Vermont Officials Denounce EPA Effort to Block PFOA/PFOS Health Study
A recent report that the federal Environmental Protection Agency attempted to block the publication of a public health study on PFOA/PFOS contamination has elicited a strong reaction from Vermont officials.
The report, published by Politico, revealed that emails had been found in which a Trump administration aide warned that publishing the study would lead to a “public relations nightmare.”
The public health study in question would disclose that PFOA and PFOS become a serious risk to human health at a far lower level than the EPA has marked safe.
“I am outraged, but not surprised, that Scott Pruitt’s anti-science EPA is suppressing research that would shed light on the health threats posed by PFOA contamination of the water supply,” said Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt.
Welch recounted his interactions with Bennington residents who have been facing PFOA contamination.
“They have a right to see this information, which was gathered by federal employees and paid for with taxpayer funds. EPA should immediately make it available to the public and end its practice of choosing polluters over the public’s right to know,” stated Welch.
The public health has yet to be published.
Read the full story here.
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New York Considers Tougher Water Quality Standards
The twelve-member Drinking Water Quality Council held its first meeting today to consider establishing maximum contaminant levels for toxic chemicals in New York State water.
Some say that this rule-making is necessary because of a lack of continuity in the system of federal water quality regulation.
Governor Andrew Cuomo has requested that the council consider setting the maximum contaminant levels for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), as well as perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and 1,4-Dioxane.
Brad Hutton, the deputy commissioner of public health for the New York State Department of Health, stated that the council has been given the responsibility on advising the DOH commissioner on what unregulated contaminants should be tested throughout the state.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency monitors several unregulated contaminants every five years, according to the Safe Drinking Water Act’s guidelines. This leaves gaps in the federal system’s approach of ensuring water quality.
“They have been moving too slow of a pace,” stated Hutton, stressing the state’s need of establishing its own maximum contaminant levels.
Read the full article here.
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