Catch the latest updates on what’s happening with PFAS in the Great Lakes region. Check back for more PFAS news roundups every other week on our website.
A new bill introduced in the Minnesota Legislature by Republican Rep. Tom Dippel aims to transfer funds to support the water treatment plants in Hastings, Minnesota. The state has been testing for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination in Hastings since 2007. However, according to a press release from Democratic Rep. Rick Hansen, the fine print actually changes the decision-making from the settlement to individual state legislators.
“I’ve spent my career working to ensure corporations don’t leave taxpayers with the bill on costly clean-up efforts, and I’ve often been stonewalled by Republican leadership and lobbyists seeking to protect corporate interests,” said Rep. Hansen in a press release on Feb. 17. “If Rep. Dippel truly wants to fight for clean drinking water as he claims, he should join me in taking on the corporations that pollute, not raiding funds and pitting town against town and neighbor against neighbor.”
Another bill was recently introduced in the Indiana Legislature to establish a state maximum for contaminant levels of PFAS “in water provided by public water systems.” Two stipulations written in the bill say that the maximum level of acceptable contaminants “must be protective of public health, including the health of vulnerable subpopulations” and that it cannot be less strict than any maximum contaminant level or health advisory set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This comes after last year, when Indiana Republican House lawmakers reintroduced controversial bill language, aiming to change the definition of PFAS to the benefit of manufacturers.
Wisconsin state Republican lawmakers are floating a bill that aims to help schools install bottle-filling stations and maintain filters on bubblers. The goal is to prevent exposure to lead and PFAS (specifically, the two most widely studied PFAS, known as PFOA and PFOS) to ensure safe drinking water in schools. According to reporting from Wisconsin Public Radio, the proposal is “in line with Gov. Tony Evers’ goal to modernize drinking water fountains to eliminate harmful contaminants from drinking water, which he announced during his State of the State address.”
Last month, Pennsylvania state Rep. MaryLouise Isaacson reintroduced a bill that aims to amend the Pennsylvania Safe Drinking Water Act, originally established in 1984. This would provide a maximum contaminant level for various “forever chemicals,” including, but not limited to: perfluorooctane sulfonate, perfluorooctanoic acid, perfluorononanoic acid and perfluorohexane sulfonic acid — not exceeding 10 parts per trillion.
There are two other bills of note that were recently introduced in the New York and Illinois state Legislatures, covered in the last PFAS News Roundup.
Meanwhile, in Otsego, Michigan researchers are still investigating the breadth of PFAS contamination now linked to the paper industry. This all started about six years ago, according to MLive, when Mary Zack started a campaign to find out what was making people sick in her hometown. She was influenced by her own experiences, starting with an ovarian cancer diagnosis at age 17. Zack’s group, Justice for Otsego, was recently awarded $500,000 in partnership with Michigan State University to continue tracking the problem.
“Our small community has lost many friends and members of our families to these diseases and cancers,” said Christina DeGrush in an interview with MLive. DeGrush recently lost her brother to glioblastoma and has a rare disease, diabetes insipidus, and reoccurring Rathke’s cleft cyst (with six surgeries since 2009).
More PFAS news in case you missed it:
- Meet the Montreal chemist who stealthily tests water for PFAS in public places
- Johnson County, Texas, declared a state of emergency over the discovery of widespread “forever chemicals” contamination in farm fertilizer.
- France just banned PFAS, and recent reporting from the Washington Post examines why the U.S. hasn’t: “In the E.U., companies that manufacture and profit from chemicals must demonstrate their safety before they reach the market,” said David Andrews, acting chief science officer at the nonprofit Environmental Working Group. “In the U.S., all chemicals are assumed safe even in the absence of data, placing the responsibility on government regulators and independent researchers to uncover harm.”
- A new study coming out in March examines how drinking water contaminated with PFAS impairs children’s immunity, suggesting an increase in the risk of childhood infections. Another recent study suggests prenatal exposure to “forever chemicals” can alter the structural properties of “major white matter tracts in the brain.”
- A new lawsuit alleges Gore-Tex of “Greenwashing” while continuing to create products with PFAS.
Catch more news at Great Lakes Now:
Zeldin to head EPA sparking debate over PFAS regulation and industry influence
Featured image: Sign warning for environmental contamination (Great Lakes Now Episode 1012)
