MARCH 2013
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Upcoming Classes from CERT! Community Emergency Response Team, Lake Elsinore (CERT) is about
readiness, people helping people & doing “The greatest good for the greatest number”. CERT is a positive & realistic approach to catastrophic disaster & emergency situations where citizens will be initially on their own & their actions can make a difference! CERT is certified hands on training in emergency triage & medical prac-
STRAIGHT TALK ABOUT WATER
STORAGE AND CONTAINER CHOICES By Adam Cabucungan
Water, water, water!!! Water is the most important thing in any emer-
gency situation. That is why in any plan you make for your family to sur- vive through an emergency situation water must be the first thing you consider. At minimum you should plan on storing 1 gallon per person in your family for 2 weeks or 14 gallons each. THAT IS A MINIMUM. That means just barely enough to stay alive. If you can store 20 gallons per person for per week that will be a huge benefit to you and increase your survivability greatly.
How not to store water: You should not store your water in old Milk (Polyethylene) jugs, these
jugs have large pores and will transfer particles of whatever was previ- ously in them to your water, and also tends to leak over time. Also water bottles you buy in the store are meant to break down over time. This means that you should not use these for long term storage. These bot- tles begin to break down and leach into your water after 1 year, even less if it is stored in a sunny or hot place like a garage or car. Most im- portantly avoid storing water in containers that have held toxic chemicals such as solvents, gasoline, paint, antifreeze or bleach. No matter how you clean these containers you will never get rid of these toxins from the plastic and they WILL get into your water.
How to store your water: When storing water the first thing that you want to look for is to make
sure that your container is labeled "For Food or Beverage Storage" this is the most basic way to ensure that your container is meant to hold water. The second thing to check is that it is FDA approved Food Grade plastic. With this certification you can be sure that the plastics in your container are BPH, lead free and free of other toxins that could be in the plastic. I hear all the time "I know where I can get 50 gallon water con- tainers for $15 or $20". If you are getting your drums for that cheap it is because of one of two reasons:
1) The barrel is from China; in that case it probably has leads and other toxins in the plastics which will compromise your long term storage.
2) The barrel has been used before. It probably held some food sub- stance. Plastics have pores which soak up microscopic particles of whatever was in it previously. And if that substance can spoil or fer- ment, the water could make you sick. Since there is almost no way of ever knowing if or what was previously in your barrels it is much safer to just buy new.
Never store your plastic containers directly on cement. The chem-
icals in concrete can leach into your plastic containers over time and will cause your water to taste dirty. The easiest thing to do is place a piece of plywood under your container before filling it up. Store your water in a cool area away from direct sunlight. although many water containers now contain UV protection in their plastic you should still do what you can to inhibit direct light from hitting it, and thereby helping to ensure that bacteria from growing in your water.
tices, light search & rescue techniques & disaster readiness in a catastrophic disaster emergency situation you can help yourself, your family, your neigh- bors & your community. CERT training is a commitment of 20 hours of training.
Winter Session Six Evening Classes 6:30pm - 9:30pm Mondays & Thursdays March 18th, 21st, 25th & 28th, April 1st & 4th Class Final: April 6th (Saturday AM) (Attendance to all sessions is mandatory to receive certificate of completion) Where: Lake Elsinore Senior Center 420 E Lakeshore Dr Lake Elsinore, CA 92530 To Register: Call 951-674-5170 or email:
mzilliox@lake-elsinore.org
Spring Session Six Morning Classes 9:00am - Noon Mondays & Wednesday April 22nd, 24th & 29th May 1st, 6th & 8th Class Final: Saturday, May 11th (9:00am-2:00pm) (Attendance to all sessions is mandatory to receive certificate of completion) Where: Lake Elsinore Community Center 310 W Graham Ave, Lake Elsinore, CA 92530 To Register: Call 951-674-5170 or email:
mzilliox@lake-elsinore.org
BE PART OF THE SOLUTION
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