Mark Ruffalo’s environmental drama ‘Dark Waters’ gets DC premiere
20 Nov 2019 | The Hill
In his new film, Ruffalo plays lawyer Robert Bilott, who spent 20 years fighting a class action lawsuit against the DuPont chemical company, winning a more than $600 million settlement in 2017. The suit was over toxic runoff from a DuPont landfill with PFAS chemicals, which linger and contaminate water and food sources long after their initial use. There is no federal regulation of these chemicals, though the US EPA acknowledges that exposure to them can be dangerous for humans and that the chemicals can be found in food and water supplies.
PFAS chemicals raise questions about water safety
15 Nov 2019 | Seacoast Online
“Unfortunately, we have only begun to explore the extent of the PFAS problem,” said Patrick MacRoy, the deputy director of the Environmental Health Strategy Center. “Relatively few water supplies in Maine have been tested, and the state has yet to test most of the agricultural lands that were contaminated by PFAS-laden sludge. In addition to polluting the groundwater, this contamination may also be contaminating crops and animal feed, allowing PFAS to enter our food supply. The state must take aggressive action to uncover where we are being exposed to PFAS.
Congress close to striking landmark PFAS deal, Chairman says
14 Nov 2019 | Bloomberg Environment
Congress’ two chambers have largely resolved their differences over which provisions relating to “forever chemicals” should stay in an annual defense authorization bill, the House Armed Services Committee chairman said Nov. 13.
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."
Tap water at Trump National Golf Course contaminated with ‘forever chemicals’
6 Nov 2019 | Newsweek
PFOA levels reached 3.5 and 3.6 ppt at Jersey golf course.
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.”
Mark Ruffalo, Todd Haynes talk ‘Dark Waters’: ‘Our environmental future is at stake’
29 Oct 2019 | Variety
“It is the truth,” Bilott said, assessing how accurate he feels the film is. “They did an amazing job condensing [20 years] into two hours. I was a little skeptical at first…about whether I should do something like this, but it was clear that [Mark] was doing it for the right reason: to bring the story out, to do it accurately and [he] wanted to show what really happened.”