EPA touts success in reducing children’s chemical exposures, fails to account for emerging contaminants
16 Oct 2019 | Bloomberg Environment
According to Barbara Morrissey, chairwoman of EPA’s Children’s Health Protection Advisory Committee, the reductions are “worth celebrating but only part of the picture.” To get a fuller understanding of exposure trends, the EPA’s indicators must be updated with exposure measurements for new chemicals that replaced older ones that were phased out
Here’s what Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s new PFAS water rules mean for Michigan
16 Oct 2019 | Bridge Michigan
Michigan has taken a major step toward regulating dangerous PFAS chemicals in drinking water supplies. The final rule could be adopted by April 2020, but it must first clear an administrative review that includes consideration by the Environmental Rules Review Committee, a controversial panel that GOP lawmakers created last year to check the governor’s power.
‘Dark Waters’ brings awareness to PFAS water contamination litigation
15 Oct 2019 | Legal Examiner
A new movie scheduled to be released in November 2019, follows the story of how the American company DuPont knowingly poisoned 70,000 residents for decades. Currently, lawsuit against DuPont, 3M, and other companies are being filled for their alleged role in other water contamination crisis.
Pumping PFAS-contaminated water from airport expansion into ocean is ‘insanity’, chemical expert says
15 Oct 2019 | ABC News
The Sunshine Coast airport was inundated during heavy rainfall leaving more than 125 million litres of PFAS-contaminated water at the site. The Sunshine Coast Council's proposed building a pipeline to funnel the contaminated water from the airport construction site and into the nearby ocean at Marcoola. This plan has residents and chemical experts worried.
For PFAS, hazardous designation is not a ban
15 Oct 2019 | EWG News
Designating PFAS as “hazardous substances” is critical to cleaning up legacy contamination [and is different than a ban]. There are currently 761 substances on the CERCLA hazardous substances list. Almost 700 of them have been on the list since the law was passed in 1980. An EWG analysis found that at least 599, or 79 percent of these chemicals are likely still in active use in commerce today. What’s more, 339 of the CERCLA hazardous substances chemicals, or 44 percent, are not only in production, but likely produced at high volumes.
Governor DeWine issues order to analyze PFAS in Ohio’s drinking water
15 Oct 2019 | JD Supra
Ohio EPA and ODH have been directed to develop an “action plan” by December 1, 2019, with the focus of testing public and private water systems. The governor’s order specifically notes that water supplies “near known sources of PFAS, such as firefighting training sites and manufacturing facilities” are to be analyzed.
[LISTEN] How dangerous are PFAS chemicals and what’s being done to clean them up?
14 Oct 2019 | Alaska Public Media
How dangerous are PFAS to human health and what’s being done to clean them up?
America’s dairyland may have a PFAS problem
11 Oct 2019 | NRDC
The toxic chemicals have been showing up in milk around the country. Anna Reade, an NRDC staff scientist specializing in toxic chemicals, suggests that state agencies test sludge before it’s spread on fields and milk before it goes to market. Then officials could see where the highest PFAS concentrations are coming from.
‘Forever chemicals’ are in your popcorn—and your blood
10 Oct 2019 | Wired
According to a recently published peer-reviewed study, the more often people eat at home, the lower their level of PFAS chemicals. Also, people who reported eating microwave popcorn had significantly higher levels of four types of PFAS. Additionally, the study linked PFAS levels in blood to a diet high in shellfish, which can accumulate those chemicals from contaminated water.
To reduce PFAS levels in food, cook at home
9 Oct 2019 | Consumer Reports
A new study finds eating out and getting takeout may expose you to more toxic PFAS chemicals than eating meals prepared at home.
Toxic PFAS chemicals found in artificial turf
8 Oct 2019 | The Intercept
PFAS chemicals have been identified in synthetic turf, according to lab tests performed on several samples of the artificial grass that were shared with The Intercept. The presence of the chemicals, members of a class that has been associated with multiple health problems, including cancer, adds to growing concerns about the grass replacement that covers many thousands of acres in parks, schools, professional sports stadiums, and practice fields around the U.S.
Firefighting foam leaves toxic legacy in Californians’ drinking water
8 Oct 2019 | Los Angeles Times
California regulators say there is little they can do to speed up the military’s testing or cleanup efforts around its contaminated bases. Because the EPA has delayed setting a standard for cleaning up groundwater contamination, the military has avoided large-scale remediation costs.
Michigan House of Reps passes AFFF bills
5 Oct 2019 | Alpena News
A package of three bills that would keep better tabs on the amount of hazardous firefighting foam used in the state was passed in the state House and is headed to the Senate.
Judge asks for crash course in the science of PFAS chemicals
4 Oct 2019 | Bloomberg Environment
A judge in South Carolina before embarking on a major “forever chemicals” case is asking to arrange a crash course.These types of ‘Science Days’ becoming more frequent in complex liability suits.
[Press release] UN experts recommend elimination of additional hazardous chemicals to protect human health and the environment
4 Oct 2019 | Stockholm Convention Press Release
More than 100 scientific experts, from all over the world, attended the 15th meeting of the Stockholm Convention’s Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee (POPRC-15), in Rome under the auspices of the United Nations, and recommended that a group of hazardous chemicals (PFHxS and related compounds) be eliminated in order to better protect human health and the environment from its harmful impacts.