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Late last week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it would soon set legal limits for two PFAS chemicals in drinking water.
Why This Matters: This announcement is certainly progress — but no limits have been set yet and we would not be this close to having them if it were not for huge pressure on the EPA from lawmakers and the public.
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Two new reports from the Union of Concerned Scientists explain in detail how this administration’s rollbacks of bedrock environmental, health and safety standards have exposed children to more poisons in the food they eat, the water they drink, and the air that they breathe and has actively suppressed the science that would give us a greater understanding of how children are uniquely affected by chemicals and toxins.
Why This Matters: The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says no safe blood-lead level for lead has been found for children — they should not be exposed at all.
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As climate change lengthens wildfire season, government officials are being faced with a growing threat: ash and fire debris contaminating public drinking water supplies. As the Colorado Sun explained, “Forests, grasslands and other areas that supply drinking water to hundreds of millions of people are increasingly vulnerable to fire due in large part to hotter, […]
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The White House said in a statement that the President would veto any PFAS legislation because it would “bypass well-established processes, procedures, and legal requirements of the Nation’s most fundamental environmental laws….”
Why This Matters: So much for crystal clear waters. The administration had promised that EPA would issue new regulations creating limits on PFAS contamination in rivers and drinking water by the end of 2019, but they failed to do so.
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The feature film “Dark Waters” exposed the scandal that Congress and the President are ignoring. According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), 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 […]
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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.
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