Tourist killed by hotel water

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Miami Herald

Posted on Sunday, 12.13.09
TAINTED WATER
Tourist killed by hotel water
After a hotel's powerful filter removed all the chlorine from city water, bacteria grew -- killing one and making two others ill.

BY JOSE PAGLIERY
[email protected]

A foreign visitor has died and at least two other people have become sick after staying at a downtown Miami luxury hotel, and health officials are blaming an unusual type of pneumonia called Legionnaire's Disease.

Guests at the Epic Hotel have been relocated upon request to nearby hotels to prevent further contact with the Legionella bacteria in the water, according to the Miami-Dade County Health Department.

An investigation this week by county and state officials revealed that the hotel had installed a water filter powerful enough to remove chlorine from its city-supplied water, a move that encouraged bacterial growth.

``What's ironic is the hotel installed a special filtration system to enhance the quality of their drinking water,'' said Dr. Vincent Conte, the county's top epidemiologist.


Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami-dade/story/1379545.html

---

http://www.design42day.com.nyud.net:8090/uploads/2009/07/epic-hotel-miami-1.jpg http://www.elitetraveler.com.nyud.net:8090/~resources/images/press/Ephotel.jpg

[3waygeek]

1. Epic Hotel?

Sounds more like Epic Fail to me.

[Hekate]

2. When I stayed at a hotel in San Diego recently they provided complimentary bottled water....

... because San Diego's water is notoriously chlorinated. I've been back and forth to SD many times in the past 50+ years and the water has always smelled and tasted like a swimming pool to me. I'm sure there's a local reason it's so strong.

In any case, I appreciated the hotel's having done that. Sounds like Miami's Epic needed to think through what they were doing.

Hekate

[tomm2thumbs]

9. I've stayed in Akron, OH and the water smelled horrible - hotel had to provide bottles

It was the Quaker Square Inn - and it literally was a sour, vomitous smell. I was shocked the hotel could even be open. Never went back.

[NEOBuckeye]

28. It's a residence hall now for the University of Akron

Hopefully, the water is better for the students who live there.

[tomm2thumbs]

45. that is hilarious - just found a link to it

http://www.uakron.edu/college_life/housing_dining/residence_hall_details.dot?hallid=3291&pageTitle=North%20Quad&crumbTitle=Quaker%20Square

Funny that they converted it - hope they cleaned out the pipes when they did. It was foul!

Here's the pre-dorm look... there's a pictures link on the top of the page - interesting place with the round rooms.
http://www.quakersquareakron.com/

[JerseygirlCT]

42. Oh, man, I can still remember the water when we were in Akron

20 years ago! It was almost slimy. I was sick as a dog all the way back to CT. (And the PA Tpk likes to park rest stops only at the exits. That was one very rough ride!)

[izquierdista]

11. Reason?

Check the course of the Tijuana river on a map sometime.

[Hekate]

24. Thank you, Iz. I honestly never considered that while visiting my Grandma, Aunties, and Cousins...

Now that nearly every one of them has either moved away or passed on, there will be ever-fewer reasons to go there... in fact, this last visit was for a reunion on the occasion of the interment of one of my aunts, who was 96 when she died in Seattle this September. The wife of a cousin got us a special "promotional rate" at the US Grant Hotel, that probably none of us would have stayed in otherwise due to its normal rates :eyes: Spiffy place, very. And I have to say the bottled water was a nice touch.

Hekate

[chimpyisstillsatan]

16. San Diego water

mostly comes from long distances (the Sacramento River Delta and the Colorado River, I think. Most of the year it travels through blazingly hot climes to get here, which bacteria love. My guess is that's why they have to nuke it before sending it into our kitchens.

I just moved here last year, and I agree that this is the worst tasting municipal water in the US. That said, The New Orleans water is all from the Mississippi River, is "treated" by settling out the particles and adding bleach, but was voted the BEST tasting water in the US when I lived there. I guess all those petrochemicals are good for flavor, too!

[KansDem]

52. I grew up in the Long Beach area and went away to college in San Diego

I'll never forget my first apartment. For several weeks I washed and rewashed my glasses thinking I wasn't getting them clean because when I drank water from them, it didn't taste all that good. I kept thinking, "Damn! I'm not getting these glasses clean!" Then I realized it was the water.

That was in the early 1970s. Apparently, it hasn't changed much...

[damntexdem]

56. Long Beach water wasn't any great shakes either.

Not after Hetch Hetchy water in San Francisco.

[damntexdem]

55. Just SD's courtesy to all of its residents who have their own pools.

No need to add additional chlorine. ;-)

[No Elephants]

3. Deadly drinking water? Sounds like we get more Third World all the time.

[ET Awful]

4. Actually, as the article states, it was deadly because the hotel altered the water they got

from the city supply.

Had they used the provided supply, the bacterial growth would not have occurred.

[sce56]

31. Yes it would have just contained all the other things you don't want

Like
Petrochlorate
Estrogen from BC pills
Pesticides

Looks like one of those catch 22's dammed if you do dammed if you don't!

And people wonder why Viagra is in so much demand now days

Knight Ridder Newspapers
27 June 2003

Estrogen can bend gender of male fish living in water contaminated by birth-control pill residue
By Seth Borenstein

WASHINGTON - The female hormone estrogen can bend the gender of male fish that live in bodies of water contaminated with the residue of birth-control pills, a new study indicates.

For three years, Canadian scientists have put birth-control pills into a remote Ontario lake to measure this impact. The results: All male fish in the lake - from tiny tadpoles to large trout - were "feminized," meaning they had egg proteins growing abnormally in their bodies.

The experiment was intended to match the impact that the female hormone estrogen may be having on many American bodies of water, as city sewage systems empty waste into them that is contaminated with residue from birth-control pills.

One-third of male Pearl Dace minnows grew eggs in their testes. The entire population of the common Fathead minnow, once numbering in the several thousands, crashed to near zero because the hormone-stoked fish couldn't reproduce.

Symptoms of Excessive Estrogen in Men

The symptoms of estrogen dominance in men include:

* Low sex drive
* Impotency/erectile dysfunction
* Infertility
* Male pattern baldness
* Gynecomastia, or "man boobs"
* Weight gain
* Enlarged prostate
* Prostate cancer
* Testicular cance


If you drink water that comes from a river better look up stream to see who discharges the water from their waste water treatment facility into those rivers it is clean but not pure!

Here is the report from the County of Miami it did not format correctly coming from the .pdf look here if you want a better look.
http://www.miamidade.gov/wasd/library/report/water_quality_2008.pdf

PARAMETER
Parámetros
FEDERAL
MCL (a)
MCL Federal
(a)
FEDERAL
GOAL (b)
Meta
Federal (b)
STATE
MCL
MCL Estatal
YEAR
TESTED
Año
Examinado
MAIN SYSTEM
Sistema Principal
SOUTH DADE WATER
SUPPLY SYSTEM
Sistema de Suministro
del Sur de Miami-Dade
AVENTURA
(NORWOOD)
MICROBIOLOGICAL CONTAMINANTS Contaminantes Microbiológicos
Total Coliform Bacteria (c)
Totales de Bacterias Coliformes (c) 5% 0 5% 08 0.5% 0% 0% Naturally present Se encuentra naturalmente DISINFECTION BYPRODUCTS Productos Secundarios al Proceso de Desinfectar
Total Trihalomethanes (ppb) (d)
Total Trialometanos (ppb) (d) 80 N/A 80 08 30 (3 - 85) 17 (4 - 55) 8 (3 - 9) Byproduct of drinking Producto secundario Haloacetic Acids (ppb) (d)
Acidos Haloacéticos (ppb) (d) 60 N/A 60 08 29 (5 - 68) 11 (4 - 30) 21 (6 - 26) Byproduct of drinking Producto secundario DISINFECTANTS Desinfectantes
Chloramines (ppm) (e)
Cloraminos (ppm) (e) MRDL=4.0 MRDLG=4 MRDL=4.0 08 2.5 (ND - 5.1) N/A 2.4 (0.1 - 4.0) Water additive used Aditivo utilizado para Chlorine (ppm) (e)
Cloro (ppm) (e) MRDL=4.0 MRDLG=4 MRDL=4.0 08 N/A 1.6 (0.2-3.5) N/A Water additive used Aditivo utilizado para VOLATILE ORGANIC CONTAMINANTS Contaminantes Orgánicos Volátiles
cis-1, 2-Dichloroethylene (ppb)
cis-1, 2-Dicloroetileno (ppb) 70 70 70 08 ND ND 0.59 (0.28 - 0.59) Discharge from industrial Desecho de fábricas INORGANIC CONTAMINANTS Contaminantes Inorgánicos
Antimony (ppb)
Antimonio (ppb) 6 6 6 08 ND 0.8 (ND - 0.8) ND Discharge from fire Desecho de resistentes Arsenic (ppb)
Arsénico (ppb) 10 N/A 10 08 1.8 (ND - 1.8) ND ND Erosion of natural La erosión de depósitos Barium (ppm)
Bario (ppm) 2 2 2 08 0.009 (0.006 - 0.009) 0.02 (0.01 - 0.02) ND Erosion of natural La erosión de depósitos Copper (ppm) (f) (at tap)
Cobre (ppm) (f) (en la llave) AL = 1.3 1.3 AL = 1.3 08/06 (g)
0.07, 0 homes out of 73
(0%) exceeded AL
0.07, 0 hogares de 73
(0%) excedieron AL
0.92, 1 home out of 33
(3.0%) exceeded AL
0.92, 1 hogar de 33
(3.0%) excedio AL
0.73, 0 homes out of
100 (0%) exceeded AL
0.73, 0 hogares de 100
(0%) excedieron AL
Corrosion of household Corrosión del sistema Fluoride (ppm)
Fluoruro (ppm) 4.0 4 4.0 08 (h) 0.7 (0.2 - 0.7) 0.1 1.4 (0.3 - 1.4) Erosion of natural Erosion de depósitos Lead (ppb) (f) (at tap)
Plomo (ppb) (f) (en la llave) AL = 15 0 AL = 15 08/06 (g)
2.8, 1 home out of 73
(1.4%) exceeded AL
2.8, 1 hogar de 73
(1.4%) excedieron AL
1.2, 0 homes out of 33
(0%) exceeded AL
1.2, 0 hogares de 33
(0%) excedieron AL
4.0, 3 homes out of 100
(3%) exceeded AL
4.0, 3 hogares de 100
(3%) excedieron AL
Corrosion of household Corrosión del sistema Nickel (ppb)
Níquel (ppb) NE N/A 100 08 ND 1.3 (ND - 1.3) ND Corrosion of bronze
Corrosión del bronce
Nitrate (as N) (ppm)
Nitrato (como N) (ppm) 10 10 10 08 0.8 (ND-0.8) 7 (2 - 7) ND Erosion of natural Erosión de depósitos Sodium (ppm)
Sodio (ppm) NE N/A 160 08 43 (25 - 43) 22 (13 - 22) 38 Erosion of natural Erosión de depósitos RADIOLOGICAL CONTAMINANTS Contaminantes Radiológicos
Alpha Emitters (pCi/L)
Emisores de Alfa (pCi/L) 15 0 15 08 3.4 (ND - 3.4) 8.4 (ND - 8.4) ND Erosion of natural La erosión de depósitos Combined Radium (pCi/L)
Radio Combinado (pCi/L) 5 0 5 08 0.7 (0.2 - 0.7) 0.9 (0.4 - 0.9) ND Erosion of natural La erosión de depósitos Uranium (μg/L)
Uranio (μg/L) 30 0 30 08 ND 1.2 (ND - 1.2) ND Erosion of natural La erosión de depósitos 2008 Radon Data Summary
2008 Water Quality Data
Miami-Dade Water & Sewer Department
Listed below are 19 parameters detected in Miami-Dade’s water
during the reporting period. All are below maximum contaminant
levels allowed. Not listed are many others we test for, but that
were not detected. Unless otherwise noted, all parameters were
tested in 2008.
En la tabla siguiente se hallan 19 parámetros detectados en el agua del Condado
Miami-Dade durante el período del informe. Todos están por debajo de los niveles
máximos permitidos de contaminantes. La lista no refleja muchos otros que
examinamos, y que no fueron detectados. De no indicarse lo contrario, todos los
parámetros fueron examinados en el 2008.
3
PARAMETER
Parámetros
FEDERAL
MCL (a)
MCL Federal (a)
FEDERAL
GOAL (b)
Meta Federal (b)
STATE
MCL
MCL Estatal
YEAR
TESTED
Año Examinado
MAIN SYSTEM
Sistema Principal
SOUTH DADE WATER
SUPPLY SYSTEM
Sistema de Suministro del Sur
de Miami-Dade
AVENTURA
(NORWOOD)
Radon (pCi/L)
Radón (pCi/L) NE NE NE 08 174 (22 - 174) 234 (68 - 234) ND Naturally occurring Ocurre natur

[WriteDown]

32. In this case our super technology is what doomed them...

Almost too ironic.

[dipsydoodle]

39. If you search

you'll find similar occurences in the past in at least the UK and France. The common link is storage of water - think so anyway.

[onethatcares]

5. how do you remove a liquid from a liquid?

this sounds shaky to me for some reason.

I understand that impurities such as heavy metals, sand, grit, can be seperated but I don't quite grasp this concept. Chlorine would be something that evaporates or gasses off, right?

[MineralMan]

7. Chlorine is fairly easily removed from water with an activated

charcoal filter.

[GoCubsGo]

8. Correct.

As anyone who has an aquarium can tell you, letting water sit for a day will allow the chlorine to evaporate off. The problem with their water filter is that it was in the wrong place. They removed the chlorine before it went into the system of pipes, rather than at the end of it. The water sits in the pipes, and bacteria can breed there if the water treatment (e.g., the chlorine) has been removed. The best place for a chlorine-removing filter would be at the faucet.

[Kali]

20. no offense personally, but when I read something like this

it really depresses me regarding the state of science education in this country.

no wonder so many don't comprehend evolution or the basics of how climate change is observed/occuring.

again nothing personal and I hate to rag on someone who at least is willing to ask a question - that is a good start.

of course re-reading my post makes me realize I probably depress the grammar/punctuation/writing police

[onethatcares]

40. no offense taken, but.

your grammar/punctuation and writing suck.:evilgrin:

maybe I should go back to school or sumpin. I really liked parochial school and Sister Mary Eileen was my favorite but jeeeeeses,
I take care of a commercial pool and I haven't heard of a filter that takes out chlorine.

Peace.

[Kali]

41. yeah but

with pools you don't want to take out the chlorine

my kids didn't get a very good science education - I find myself having to explain a lot of very basic information to them. drives me crazy

[Edweird]

6. There are about to be some wealthy families-of-tourists.

[dixiegrrrrl]

10. We use a water filter, have to add bleach to it occasinally.

Our local water is horribly chlorinated, undrinkable. The pre-filtered water should have a teensy few drops of bleach added every once in a while to avoid bacteria build up. The filter removes the bleach taste.

[marshall]

12. I didn't know people still drank tap water

And foreigners especially should be well accustomed to taking it from the bottle.

[Demit]

13. Tap water is fine, if it's treated properly.

Now you know.

[Frosty cupcake]

18. Tap water in Central Florida is delicious

And free.

[gateley]

25. Ditto for Seattle. And that's fewer plastic bottles in landfills. nt

[Roland99]

27. If you like the smell of sulphur.

That's one thing I noticed immediately after I relocated here from KY back in May. The water is undrinkable straight from the tap, for me. I keep my Brita pitcher filled!

[Warpy]

49. It always gave me the trots when I'd visit my parents

I had to stick to soda, bottled water, or water that had been boiled before turning into iced tea.

[Honeycombe8]

15. I do. But I put it in a filtered pitcher that I keep in the fridge. Bottled water-bad idea.

In the first place, some of that bottled water is, in fact, not "purified," some studies have shown. Second, it's expensive. Third, it's bad for the environment to make all those plastic bottles (it uses a lot of petroleum in the bottle making process). Fourth, some people don't recycle, so it adds to the landfill and trash problem. And finally, some studies have shown that humans cumulative exposure to plastics in connection with drinking and eating may cause health problems, esp. plastics that are heated with food in them - the toxic parts of the plastic leach out to the food (the plastic frozen dinner trays, plastic drinking glasses, plastic water bottles, plastic tupperware you heat foods in, etc.).

I've tried to cut out plastics. It's so ingrained in our society, now, that I have found it almost impossible.

[1monster]

17. My family drinks only distilled water. It is amazing to see the color difference between tap water,

regular bottled water, and distilled water. The tap water is yellowish. The regular bottled water is reasonably colorless, but a cup of tea brewed in it is a subtly different color than the same kind of tea brewed in distilled water. Distilled water is absolutely colorless and tastes only like water. Tea brewed in it is a very clear amber or slightly green colored water...

[snagglepuss]

30. Distilled water is extremely unhealthy. Lots of info out there. Te following

article covers most of the points.

http://healthinmotion.wordpress.com/2008/06/22/early-death-comes-from-drinking-distilled-water/

[Honeycombe8]

35. I've read that it is. But I like its taste, anyway, and I am doubtful about the harmful effects,

for adults.

Still, to be safe, I switched to using one of those pitchers with a filter, that I fill with tap water. It filters only about 3 things, leaving most of the minerals.

[trotsky]

38. Your subject should say "Lots of MISinfo out there."

Because that article is complete bunkum.

[snagglepuss]

43. As I stated its simply an overview of the issues but people who opt for

distilled water should do research themselves and not simply buy into the notion that tap water is dangerous.

The misinformation is coming from the bottled water industry.

"The Journal of General Internal Medicine published a study on the mineral contents of different waters available in the US. The study concluded

Drinking water sources available to North Americans may contain high levels of Ca2+, Mg2+, and Na+ and may provide clinically important portions of the recommended dietary intake of these minerals. Physicians should encourage patients to check the mineral content of their drinking water, whether tap or bottled, and choose water most appropriate for their needs.

Since distilled water is devoid of minerals, supplemental mineral intake through diet or dietary supplements are needed to maintain proper health.

It is often observed that consumption of "hard" water, or water that has some minerals, is associated with beneficial cardiovascular effects. As noted in the American Journal of Epidemiology, consumption of hard drinking water is negatively correlated with atherosclerotic heart disease. Since distilled water is free of minerals, it will not have these potential benefits."

An indepth review about distilled water was done by Frantisek Kozisek National Institute of Public Health Czech Republic

http://74.125.155.132/scholar?q=cache:Koxv3GrwCJ4J:scholar.google.com/&hl=en&as_sdt=2000

[trotsky]

44. The misinformation in your link comes from the acid/alkaline BS.

That is total crap and not a legit medical theory whatsoever.

[1monster]

53. Well, I started my family on distilled water when my son was born because the doctors and nurses

strongly recommended it. It's hard for me to believe that they would rec something harmful to babies.

Plus, distilled water is pure water. If that is harmful, I'm totally befuddled.

Steam distilled water is simply water heated to the point that it becomes water vapor. Then the vapor is allowed to condense and collected in a a container. I used to distill it myself when I worked in a cancer research lab many years ago.

[snagglepuss]

57. The Journal of General Internal Medicine published a study on

the mineral contents of different waters available in the US. The study concluded

Drinking water sources available to North Americans may contain high levels of Ca2+, Mg2+, and Na+ and may provide clinically important portions of the recommended dietary intake of these minerals. Physicians should encourage patients to check the mineral content of their drinking water, whether tap or bottled, and choose water most appropriate for their needs.

Since distilled water is devoid of minerals, supplemental mineral intake through diet or dietary supplements are needed to maintain proper health.

It is often observed that consumption of "hard" water, or water that has some minerals, is associated with beneficial cardiovascular effects. As noted in the American Journal of Epidemiology, consumption of hard drinking water is negatively correlated with atherosclerotic heart disease. Since distilled water is free of minerals, it will not have these potential benefits."



What is very informative is an indepth review about distilled water done by Frantisek Kozisek National Institute of Public Health Czech Republic

http://74.125.155.132/scholar?q=cache:Koxv3GrwCJ4J:scho...

[Honeycombe8]

34. Really? My tap water is clear. nt

[gateley]

26. I'm horrified by the number of bottles that end up in landfills - or

in the Garbage Patches in the oceans...

[Hawkeye-X]

23. Denver's water supply is fine

I drink out of the sink.

[gula]

37. Care to explain?

[Incitatus]

50. Most people who drink bottled water drink it

They just pay a hell of a lot more

[Retrograde]

51. I do - usually

But then I get San Francisco water, which comes from snowmelt stored n a granite canyon then piped to the local reservoir. I can definitely taste the difference when my town occasionally supplements it with well water.

When I was growing up in Buffalo in the 60s we'd occasionally get algae blooms in the tap water (which came from Lake Erie): looked weird and tasted a bit fishy, but didn't seem to do any harm. Most U.S. municipal water supplies are pretty good, although I find some in the Midwest a bit flat. OTOH, I avoid anything that comes from the Colorado River, especially in Orange County: by the time it gets there it's been recycled several times. I think this is where Las Vegas gets its water, and why it's so chlorinated.

[Honeycombe8]

14. Sounds like the problem may have been...they had the water sitting around stagnant for days.

If you install a filter to filter the water as it comes from the municipal supply (the tap), there would be no chance for bacteria to grow.

So they must have filtered it and had it sitting in a tank for a while, enabling bacteria to grow?

Everyone knows you don't leave water sitting around, stagnant, for periods of time. At least that's what I would think. I would worry at the outset. Unless the water is refrigerated, I guess.

[1monster]

19. In Flrorida, even in the winter, bacteria grows very quickly. It is so much warmer here year round

than most of the country.

[proud2BlibKansan]

21. One more reason to avoid those water filters!!

I've been preaching against them for years now.

[Hawkeye-X]

22. Las Vegas was the same way actually

and we were provided bottled water for EACH side of the nightstand.

Hawkeye-X

[Odin2005]

29. Epic Hotel Epic Fail?

[shanti]

33. so there's only two choices

chlorine or "bugs"?? i use a brita pitcher filter for my tap water, which supposedly takes out the chlorine. does that mean the bugs remain?

[Name removed]

36. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Turbineguy]

46. They might have gotten around that problem by recirculating

the cold water in the same way they do the hot water. But it might be better to put a drinking water dispenser next to the ice machines on every floor. Less of a maintenance headache than a filter in every room.

[Liberation Angel]

47. Radiation from nuclear power plants mutates bacteria causing mutations like Legionaires

Turkey Point is right near Miami.

Andrei Sakharov in the 1950's predicted man made radionuclides from atomic testing and other nuclear releases (power plants) would cause mutations of existing bacteria and viruses that humans would not be able to adapt to quickly enough causing massive pandemics.

Legionnaires, Norwalk virus (cruiseship variety), Lyme disease, and modern avian flu all developed/first spread in areas which were heavily iraddiated by nuclear emissions, effluents and byproducts (fallout).

Just sayin', when viruses and bacteria mutate they mutliply so quickly (so many generations so quickly) that we humans who have coexisted with these virsues and bacteria for millions of years cannot adapt our immune systems to the new mutated forms of the nasties. Then they start killing us.

Andrei Sakharov was father of the Soviet H bomb and became demonzed by the Soviets for his warnings in the Journal of Soviet Atomic Scientists (a secret journal article now available) in the 1950's.

Pandemics, mutated viruses, mutated new forms of bacteria , compromised immunity = death by nuclear.


See: www.radiation.org for more info on this

[Warpy]

48. All I can say is "well, DUH."

Filtered water has to be kept ice cold or pasteurized before it's bottled.

If the bugs are still there and there's anything for them to use as food, they will grow.

[damntexdem]

54. Earpic Hotel. Bankrupt hotel after the litigation?

Man, I told you that dihydrogen monoxide was a dangerous chemical!