Tag Archives: spill

DHEC in the News: Oyster beds, mosquitoes, food recovery app

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Here’s a look at health and environmental news from around South Carolina.

Oyster beds near Stono River will reopen on Tuesday after sewer spill

Oyster beds in the vicinity of the Stono River will reopen to harvesting Tuesday, state regulators said Monday.

The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control are reopening beds from Charleston Harbor south to the North Edisto River as of sunrise, after testing showed the waters were safe again. The beds were closed in late February after a town of Hollywood sewerline spilled at least 2.4 million gallons from Feb. 19 to Feb. 26, according to DHEC.

Horry County joins DHEC mosquito trapping program

Horry County Stormwater officials have a plan to improve how they locate areas with substantial mosquito populations, in order to conduct spraying.

The Stormwater Department has joined DHEC’s mosquito trapping program. …

“We’re already starting to see them. We are starting to get service requests in,” said James Brock, Horry County Mosquito Control Supervisor.

Columbia Restaurants Can Donate Food Instead of Throwing It Away with App

Columbia, SC (WLTX) – The City of Columbia is working to combat hunger in the area and thanks to an app, everyone can get involved.

According to the State Department of Health and Environmental Control, 1 in 8 adults go hungry and for children those odds are 1 in 6. The Columbia Food Policy Committee is working to change those numbers with the help of restaurants and volunteers.

DHEC in the News: Oysters recalled, Alzheimer’s, pollen

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Here’s a look at health and environmental news from around South Carolina.

DHEC recalling Charleston County oysters harvested during sewage leak

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Health officials in South Carolina have ordered a recall of oysters harvested where a sewage spill occurred last month.

Black Americans are twice as likely to get Alzheimer’s. Vernon Williams was one of the unlucky ones

Vernon Williams had begun to forget little things. He would begin driving, only to realize he couldn’t remember how to get to where he was going. Trips to the refrigerator ended in frustration. After church, people he had known for years greeted him. But he couldn’t recall their names.

“I just couldn’t remember exactly,” he said.

He wasn’t even thinking about Alzheimer’s disease then. Now, it’s his reality. Williams, 84, began to notice the early signs of the disease about two years ago.

General Interest
With pollen out in full force, Charleston allergy experts offer tips to mitigate your symptoms

That yellow film covering every conceivable outdoor surface signals two truths: Spring is right around the corner and pollen allergy sufferers are miserable.

It’s not just your imagination, there’s a lot of pollen out there. In fact, “the current pollen count is between the ‘high’ and ‘very high’ range,” according to a statement published Tuesday by Charleston Allergy and Asthma.

Three local allergists offer answers about the best allergy medicines, how genetics play a role in seasonal allergies and, perhaps most importantly, when we can expect all this pollen to disappear.

DHEC in the News: Flu, DHEC grant aids Bamberg County, sewage

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Here’s a look at health and environmental news from around South Carolina.

MUSC extends visitor restrictions as flu cases continue mounting

Visitor restrictions have been extended at Medical University Hospital through Jan. 29 as the flu continues to ravage the Lowcountry.

Visitors may only visit inpatients and patients in the emergency department and will be restricted to a patient’s immediate family members only, including partners, significant others, spouses, parents, children and caregivers.

DHEC grant funds waste tire recycling upgrades in county

BAMBERG — Bamberg County is utilizing a South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control grant in the amount of $254,250 to improvement its waste tire recycling.

SCDHEC announced the grant in May.

As a result, the county has been able to purchase a new roll-off truck and six 30-yard containers in addition to making Convenience and Recycling site improvements, such as privacy fencing and new carport covers.

General Interest

700,000+ gallons of sewage spilled in Columbia in ’17 — but that’s a big improvement

Nasty, poorly treated sewage remains a threat to Columbia rivers, but city officials and a riverkeeper group are encouraged by data showing the volume of spills was down last year.

For the first time in five years of compiling sewage spill data, the Congaree Riverkeeper says spills dropped below 1 million gallons in 2017. The group reports that utilities, led by the city of Columbia, released 758,000 gallons of untreated wastewater.