In a significant reversal that threatens the drinking water of millions of Americans, the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) announced plans to scrap health standards for four toxic PFAS chemicals and to delay the implementation of standards for two more.
Just last year, the agency finalized those same standards, prompting an immediate lawsuit from industry. It is reported that the NRDC and the coalition partners moved swiftly to defend the original rule in court, and they are “ready to aggressively challenge the EPA if it follows through with its illegal reversal.”
“As many as 105 million americans are drinking water contaminated with these “AS endanger human health,” according to Erik D. Olson, senior strategic director of the health at NRDC.
Long used in a variety of consumer and other products for their ability to withstand heat and repel water, PFAS are extremely persistent in the environment and can accumulate in people and animals. Exposure to the chemicals has been linked to kidney and testicular cancer, liver damage, and harm to the nervous and reproductive systems, among other health impacts. “The law is very clear,” said Olson. “The EPA can’t repeal or weaken the drinking water standard.”
Credit: NRDC – Natural Resources Defense Council
What are the East Hampton Town Trustees doing to preserve and protect our waters so they are safe to recreate in for swimming and boating?
Clean water is essential to our coastal environment- our drinking water source is a singular aquifer, making it extremely important to all of us living on the east end.
The Trustees have established years of data of our various bodies of water and the bottomlands collected annually by Gobler Labs of which Dr. Christopher Gobler is the Director.
Dr. Gobler is a Professor within the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS) at Stony Brook University. In 2014, he was appointed as the Associate Dean of Research at SoMAS and in 2015, he was named co-Director for the Center for Clean Water Technology (CCWT).
For more information about Poly & Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) click on the tab: