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EPA will not limit PFOA in drinking water

Jan 30, 2019 1:00 pm
Annie Snider is reporting for Politico the Trump administration will not set a drinking water limit for PFOA and PFOS, toxic chemicals that are contaminating millions of Americans' tap water. The chemicals have been linked to kidney and testicular cancer, hypertension and other ailments. In response to the decision, U.S. Rep. Antonio Delgado said in a statement, “I have seen personally the damaging effects of PFOA in Hoosick Falls and Petersburgh, and talked to families who lost loved ones from cancer caused by contaminated drinking water. In light of the emerging evidence on the danger and devastation PFOA causes, it would be unconscionable for the EPA to not limit levels of these chemicals in our communities. The EPA must take the issue of water contamination seriously, and I will do everything in my power to step up efforts to address this growing crisis.” The decision comes less than a year after the White House and the Environmental Protection Agency faced criticism for delaying the publication of a health study on the chemicals. The EPA's decision means the chemicals will remain unregulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act and utilities will face no federal requirements for testing for and removing the chemicals from drinking water supplies. However, several states have pursued or are pursuing their own limits on the chemicals. EPA-mandated testing has found PFOA and PFOS at unsafe levels in at least 16 million Americans' tap water, but activists say the problem is even more widespread. While EPA has decided against a drinking water limit on PFOA and PFOS, the draft chemical plan includes a decision to list the contaminants as hazardous under the Superfund law, a move that would help force polluters to pay for the cleanup. At present, the agency's action plan is undergoing an interagency review, according to an EPA spokesperson. Read the full story at Politico [dot] com.
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