Flushable Wipes Causing Messy Problems For Plumbers

An image released by the utility company Thames Water company shows
part of a 15-tonne lump of fat and other debris coagulated inside a
main London suburb sewer. Thames Water calls it the biggest
"fatberg" ever recorded in Britain.

After 27 years as a plumber, Benjamin Franklin The Punctual Plumber's Ty Kontrath has seen almost everything.

"I've pulled out toothbrushes, scissors, eye glasses," Kontrath explained.

But what has become and even bigger nuisance are cleansing wipes that are marketed as flushable. A trade group says wipes are a US $6-billion-a-year industry, with sales of consumer wipes increasing nearly 5% a year since 2007 and expected to grow at a rate of 6% annually for the next five years. Many of his customers flush them down only to be handed a hefty repair bill. 

"They say, 'well why are they allowed to sell them', and I say 'well they're allowed to sell cigarettes and we know they cause cancer'," Kontrath said.

Kontrath finds backed up wipes on an almost weekly basis, at times backing water into homes.
But utility workers with Port St. Lucie deal with the wipes that travel farther into the drainage systems, and cause even bigger, more expensive problems.

"It could go into the hundreds of dollars per call," Donna Rhoden with Port St. Lucie utilities said.
The wipes get stuck in city grinders, which act like a garbage disposal for waste.

"It would get tangled up in there, Rhoden said."  They get jammed when the wipes simply never decompose.
"We have encountered intact wipes that we know have been in that system for a  two to three year period of time," said Rhoden.

Now Port St. Lucie utility workers and plumbers are hoping to see a decrease in wipe-related calls.
"Just use your regular toilet paper.  Anything other than that, just wrap it up and throw in the waste pail to avoid a very costly plumbing issue," advises Kontrath.

Robert Michaels, his dog allegedly killed by Matthew Johnstone, hit-and-run driver in OLD BETHPAGE

OLD BETHPAGE - A man has died after being hit by a car in Old Bethpage.

The incident happened at Round Swamp Road and Fairway Drive around 12:30 a.m. today.

Robert Michaels, 42, was walking his dog around 12:27 a.m. on Round Swamp Road in Old Bethpage when he was struck by a 2013 Dodge Avenger, police said.

The driver, identified as 37-year-old Matthew Johnstone, allegedly fled without stopping, but later returned to the scene where he was placed under arrest, police said,

The North Massapequa man is charged with leaving the scene of an incident.

Price Chopper supermarket issues milk recall

Price Chopper supermarkets issued a recall Sunday for Price Chopper’s milk in half-gallon paper cartons because of possible contamination with a cleaning solution in the milk.

The cleaning solution is used to clean the equipment during milk processing. It is not harmful to humans or animals, the supermarket said.

The affected milk has a UPC code of 4173513275 and a Sept. 29 expiration date.

Price Chopper has four stores in New Hampshire and several other stores in Massachusetts.
Customers who have any of the milk should return it to their local Price Chopper for a full refund.

7 Car Pile-Up Involving School Bus Injures Eight People

Eight people were injured, one critically, following a chain-reaction crash that involved a school bus and six other vehicles in Camden County Wednesday morning.

The crash happened at about 9:30 a.m. on the Black Horse Pike near Chews Landing Road in Glendora, New Jersey.

The crash involved a school bus and six other vehicles.

Authorities say eight people were injured. Three people were taken to Cooper University Hospital; one is in critical condition, another was initially listed in critical condition but was upgraded to stable condition and a third is listed in stable condition.

Three others were taken to Kennedy Health System in Stratford and two more were taken to Underwood Hospital in Woodbury.

According to reports, the occupants of the school bus were senior citizens who were en-route to a senior center. A driver and five others were aboard the school bus.

Police say a Ford pickup truck, a 2009 Mitsubishi Galant and a 2000 Kia were traveling south on the Black Horse Pike and stopped in traffic when the school bus, which was also travelling south, struck the rear of the Kia.

The Kia then struck the Mitsubishi, which struck the pickup truck. The collision forced the Mitsubishi into the northbound lane where it struck a 2004 Ford Taurus and a 2003 Toyota Camry. Ladders that were detached from the pickup truck also struck a stopped 2011 Chevrolet pickup truck.

RECALL ALERT: Monster Science Growing Spiders Recalled Due to Serious Ingestion Hazard

Recall Summary

Name of product: Water-absorbing polymer balls

Hazard:

The soft and colorful product can be mistaken by a child for candy. When the marble-sized toy is ingested, it can expand inside a child’s body and cause intestinal obstructions, resulting in severe discomfort, vomiting, dehydration and could be life threatening. The toys do not show up on an x-ray and need surgery to be removed from the body.  Child Injury Risk

Description:
This recall involves Monster Science Growing Spider toy sets, with model number 7280 for product sold at Cracker Barrel Old Country Stores and Spirit Halloween and model number 7289 for product sold at Target. The sets contain marble-sized polymer ball “spider eggs” that can absorb from 300 to 800 times their weight in water and can grow up to eight times their original size. The sets consist of one polymer spider and three “spider eggs”. The Be Amazing! Toys star logo and the words Monster Science Growing Spider, Ages 8+, Just drop in water, Grow Giant Spider Eggs and Eggs Grow Up to 8X Original Size are printed on the front of the packaging. The model number is on the bottom of the back of the packaging. The front and back of the packaging have warnings not to use the toy without adult supervision.


Sold at:
Cracker Barrel Old Country Stores nationwide from August 2011 to August 2013, Spirit Halloween stores nationwide from August 2011 to November 2011 and from August 2012 to November 2012, and Target stores nationwide September to November 2012 for between $3 and $5.