PFOS

Two members of Congress from Michigan re-introduced bipartisan legislation Tuesday to set national drinking water standards for two PFAS chemicals. WAMC’s Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Allison Dunne says New Yorkers are watching closely.

Three schools in the Hudson Valley have “Do Not Drink” advisories after two PFAS chemicals were found above New York state’s contamination limits. These are among the first schools with the higher levels since the state adopted new maximum contaminant levels for PFOA and PFOS over the summer.

Scientists and toxicology experts say PFAS chemicals known to affect the immune system could impact the efficacy of a COVID-19 vaccine. While the link has not yet been cemented, they are concerned that communities with high exposures to PFAS may be more vulnerable during the pandemic.

New York U.S. Senator Charles Schumer is calling on the Air Force to prioritize PFAS cleanup at Stewart Air National Guard base in Orange County.

New York state Thursday adopted maximum contaminant levels for three chemicals in drinking water. Environmental and community advocates wanted to see lower levels adopted, and more PFAS chemicals included, but say it’s a good start. One of the limits is a national first.

Environmental and community advocates are calling for the immediate repair of a temporary water filtration system at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh that failed after about a month of use. It was supposed to trap PFOS-contaminated water. The advocates say the system was not equipped to handle the flow in the first place, a concern also shared by New York state officials.

A vote in New York on whether to adopt recommended maximum contaminant levels in drinking water for three chemicals has been postponed a second time because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, clean water advocates say they are disappointed with another delay.

In New York, as a result of the COVID-19 response, a meeting at which recommended maximum contaminant levels for three chemicals were to come up for a vote has been postponed.

Two Democratic state lawmakers from the Capital Region are introducing new legislation to ban the burning of substances containing PFAS chemicals.

Environmental groups, community activists and elected officials are ramping up concern over potentially dangerous burning in the city of Cohoes.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has taken the next step toward setting drinking water limits for two PFAS chemicals — PFOA and PFOS. Environmentalists say the step is small and they want to see quicker, bolder action.

There's a new air quality threat facing residents of Albany County.

The New York state-funded water filtration system intended to alleviate the PFOS water woes in Newburgh has been up and running for some time, but not for its originally intended purpose.

Community and environmental advocates, along with some New York state lawmakers, are calling for the withdrawal of a proposed revision to recommended maximum contaminant levels for drinking water. Yet water suppliers welcome the revision that state health officials detailed Tuesday.

Several Democratic U.S. House representatives are calling on their colleagues to pass a bill Friday concerning PFAS chemicals. It’s a bill that President Trump’s senior advisors will recommend he veto.

A number of issues that garnered headlines in the Hudson Valley in 2019 continue this year. There will be a number of closely watched political contests, environmental issues and, most recently, attacks on religious institutions. WAMC’s Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Allison Dunne has a look at a few of the stories from 2019 that are carrying into 2020.

The City of Newburgh will be switching to one of its other sources of drinking water for a few months.

New York U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand visited Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh today. She was briefed on a few issues including the installation of a temporary filtration system at the base to address water contamination.

An interim filtration system at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh was supposed to be up and running by the end of the summer. The remediation effort is intended to trap PFOS-laden water. The U.S. Department of Defense had committed to the measure in December but environmental groups and state officials have concerns.

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.

Environmental groups are urging the New York state Department of Health to lower recommended levels for three drinking water contaminants. A public comment period on the recommendations for PFOA and PFOS is now open.

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

The New York state Department of Environmental Conservation has received validated results from April’s accidental release of firefighting foam from New York Stewart International Airport in Orange County. DEC says more testing is required by the company that operates the hangar where the spill occurred.

The New York Public Interest Research Group has a new report showing the prevalence of emerging contaminants detected in the state’s public drinking water supplies. With a focus the past few years on PFOA and PFOS from Hoosick Falls to Newburgh, NYPIRG highlights other emerging contaminants.

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.

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.

In the 1970’s, the U.S. Air Force began using a firefighting foam that contained the chemicals PFOS and PFOA, which have contaminated water supplies in communities across the Northeast.  The Air Force is now using a May 2016 lifetime health advisory level, or LHA, set by the EPA to determine safe levels and is cleaning up sites above acceptable levels.  A recent update indicates there are still a few homes affected near the former Plattsburgh Air Force Base.

U.S. Senator Charles Schumer was in East Greenbush Wednesday to announce that the Environmental Protection Agency intends to set a Maximum Contaminant Level for PFOA/PFOS chemicals.