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A Matter of Risk: Radiation, Drinking Water and Deception

Number 25343
Subject Water
Source KHOU-TV (Houston)
State Texas
Year 2011
Publication Date Sept. 9, 2011; Oct. 16, 2011
Summary You probably use it every day. And you probably think it's relatively safe. But imagine if your home's tap water was actually: making the plumbing so radioactive it could set off a Geiger counter, releasing a dangerous gas whenever you took a shower or ran a dishwasher, exposing you to a 1 in 400 chance of cancer just by regularly drinking it. And imagine if the people who were supposed to protect you from this situation not only knew about it and failed to do much of anything, but instead spent decades covering it up. That's exactly what the KHOU I-team discovered to be the case for half a million and more Texas consumers during its 12-month investigation into the quality of the state's drinking water.
Category Contest Entry
Pages 167
Keywords tap water; radioactive; cancer; drinking water
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