• Water

PFAS Found On Hundreds of Military Installations, With Numbers Likely To Rise

• Camp Lejeune
• clean water
• PFAS
• toxic

The problem of toxic fluorinated chemicals or “PFAS” is pervasive nationwide — and of the more than 1350 sites that have been identified by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) roughly half of them are on military installations, and the numbers are expected to rise once testing at Navy and Air Force installations is completed. 

Why This Matters:  Service members and their families did not sign up for this kind of preventable hazard when they joined the military — fighting in conflict is, of course, life-threatening, but simply living on a military installation should not be.  And the fact that President Trump has repeatedly threatened to veto any legislation that comes to his desk that requires the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate PFAS shows his callous disregard for the safety and well-being of our service members and their families.  

• Water

The Clean Water Act Has Been Drained

• clean water
• Clean Water Act
• PFAS
• WOTUS

By Monica Medina, Founder and Publisher, Our Daily Planet The fall of 2019 will be remembered for the Ukrainian scandal and the impeachment investigation.  But for many Americans, this should be remembered as the time when our nation’s clean water crisis became crystal clear.  This is not just a Flint problem.  It is a national […]

• Water

As Many as 100 Million Americans Likely Have PFAS in their Drinking Water

• drinking water
• PFAS
• safe drinking water

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) updated its database and interactive map on where toxic fluorinated chemicals or “PFAS” have been detected based on the latest state and federal data and the numbers are alarming.  Nationwide, PFAS contamination is now found at 1,361 locations in 49 states — and in a variety of sources including community water systems, groundwater sources, military bases, airports, and industrial sites. According to EWG’s analysis of unreleased EPA data, “more than 100 million Americans may have PFAS in their drinking water.”

Why This Matters:  Think twice before you drink water from a tap in much of the country.  Almost one-third of Americans may be drinking water with PFAS in it.  The EPA does not regulate this “forever” chemical that never breaks down once released into the environment, and that builds up in our blood and organs.

• Water

7.5 Million Californians Affected by Toxic Chemicals in Drinking Water

• Califorina
• drinking water
• PFAS
• water

A recent study by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) found that 74 community water systems in California, which serve 7.5 million people, were contaminated with toxic fluorinated chemicals known as PFAS between 2013 and 2019. Why This Matters: The chemical companies that have made these chemicals for use in their products (like DuPont and 3M) largely pass along the cleanup costs of water sources onto municipalities and taxpayers.

• Water

PFAS Found in Drinking Water at 90 More Army Installations

• #safedrinkingwater
• Army
• drinking water
• EWG
• PFAS
• toxic

Yesterday, the Department of Defense Task Force looking into the problem, found that the drinking water at an additional 90 current and former Army and Army National Guard installations nationwide is contaminated with the toxic fluorinated chemicals called PFAS, according to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), which obtained the information via a Freedom of Information […]

• Sustainability

PFAS Found in “Compostable” Sweetgreen and Chipotle Containers

• Chemicals
• PFAS
• plastic pollution

by Miro Korenha and Alexandra Patel While fast-casual restaurant chains Chipotle and Sweetgreen are praised for their consciously sourced ingredients and vegetarian-friendly options, their compostable containers have come under fire for containing harmful chemicals despite otherwise being seen as a more sustainable alternative to plastic and styrofoam. A recently-released report from the New Food Economy revealed […]

• Water

Clean Water Emerging as A Top Tier Campaign Issue

• clean water
• Flint
• Flint Water Crisis
• Infrastructure
• PFAS
• safe drinking water

Last week, Senators Kamala Harris and Kirsten Gillibrand made safe drinking water a key environmental plank in their campaigns. 

• Health

Trump Administration Makes Empty Promises on PFAS Pollution, Congress and States Taking Action

• PFAS
• toxic pollution

In 2018, then EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt promised to designate a toxic firefighting chemical called Per/Polyfluorinated Substances, also known as PFAS, as a hazardous substance that could be regulated, but since then has done nothing about the 610 sites in 43 states contaminated by PFAS, including 117 military sites, and the nearly 500 industrial sites that are potentially discharging PFAS into the air and water, according to a recent study by the Environmental Working Group.

• Health

Service Members Face Danger From More Than Enemy Fire

• Agent Orange
• burn pits
• Camp Lejeune
• memorial day
• PFAS
• toxic chemicals

This Memorial Day we honor the military service of Americans who made the ultimate sacrifice defending our nation.  In April of 2018, the Department of Defense provided Congress a list of contaminated U.S. military bases — the document, according to Healthline, identified 401 active installations in the United States with at least one area where […]

• Water

New data shows 610 sites in 43 states contaminated with toxic PFAS chemicals

• clean water
• contamination
• drinking water
• EPA
• PFAS
• safe drinking water
• water

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a family of chemicals that are linked to cancer and other illnesses and we’ve written numerous times about the extent of their contamination of drinking water in the U.S. (even at military bases) and the EPA’s slow response to regulate these toxins. Now a new analysis put out by […]

• Water

EPA Slow to Act on PFAS Contamination Crisis

• clean water
• drinking water
• Environmental Working Group
• military installations
• Military Times
• PFAS
• veterans

A hearing on Capitol Hill today probed EPA’s failure to set safety standards for a class of toxic chemicals called perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) — also called the “forever chemicals” because they take thousands of years to break down.  Both Democrats and Republicans are concerned because PFAS has seeped into many public water systems in the United States and globally, especially near and on military bases and industrial sites, exposing millions to these chemicals at dangerous levels and causing health problems in those communities. 

• Health

EPA Says It Will Regulate Toxic PFAS Chemicals…Eventually

• clean water
• Environmental Working Group
• EPA
• PFAS
• toxic
• water

Yesterday the EPA released its long-awaited plan to address Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) a family of chemicals that are linked to cancer and other illnesses, and that are found widely across the U.S. in drinking water and soil.  But the “action” plan, which promises to begin a process by the end of the year […]