Launched Tuesday April 23, 2019 on www.zReportage.com Story #700: PARADISE Poisoned. The discovery was as surprising as it was ominous. Weeks after the Camp Fire roared through Butte County late in 2018, killing 85 people in the town of Paradise alone - the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history - officials made an alarming find: The Paradise drinking water is now laced with benzene, a volatile compound linked to cancer. Water officials say they believe the extreme heat of the firestorm created a 'toxic cocktail' of gases in burning homes that got sucked into the water pipes when the system depressurized from use by residents and firefighters. The contamination in Paradise, however, is more widespread than anyone could have predicted.'It is jaw dropping,' said Dan Newton of the state Water Resources Control Board.'This is such a huge scale. None of us were prepared for this.' The water contamination represents yet another unexpected and costly headache for California, a drought-prone state where water is a precious commodity. The expected cleanup and insurance costs of the Paradise fire exceed $2 billion. Experts say the water district may be able to clean the pipes to some of the homes later this year, but it will take two years and $300 million before hillside residents can safely drink the water from their taps. Benzene is both a natural and human-made compound used as a building block for industrial products such as plastic, lubricants, rubber, detergent and pesticide. It has been connected to various physical ailments, including skin and eye irritation, and vomiting from short-term exposure. Long-term exposure has been linked to anemia and leukemia. One noted water systems engineer said solving the benzene-contamination problem is the most scientifically complex task he has ever seen.
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A ceramic doll head is perched on a branch as one of the only remains in front of a burnt mobile home inside the Pine Springs Mobile Home Park on Clark Road from the Camp Fire Thursday.
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April 10, 2019 - Paradise, California, U.S. - 'I'm not worried about the water, but I'm not drinking it,' said DARLENE STEIN in her home in Paradise. Benzene, a cancer-causing compound, has been found in the Paradise water system.
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November 15, 2018 - Paradise, California, U.S. - A walker is one of the few remains left after the Camp Fire engulfed most of Pine Springs Mobile Home Park on Clark Road.
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April 10, 2019 - Paradise, California, U.S. - JIM WILSON and his wife MARTY collect rain water to shower and wash their clothes in Paradise. Benzene, a cancer-causing compound, has been found in the Paradise water system. Jim has hooked up a battery operated shower in their bathroom.
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April 10, 2019 - Paradise, California, U.S. - DARLENE STEIN folds up a flag that survived the Camp Fire inside her garage where they now store bottled water in Paradise. Benzene, a cancer-causing compound, has been found in the Paradise water system. ''I'm not worried, but I'm not drinking the water,'' said Stein.
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April 16, 2019 - Paradise, California, U.S. - JEREMY GENTRY, left, and LAURA CAPRA with the Paradise Irrigation district test for Benzene in the water in Paradise. Benzene, a cancer-causing compound, has been found in the Paradise water system.
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April 12, 2019 - Paradise, California, U.S. - RON WATTS, 72, takes a break with his dog while volunteering to pass out water at the Hope Recovery Center in Paradise. Watts lost his home in the Camp Fire but is grateful he didn't loose his pet. Benzene, a cancer-causing compound, has been found in the Paradise water system.
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April 16, 2019 - Paradise, California, U.S. - LAURA CAPRA, water quality technician, with the Paradise Irrigation district, tests for Benzene in the water in Paradise. Benzene, a cancer-causing compound, has been found in the Paradise water system.
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April 10, 2019 - Paradise, California, U.S. - DEBORA BELL says she feels like she and her husband GEORGE have been forgotten as she waited with her dog Sadie in line for water at Hope Recovery Center in Paradise. Benzene, a cancer-causing compound, has been found in the Paradise water system. Bell said they had no electricity or water in their home in Paradise and were living in a hotel in Rocklin.
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April 12, 2019 - Paradise, California, U.S. - GREG DECRISTOFARO, 72, works as a volunteer at Hope Recovery Center handing out cases of bottled water in Paradise. Benzene, a cancer-causing compound, has been found in the Paradise water system.
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April 16, 2018 - Paradise, California, U.S. - MARTY WILSON, left, and her husband JIM, right, drink bottled water at dinner inside their rental home in Paradise. They collect rain water to take showers, wash dishes and clothes. They lost their home in Paradise and hope to start building a new one. Benzene, a cancer-causing compound, has been found in the Paradise water system.
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April 10, 2019 - Paradise, California, U.S. - The water and electric meter at Debora Bell and her husband George's home in Paradise has melted from the Camp Fire and the Bells are now living in a hotel in Rocklin. Benzene, a cancer-causing compound, has been found in the Paradise water system.
© Renee C. Byer/Sacramento Bee via ZUMA Wire
