Thursday, October 22, 2020

Its been 18 months since the Environmental Protection Agency unveiled its plan to address the crisis of the toxic fluorinated chemicals known as PFAS, which a new peer-reviewed study by EWG scientists estimates have likely contaminatedthe drinking water of more than 200 million Americans.

But the EPAs so-called action plan has met few of the milestones parents expect from an 18-month-old. The Trump administration plan has barely crawled, much less walked.

On Facebook Live, EWG Legislative Attorney Melanie Benesh recently detailed how the EPA has failed to protect Americans from PFAS, which have been linked to suppression of the immune systemand are associated with an elevated risk of cancer andreproductive and developmental harms, amongother serious health concerns.

Briefly, Trumps EPA has:

The EPA has a long record of failing to protect us from PFAS pollution.

In 1998, EPA officials were firstnotifiedby 3M that PFAS chemicals were toxic. In 2001 the agencyreceivedinternal company studies documenting PFAS health risks, and two years laterreceivedmore animal studies. But in 2006, underpressurefrom the chemical industry, the EPA said it was unaware of studies linking PFOA, formerly used to make DuPonts Teflon, to health harms even though the agency had just fined DuPont for failing to report its health effects, and the EPAs own Science Advisory Boardfoundthat PFOA was a likely human carcinogen.

Not until 2009 did the EPAissueits first PFAS action plan andestablisha non-enforceable provisional health advisory for PFOA and PFOS, an ingredient in 3Ms Scotchgard. The second PFAS action plan, issued a year ago, contains many of the same recommendations and includes no deadlines.

Without irony, the EPA recentlyissueda statement touting the agencys aggressive efforts to address PFAS pollution just hours before the White House threatened to vetoHouse legislationthat would set deadlines for EPA action on PFAS.

Clearly, at 18 months old, the EPAs PFAS action plan needs more adult supervision.

Visit link:

UPDATE: Little Progress from Trump's EPA on Toxic 'Forever Chemicals' - Environmental Working Group