PFAS

Advocates for clean drinking water say proposed new limits by the New York State Health Department for PFOA and other chemicals in the water supply linked to cancer and other serious illnesses are too high, and will lead to serious health problems.

The U.S. Department of Defense is establishing a PFAS Task Force to address contamination at more than 400 military installations and surrounding communities across the nation. Stewart Air National Guard base in Newburgh is one of those places.

A New Hampshire legislative committee has voted to approve some of the nation's toughest drinking water standards for a class of toxic chemicals that have caused widespread contamination and sparked health concerns.

The state of Vermont has released a new sampling plan for PFAS chemicals.

Westchester County Executive George Latimer has signed two executive orders aimed at safeguarding the public from PFAS chemicals. He wants to prevent the kind of drinking water contamination that has occurred in Newburgh and elsewhere in the state and country.

Today, the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Environment and Climate Change Subcommittee is holding a legislative hearing on a series of bills related to PFAS contaminants, a class of compounds discovered in water supplies across the country.

Two upstate New York Congressmen this week introduced bills aimed at protecting the public from exposure to PFAS chemicals, which have contaminated water supplies in communities across the Northeast.

Two New York congressmen on Thursday introduced separate pieces of legislation around the manmade group of chemicals known as PFAS.

A recent accidental release of firefighting foam from a hangar at New York Stewart International Airport in Orange County is the subject of debate. The foam made its way into a stream, and testing on behalf of the City of Newburgh shows high levels of PFOA and PFOS. But the company that operates the hangar says the foam does not contain PFOA or PFOS. The state is awaiting separate results.

The federal government has told Newburgh that it will not reimburse the city for expenses incurred from PFAS contamination emanating from Stewart Air National Guard base. The interim city manager says the response is unacceptable. Meantime, the area around the base is one of eight communities selected for a government PFAS study.

Earlier today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler laid out the agency’s action plan to address PFAS, a family of chemicals that includes PFOA and PFOS. PFOA and PFOS are toxic substances that have contaminated drinking water in a number of New York communities, including Hoosick Falls and Newburgh.

Ahead of tonight’s State of the Union address, New York Congressman Antonio Delgado of the 19th district has some ideas about how to add to the conversation about addressing climate change. He plans to put forth legislation concerning green jobs in the name of lowering carbon emissions and increasing investment in renewable energy sources.

New York Democratic members of Congress are calling for action after news that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will not move to set limits for PFAS chemicals – a group of believed carcinogens found in several Northeast communities.

New York Democratic Congressman Antonio Delgado is part of a new bipartisan congressional PFAS task force to address the toxic substances that include PFOA and PFOS.

This week, a New York state task force recommended new maximum contaminant levels for chemicals found in drinking water.

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is calling on the Trump administration to implement a law to help end the use of PFAS chemicals at commercial airports. The junior senator from New York says it’s time to bring awareness that airports can switch to firefighting foam free of the toxic fluorinated chemicals.

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump signed into law a wide-ranging bill called America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018. The bill authorizes specific projects across the country and also includes language to protect people from so-called “emerging contaminants.”

New York state’s Drinking Water Quality Council met this week to discuss recommending maximum contaminant levels for three emerging contaminants, including PFOA and PFOS. Council members are slated to issue recommendations at their next meeting before the end of the year. Council members have been reviewing scientific studies as well as the actions of other states. Meantime, affected residents and environmentalists say setting the levels is long overdue.

Environmentalists are urging a New York state panel on water quality standards to meet its October 2nd deadline to set new acceptable levels of toxic chemicals in public water supplies.

A recently passed federal spending bill includes funding to address PFAS pollution.

UPDATE 9/13/18:

The communications office for NCEH/ATSDR tells WAMC "the communities for this project have not been selected at this time."

A spokesman for the New York State Department of Health tells WAMC it has reached out to ATSDR seeking clarification on the communities included in the study and has spoke to the mayor of Hoosick Falls about the issue. 

A spokesman for the office of Senator Kirsten Gillibrand says the senator is "still looking into the proposal, but she is supportive of any proposal that can help communities affected by PFOA get more information on health impacts."
 

The federal government has proposed studying communities affected by PFAS contamination – like many in the Northeast. But residents of one community that is not on the list say the study is too short-sighted.

State and federal agencies met with the residents of Hoosick Falls Tuesday night, where an investigation into the presence of toxic chemicals in local water supplies continues. Officials hope to foster better communication between the people and government.

The New York State Association of Counties and two other groups are urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and state Department of Health to act on setting contaminant levels for chemicals that have been found in drinking water.

New York’s two U.S. senators say their amendment authorizing $45 million to reimburse communities and states for cleaning up PFOA and PFOS contamination passed in their chamber.

The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation says two elementary schools in the state have chemical levels in their drinking water above a safe standard.