Water in the city declared non-toxic

By Jake Menez Staff Writer

BRENTWOOD Anyone looking for a sequel to the Oscar-nominated film ‘Erin Brockovich’ needed only to tune into the Feb. 28 meeting of the Brentwood City Council to watch the city’s presentation on chromium-6, a water contaminant that has been linked to cancer.

The presentation, which said the city’s water meets state safety standards, was given by Miki Tsubota, the director of Public Works, for the city at the request of council members after citizens expressed their concern late last year.

“Last year, there was some public concern specifically about chromium-6 in our water,” Tsubota said. “We had our staff go out, do a grab sample and send it out for testing. Chromium-6 levels in our surface water were ‘no detect’ and from our wells range from 4 to about 7 parts per billion (ppb).”

By Dawnmarie Fehr Correspondent

BRENTWOOD Maria Munoz vividly remembers the day last September when her 11-yearold son Cristian was injured playing football with his friends.

He accidentally fell after jumping to catch a ball. On impact, Cristian felt intense stomach pain and knew something wasn’t right. He called his mom, who raced to pick him up. Later that evening, Cristian ended up in the Kaiser Permanente Antioch Medical Center, where doctors soon determined he had a common form of childhood kidney cancer known as Wilms’ tumor. The impact of the football injury ripped the tumor and caused Cristian’s excruciating pain. Munoz said she will be forever grateful for that fall.

“We are very grateful for God and life, and another chance,” Munoz said. “I thank God every day for Cristian’s fall, because that’s how

Cristian was sent to Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center for surgery where he was cared for by a team of physicians and nurses, including surgeon Sani Yamout, M.D., and pediatric oncologist Caroline Yingwen Hu, M.D.

“Wilms’ tumor is the most common childhood kidney cancer,” Hu said. “We see several cases each year. Symptoms can include belly pain, belly swelling, blood in the urine, nausea and vomiting.”

Hu added Cristian didn’t have these symptoms because his cancer presented itself suddenly, forcing doctors to quickly create a treatment plan that included surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. Though hope fills their thoughts, see Brave page 18

For scale, Tsubota said, one part per billion is the equivalent of a single drop in an Olympicsized swimming pool. The state is preparing to establish a maximum contaminant level of 10 parts per billion, which means Brentwood’s drinking water would more than meet state-level safety standards, according to Tsubota. The current state standard is 50 parts per billion.

Chromium is a naturally occurring odorless and tasteless mineral found in geologic deposits, according to the agenda packet see Water page 18

Educators Honored