reports that 99.9 percent of the Island's residential and commercial water tanks are "dangerously contaminated with bacteria and other harmful micro-organisms''.

But the man raising the alarm, commercial water tank cleaner Calvin Carmichael Jr., stands by his conclusion that nearly all of Bermuda's private and public tanks are "sick'', with some polluted enough to cause intestinal diseases, abscesses in open wounds, typhus, cholera, and amoebic dysentry.

"I've been doing this for ten years, dealing one-on-one with these tanks, and you wouldn't believe what I've seen,'' he told The Royal Gazette .

In one tank alone said Mr. Carmichael, he discovered 22 frog skeletons floating in the water. And while that may be an extreme case he admits, nearly all the tanks he has cleaned contained the decomposed remains of small animals such as birds, rats, frogs as well as dead insects.

Most vulnerable to this bacterial cocktail he says, are children and the elderly, but even healthy adults can be laid low with 'flu-like symptoms, colds, or bouts of diarrhoea.

While small animals gain access to the water tank through an open overflow pipe or an ill-fitting lid, air-borne pollution poses another health risk, said Mr. Carmichael.

Dust, dead organic matter, burned fossil fuel exhaust, even particulate matter from volcanic eruptions thousands of miles away eventually drifts back to Earth and is washed from roof-top catchments into the water tank.

"It's obviously not a sterile situation,'' agrees Senior Environmental Health Inspector Roger Mello, but Mr. Carmichael's conclusions are a little exaggerated, he said.

"Yes, things can get into the (water) tank, but we've had no problems with diseases such as cholera or diphtheria. We routinely test tank water and watch for indicator organisms such as faecal choliform.

"I'm sure if you take a sample from your tank you're going to get some bacteria, but this (report) sounds more like a scare tactic,'' said Mr. Mello.

Chief Medical Officer Dr. John Cann agrees it is possible to acquire a bacterial infection from an unsafe water tank: "but I'm sure our disease control would've picked up any blip (of increased disease incidence) if there was a problem.'' To date there has been none, he added.

Nevertheless the Ministry of Health requires, by law, that water tanks be cleaned of all organic and inorganic sludge every five years.

In addition residents are urged to screen vents and overflow pipes into the water tank and to ensure the tank lid fits tightly.

The Ministry also recommends cleaned tanks be chlorinated every three months, using two ounces of chlorox for every 1,000 gallons of water, and rooftops be power washed with a solution of 50 percent clorox to water.

"Yes, things can get into the (water) tank, but we've had no problems with diseases... I'm sure if you take a sample from your tank you're going to get some bacteria, but this sounds more like a scare tactic.''