Latest News
Defense Department claims new treatment technique a potential fix for PFAS-contaminated water
7 Nov 2019 | Military.com
"This is the only technology that actually destroys PFAS molecules that has been demonstrated at this scale; it doesn't just remove them from water," added Clarkson's Dr. Tom Holsen, also a principal researcher, in the release. "All of the other demonstrations that we're aware of remove it from the water through filtration so there is still a PFAS containing waste."
Toxic PFAS chemicals can be dumped into Merrimack River, federal and state officials say
5 Nov 2019 | Boston Globe
The company’s tests showed that the amount of PFAS was more than 100 times higher than federal and state guidelines and more than 400 times higher than stricter standards being considered in Massachusetts. While the Lowell Regional Wastewater Utility treats the landfill runoff before discharging it into the river, the plant lacks the expensive equipment to filter out PFAS.
‘Forever Chemicals’ Legacy Weighs on Chemours’ Future
4 Nov 2019 | Bloomberg Environment
Estimates of Chemours’ liabilities related to PFAS, range from the company’s figure of up to $802 million, to one analyst’s calculation of more than $160 billion—more than 15 times the company’s highest-ever market capitalization.
Ministers aim to relax PFAS pollution rules after new limit halts earth-moving work
1 Nov 2019 | Dutch News
Ministers have asked public health institute RIVM to look into relaxing the limits on how much of the chemical compound PFAS should be allowed in sludge and soil which is dumped on farm and landfill sites during dredging and earth-moving work.
PFAS solution IN (or OUT) of the NDAA?
1 Nov 2019 | National Law Review
Read the full article by Steven Barringer and Katie Reed (National Law Review) “As legislative days dwindle, Congress is in a full sprint to pass the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) (related blog post), among several other must-pass bills. Controversial issues, such as border wall funding, military actions related to Iran, PFAS, among others, have bedeviled congressional…
[Audio] PFAS chemicals, and you
1 Nov 2019 | Science Friday
Science Friday: Conversation with Robert Bilott and Sharon Lerner
New threats put wildfire fighters’ health on the line
1 Nov 2019 | The New York Times
Mr. Alba, the firefighter who was in Paradise, is calling on fire agencies to remove PFAS from their uniforms, and for officials to come up with a solution that protects them from noxious threats.
[UCS Blog] PFAS contamination is an equity issue, and president Trump’s EPA is failing to fix it
31 Oct 2019 | Union of Concerned Scientists
While we’re all exposed to some degree, who’s most at risk of being harmed? The Union of Concerned Scientists found that communities of color and low-income communities are more likely to bear the economic and biological burden of the federal government’s lack of responsiveness to community concerns on this toxic class of chemicals.
PFAS chemicals showing up in public water supplies in Maine, according to CDC
30 Oct 2019 | News Center Maine
The samples were taken mostly at schools, water treatment plants and mobile home parks. More than a dozen local water districts declined to let their water be tested.
Lowe’s bans toxic PFAS chemicals in residential carpets and rugs it sells
30 Oct 2019 | Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families
“All indoor residential carpet and rugs purchased by Lowe’s will be free of PFAS chemicals by January 2020.”
Up to 40,000 to sue Australian Government over PFAS contamination
29 Oct 2019 | news.com.au
The largest class action ever launched in Australia will be filed against the Federal Government by Christmas. The lawyers will argue that residents living in PFAS contaminated areas have seen their property prices fall, in some cases by up to 50 per cent. They believe the Federal Government should provide enough compensation to allow residents to leave these unsafe communities.
Chemours calls for focused PFAS research, controls
24 Oct 2019 | Bloomberg Environment
Chemours, facing hundreds of millions in liability, believes that the regulatory focus should be on the non-polymer category of PFAS. Efforts also should include a look at side-chain fluorinated polymers because “these compounds do have the potential to degrade under certain conditions to form non-polymer PFAS." Chemours has also committed to making its authentic reference standards publicly available and called upon the rest of the fluoropolymer industry to do the same.
Top U.S. toxicologist was barred from saying PFAS cause disease in humans. She’s saying it now.
24 Oct 2019 | The Intercept
“I was banned from doing it,” said Birnbaum. “I had to use ‘association’ all the time. If I was talking about human data or impacts on people, I had to always say there was an association with a laundry list of effects.”
[EWG News] PFAS exposure may increase risk of breast cancer
24 Oct 2019 | EWG
To reduce the risk of breast cancer and other health impacts from PFAS, Congress should include in the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2020 provisions that would quickly phase out the use of PFAS in military firefighting foam, reduce industrial discharges of PFAS, require reporting and monitoring for PFAS in ground and surface water, and jump-start the cleanup process under Superfund.
More than 2 dozen groups urge Wisconsin lawmakers to act on PFAS contamination
24 Oct 2019 | Wisconsin State Journal
The coalition is pushing for adoption of a bill known as the CLEAR Act, which would require the DNR to establish and enforce standards for at least six PFAS. Additionally, the CLEAR Act, would allow the DNR to require anyone who possesses PFAS to prove they have the financial means to clean up any potential contamination. Lawmakers are also considering a Republican-sponsored bill that would limit where firefighters and others could test or train with foam containing PFAS.