ubertoop

I just want to follow this up with a rather sad and disturbing metric[1] from the EPA regarding this superfund site in Rancho Cordova:

"...groundwater extraction and treatment systems (GETs) are operating throughout the site: ARGET, GET A, GET B, GET D, GET E/F, GET H-A, GET J, GET K-A, GET L-A and GET L-B. Together, they remove over 20 million gallons of contaminated groundwater each day on average. Through the end of 2010, all groundwater extraction and treatment systems in OU-3 and OU-5 have treated a cumulative total of 107,000 million gallons of groundwater and removed more than 850,000 pounds of chemical contaminants. Western"

Just think about that. 850,000 pounds of chemical contaminates removed from the DRINKING WATER of surrounding communities. If you ask me, pollution on this level should be criminal. It's projected to take 200+ years to fully cleanup. Where's the concern over public health? Barely being discussed.

I've heard some people say that it's "all cleaned up" and "the water is totally safe". I'm skeptical. Sure, those systems are in place, and designed to extract known chemicals... But:

a) What's the error rate? Surely, some is let through.

b) What about the unknown chemicals? What in that froth of contaminated soil has yet to be identified as carcinogenic, neurotoxic, etc.? Surely some of that isn't targeted for removal in the filtration process?

...

Some whom I've spoken with doubt that industrial pollutants are the cause of the strange rise in auto immune disorders in the community. They generally seem pretty averse to the idea that a corporation could damage the environment in such a way. It's a weird "us and them" way of thinking... Any discussion of ecological damage is written off in their minds as a necessary evil for progress. I come from a background steeped in respect for science, engineering, and business yet I don't share that view.

I recommend "The Devil We Know" if you're skeptical about industrial pollutants [2].

[1] https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/SiteProfiles/index.cfm?fus...

[2] https://youtu.be/hs4mzSPIzXo

I'm so sorry to hear about your wife. I recommend getting multiple opinions. Unfortunately, much of this research is new and largely varies from doctor to doctor. I don't know specifics (since I'm luckily not a patient) but from what I've heard, there are many different metrics to look at. It's not as simple as any one blood marker.

As for treatments, I wish I had good news. Unfortunately, the women I know who are dealing with this are not seeing great results at all. Some have tried IGIF, Methotrexate, and steroids. It's difficult to call any of their treatments a 'success'. I guess if you consider the fact that they're still alive, that's success... But their quality of life is a fraction of what it once was.

Rocketdyne yes, Simi Valley no.

I grew up approximately 2.5 miles from a major rocket manufacturer. We're talking R&D and manufacturing of jet propulsion and rocket systems since the 80s.

They totally polluted the water tables in the area with by-products of rocket fuel and other industrial chemicals used to clean engines.

They were fined in the 90s and supposedly worked with local water authorities to setup a filtration system... but decades later, they're still finding the pollutants are actually SPREADING to adjacent water tables in communities miles from the original location.

Even worse... many women from the community I grew up in have developed strange autoimmune disorders in their 40s and 50s. Like, a truly abnormal number of them. Many of these women are upper middle class, health conscious, non-smokers, including many athletes. Among those disorders, one of the common ones is issues with their thyroid.

Turns out that one of the major byproducts of rocket combustion - if consumed - is known to fuck up your thyroid.

Am I saying that I know for sure that the pollution of the water tables caused all these women to develop these strange disorders? I can't say for sure. I respect the scientific process and I certainly don't want to jump to any unfair or drastic conclusions, but it seems likely.

As recently as 2011 the area was again hit with a $60 million fine for cleanup. A slap on the wrists for the level of ecological damage they've caused. The water basin in this area is permanently damaged, and seems (even after decades or rain fail) to still be seeping into surrounding areas.

EDIT: For those wanting more specifics...

Aerojet / Rocketdyne is the company. Rancho Cordova is the city.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerojet#EPA_Superfund_sites

It's antiquated. My toaster uses machine learning to determine the "doneness" of the bread. Thereby allowing for breads of variant moisture levels to be brought to the same level of doneness, independent of surface heat.

Couple that with the fact that my toaster is also connected via 802.11g to the INTERNET where, naturally, I can view the toast progress via an iOS or Android app. A live feed of the toast progress is streamed to the app, and I can either cancel early or allow the bread to finish toasting. Upon finishing, a push notification is sent to my phone. Nice.

Lastly, and this is probably the highlight feature... I can share my toasting status to social. With the click of a button I can share a screen shot of my toast, WITH my choice of camera filter. Nothing says "ive got it better than you" than a picture of a perfectly toasted piece of toast with a christmas spirit filter.

Not really any of those things for my wife and I. We enjoy city life. It comes down to cost entirely. Would be happy to live in SF, but the cost is ridiculous. Found similar paying work in a much lower cost of living area of CA, and left immediately.

how does this happen :( so young...