever chemicals, arsenic and lead in samples taken across the US by Ryan Felton and Lisa Gill of Consumer Reports and Lewis Kendall for the Guardian – “In Connecticut, a condo had lead in its drinking water at levels more than double what the federal government deems acceptable. At a church in North Carolina, the water was contaminated with extremely high levels of potentially toxic PFAS chemicals (a group of compounds found in hundreds of household products). The water flowing into a Texas home had both – and concerning amounts of arsenic too. All three were among locations that had water tested as part of a nine-month investigation by Consumer Reports (CR) and the Guardian into the US’s drinking water. Since the passage of the Clean Water Act in 1972, access to safe water for all Americans has been a US government goal. Yet millions of people continue to face serious water quality problems because of contamination, deteriorating infrastructure, and inadequate treatment at water plants. CR and the Guardian selected 120 people from around the US, out of a pool of more than 6,000 volunteers, to test for arsenic, lead, PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), and other contaminants. The samples came from water systems that together service more than 19 million people. A total of 118 of the 120 samples had concerning levels of PFAS or arsenic above CR’s recommended maximum, or detectable amounts of lead. Testing of the samples showed:

  • More than 35% of the samples had PFAS, potentially toxic “forever chemicals”, at levels above CR’s recommended maximum.
  • About 8% of samples had arsenic, at levels above CR’s recommended maximum.
  • In total, 118 out of 120 samples had detectable levels of lead.

The study has some limitations: the quality of the water at one location on a single day doesn’t necessarily reflect the quality of the water supplied by an entire system or at other times. But the ambitious undertaking, with community water systems chosen by CR’s statisticians from a representative mix of systems across the country, provides a unique view into some of the most significant challenges in America’s ongoing drinking water crisis…” [h/t Pete Weiss– How to test your drinking water – 

Are my passwords on the dark web? Protect your data after a breach

CNET – “By the time a company tells you your data’s been stolen as part of a breach, your information may already be on the dark web. Here’s how to keep pace with the hackers. Your personal data’s been stolen, but you often won’t learn about it until long after Facebook, Equifax, Marriott, Yahoo, DoorDash or some… Continue Reading

The Effect of COVID-19 on Law Libraries: Are These Changes Temporary or a Sign of the Future?

Sneed, Thomas, The Effect of COVID-19 on Law Libraries: Are These Changes Temporary or a Sign of the Future? (2020). Washburn Law Journal, Vol. 60, No. 1, 2020, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3815908 “Due to the public health crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the traditional roles of the library were altered spontaneously. These sudden… Continue Reading

How to pick the perfect password

PCWorld – Best practices for storing and creating: “Picking the perfect password comes down to a battle between two competing priorities: creating safe passwords that are lengthy and unique, and creating ones you can remember. You might think to yourself, I already have more passwords than I need! I’ve created passwords for years!  But with the rise… Continue Reading

How to limit the number of characters in a search and replace only a specific character in Word

Tech Republic – “When a Replace task goes beyond the basics, it requires wildcards and specialized knowledge. Learn how to use specific wildcards to limit the number of characters in a search string. Microsoft Word’s Replace feature is a powerful tool that can take on just about any search task. The problem is that it is… Continue Reading

55 Corporations Paid $0 in Federal Taxes on 2020 Profits report

Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy Report – “At least 55 of the largest corporations in America paid no federal corporate income taxes in their most recent fiscal year despite enjoying substantial pretax profits in the United States. This continues a decades-long trend of corporate tax avoidance by the biggest U.S. corporations, and it appears… Continue Reading

LexisNexis to Provide Giant Database of Personal Information to ICE

The Intercept: “The popular legal research and data brokerage firm LexisNexis signed a $16.8 million contract to sell information to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to documents shared with The Intercept. The deal is already drawing fire from critics and comes less than two years after the company downplayed its ties to ICE, claiming… Continue Reading

Corporate America Bankrolls Voter Suppression

“Some of the biggest names in corporate America are backing state lawmakers who are pushing bills to make it more difficult to vote, a new Public Citizen report shows. Corporations have contributed $50 million since 2015 to state legislators supporting anti-voter bills, including $22 million over the past two years, according to the report, “The… Continue Reading

A Comprehensive Guide to Those Responsible for the January 6 Insurrection

“This primer by Seth Abramson also explains, in detail, how and why the attack on the Capitol occurred. The Department of Justice calls the FBI investigation into the January 6 assault on the United States Capitol one of the largest criminal probes in American history. One of the reasons the investigation is so historically vast and complex is that… Continue Reading