The EPA is working hard to reform how department handles safety protocols to [prevent dangerous chemicals from entering water sources across the country.
The people of a Philadelphia suburb are still wondering if they were unknowingly taking in toxins when using water from their faucets. Pennsylvania is one of 33 states with community water supplies contaminated by dangerous chemicals known as Perfluoroalkyl substances or PFASs.
These chemicals are found in firefighting foam used at former military bases near Philadelphia, which have been linked to serious health risks such as cancer.
In this Aug. 1, 2018 photo, a water tower stands above a residential neighborhood in Horsham, Pa. In Horsham and surrounding towns in eastern Pennsylvania, and at other sites around the United States, the foams once used routinely in firefighting training at military bases contained per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
PFASs are also found in household items like non-stick cookware and fast food wrappers, which may also leak into water supplies.
The EPA is now scrambling to take action amid calls for quicker damage control and prevention responses.
“Part of what the agency is doing in conjunction with looking at potential regulatory actions for PFOA and PFAS is considering how we can better manage this family of compounds,” explained Peter Grevatt, EPA Director of Ground Water and Drinking.
The agency issued a drinking water health advisory and is holding town halls across the country to receive input from residents affected by toxins.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration issued a report revealing PFASs leaked into community water supplies, endangering human health at levels deemed safe during the Obama administration.
The EPA is claiming it will prepare a national management plan by the end of the year, but has not set a deadline for regulatory policies.
Data review and studies are ongoing as families take matters into their own hands.
Source: One America News Network.
