{"id":70923,"date":"2018-10-16T15:47:06","date_gmt":"2018-10-16T19:47:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stg.savethewater.org\/?p=70923"},"modified":"2021-05-25T20:48:45","modified_gmt":"2021-05-26T00:48:45","slug":"high-levels-of-pfas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/high-levels-of-pfas\/","title":{"rendered":"Four Things You Can do to Eliminate High Levels of PFAS in Water"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Rose Delaney, Staff Writer & Researcher for Save The Water\u2122 | October 16, 2018<\/p>\n
To the delight of clean water enthusiasts, on September 19th<\/span>, Governor Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania signed an executive order to establish a per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) action team.1<\/span><\/p>\n PFAS are artificial chemicals that have been used in commercial products on a global scale since the 1950s. Specifically, various products such as cosmetics, water-repellent clothing, and products that resist grease, water, and oil contain PFAS. Exposure to PFAS poses significant health risks to humans including various cancers, kidney disease, and birth defects.2<\/span> PFAS causes and consequences are explained more in Save the WaterTM<\/span> staff writers, Suraj Rajendran\u2019s article on health issues linked to PFAS exposure in adult and adolescent populations here<\/a>,3<\/span> and Erin Fee\u2019s overview of PFAS in the \u201cnational spotlight\u201d here<\/a>.4<\/span><\/p>\n In terms of PFAS levels, Pennsylvania is considered a \u201chighly contaminated\u201d state.1<\/span> Governor Wolf recognizes the dangers PFAS chemicals pose not only for his home state of Pennsylvania, but for the United States as a whole. He has called the accumulation of the harmful man-made chemicals a \u201cnational concern.\u201d1<\/span> Many North American companies reduced the use of PFAS substances in the early 2000s. Nonetheless, the harmful chemicals continue to pose a risk to the health of Americans across the country.<\/p>\n According to Water Online, responding to the PFAS contamination found in local residents\u2019 drinking water, Governor Wolf stated, \u201cour residents deserve clean air, pure water, and to know that the environment they live in is safe.\u201d1<\/span><\/p>\n Contaminants are harmful chemicals that pose a health risk to the environment and humans. While Governor Wolf\u2019s action team strives to eradicate all emerging contaminants, they cannot succeed without help from federal agencies, such as the Department of Health and Human Services and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA.) Last month, Governor Wolf formally asked for federal assistance to combat PFAS.1<\/span><\/p>\n Pennsylvania is not the only state with PFAS problems. Michigan has also reported over 30 PFAS contaminated sites. The levels of PFAS detected in the waters across Michigan have become alarmingly high. Due to PFAS contamination, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) issued a \u201cDo Not Eat\u201d Fish advisory in early September for all fish in the Huron River and several bodies of water in various counties:<\/p>\n Livingston, According to Angela Minicuci, a spokesperson for the MDHHS, consuming PFAS contaminated fish can have negative consequences:some of the potential consequences presented by the consumption of PFAS contaminated fish,<\/p>\n More importantly, Mlive has described the PFAS contamination spreading across Michigan as nothing short of \u201castronomical.\u201d6<\/span> For example, the level of contaminants found in the creek that feeds into the Huron river and its surrounding lakes is \u201cmore than 450 times what the state allows in surface waters and 78 times the lifetime health advisory for human consumption.\u201d6<\/span><\/p>\n On September 20th<\/span>, state officials identified one industrial wastewater company in Wixom as a major contaminator. Now, the city of Wixom is collaborating with the company to reduce the contaminants produced. However, as one official stated, \u201cit’s not something they can just turn a switch on overnight.”6<\/span><\/p>\n Fortunately, state governments are tackling the ongoing health challenges posed by PFAS contaminants. For example, in March, Washington became the first state to ban the use of PFAS chemicals in firefighting foams.7<\/span><\/p>\n Furthermore, on September 26th, the Senate held a hearing on the national health crisis caused by PFAS drinking water. This hearing was part of a bipartisan effort to urge the EPA to regulate PFAS across the United States.8<\/span> As Congressman Dan Kildee (D-MI), a co-sponsor of the House Bill, emphasized, \u201cWe cannot underestimate the seriousness of PFAS contamination in Michigan and across the country.\u201d8<\/span><\/p>\n In addition, U.S. Senators Gary Peters (D-MI), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and Marco Rubio (R-FL) introduced bipartisan legislation to hold several federal agencies accountable for addressing PFAS contamination on military bases across the U.S.9<\/span> Also, they strongly support the PFAS Accountability Act (S. 3381), which sets non-negotiable deadlines and reporting requirements for cleaning up PFAS contamination at all federal facilities across the country, including active and decommissioned military bases.9<\/span><\/p>\n The future looks bright for all anti-PFAS activists across the U.S., as political influencers and the general public continuously demonstrate their commitment to reducing these harmful chemicals.<\/p>\n By Rose Delaney, Staff Writer & Researcher for Save The Water\u2122 | October 16, 2018 To the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12812,"featured_media":114045,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,65],"tags":[401,407],"yst_prominent_words":[1171,1170,1166,1169,1167,1165,2056,2199,687,1172,612,1168],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70923"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12812"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70923"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70923\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":114048,"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70923\/revisions\/114048"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70923"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=70923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}What Are PFAS?<\/h2>\n
PFAS Action Team in Pennsylvania Will Address These Artificial Chemicals That Harm Humans and the Environment.<\/h2>\n
Disastrously and Dangerously High levels of PFAS in both Pennsylvania and Michigan.<\/h2>\n
\nOakland,
\nWashtenaw,
\nWayne, and
\nMonroe Counties near Detroit.5<\/span><\/p>\n\n
PFAS Reduction: Effective Government Action<\/h2>\n
Achieving PFAS Elimination : What can you do?<\/h2>\n
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References<\/h2>\n
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