Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–May 11, 2015. Oil giant Chevron has been helping farmers in Kern County, CA find a solution to raising crops during the ongoing drought — but it may cause long-term health effects. The county is using treated oil field wastewater from the corporation to irrigate crops. As of now, the government only requires limited testing of treated wastewater, checking for naturally occurring toxins rather than screening for chemicals used in current oil-extraction processes. Legislation was passed last year that requires oil companies to identify for the state the chemicals they use in the oil-extraction process, but the Central Valley water authority, which regulates the water recycling program, gave producers until June 15 to report their results. To pick up the slack in the meantime, the advocacy group Water Defense, founded by actor and environmental activist Mark Ruffalo, collected samples of the treated irrigation water. The group works to promote access to clean water by testing local supplies and documenting contamination, and their findings indicated extremely high levels of oil, acetone and methylene chloride, a potential carcinogen, in the treated irrigation water.
