The extraordinary move from the Environmental Protection Agency mandates that water providers reduce perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known collectively as PFAS, to near-zero levels.
The compounds, found in everything from dental floss to firefighting foams to children’s toys, are called “forever chemicals” because they never fully degrade and can accumulate in the body and the environment.
Exposure to PFAS has been associated with metabolic disorders, decreased fertility in women, developmental delays in children and increased risk of some prostate, kidney and testicular cancers, according to the E.P.A.
Under the new rule from the E.P.A., water utilities must monitor supplies for PFAS chemicals and would be required to notify the public and reduce contamination if levels exceeded the new standard of 4 parts per trillion for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances.
Dr. Susan M. Pinney, the director of the Center for Environmental Genetics at the University of Cincinnati, led a longitudinal study of young girls who had been exposed to PFAS after an industrial plant in West Virginia released the chemicals into the Ohio River.
But Republicans and industry groups, along with many mayors and county executives, said the Biden administration had created an impossible standard that would cost municipal water agencies billions of dollars.
The original article contains 1,177 words, the summary contains 203 words. Saved 83%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
Considering how many municipal water supply groups there are, “billions” doesn’t seem like much. Especially when you realize how much the same municipal health systems will be positively impacted by actually having a clean reliable source of drinking water. This seems like a no brainer.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The extraordinary move from the Environmental Protection Agency mandates that water providers reduce perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known collectively as PFAS, to near-zero levels.
The compounds, found in everything from dental floss to firefighting foams to children’s toys, are called “forever chemicals” because they never fully degrade and can accumulate in the body and the environment.
Exposure to PFAS has been associated with metabolic disorders, decreased fertility in women, developmental delays in children and increased risk of some prostate, kidney and testicular cancers, according to the E.P.A.
Under the new rule from the E.P.A., water utilities must monitor supplies for PFAS chemicals and would be required to notify the public and reduce contamination if levels exceeded the new standard of 4 parts per trillion for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances.
Dr. Susan M. Pinney, the director of the Center for Environmental Genetics at the University of Cincinnati, led a longitudinal study of young girls who had been exposed to PFAS after an industrial plant in West Virginia released the chemicals into the Ohio River.
But Republicans and industry groups, along with many mayors and county executives, said the Biden administration had created an impossible standard that would cost municipal water agencies billions of dollars.
The original article contains 1,177 words, the summary contains 203 words. Saved 83%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
Considering how many municipal water supply groups there are, “billions” doesn’t seem like much. Especially when you realize how much the same municipal health systems will be positively impacted by actually having a clean reliable source of drinking water. This seems like a no brainer.