River turns purple in Greek town

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Times of Oman, Enviromental News Network, Reuters,  abcNews

OINOFYTA, Greece. — The river started turning purple 10 years ago, but the people in the small Greek town of Oinofyta who were losing loved ones to cancer never thought of blaming the water.

Factories have been dumping waste in the Asopos River for decades and nearby tourist beaches were declared unfit for swimming, but there were no official warnings to the people of the town, in an industrial zone about 60 km (35 miles) north of Athens.

It took until this year for official tests to show drinking water was contaminated with high levels of the carcinogen chromium 6, catching the attention of US advocate Erin Brockovich and spreading shock and anger in the town.

Used as an anti-corrosive in the production of stainless steel, paint, ink, plastics and dyes, the metal is on the European Union’s list of restricted substances and listed as a carcinogen by the World Health Organization.

It poses health risks if inhaled or orally ingested, or comes into contact with skin. Since 1989, the proportion of deaths in the town caused by cancer has risen to 32 percent from 6 percent previously, according to Oinofyta’s priest, Father Yannis.

«When I heard it was so dangerous that you’re not even supposed to come into contact with it, I was terrified,» said resident Dina Fouki, a 35-year-old mother of two. «I have lost loved ones and will lose more. Something must be done.»

Fouki has lost her father and in-laws to cancer in the past five years and her