It's time for the NY State Dept. of Health to fully protect us by setting the highest possible standards of remediation for our drinking water.
To date, New York State has recommended the most stringent Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) in the nation for 2 of the common toxic PFAS (perfluorinated) chemicals: PFOA and PFOS. That level is 10 ppt per each contaminant. However, current research suggests that toxicity occurs at much lower levels…at as little as 0.1 - 1.0 ppt of PFAS chemicals— combined! This is according to one of the Nation's leading toxicologists and an NRDC Study!
There are nearly 5000 PFAS chemicals in use today throughout our consumer goods and industrial fire fighting foams. The City of Newburgh has been exposed to toxic levels of 12 different PFAS for over 3 decades! These chemicals are "forever-chemicals", meaning they persistent in our water, soil, air…and most critically—bioaccumulate in our bodies—for years. They are associated with kidney and testicular cancers, childhood development issues, thyroid & hormonal imbalances, immune deficiencies and high cholesterol.
It's time to get these chemicals highly regulated and removed from our environment — period.
We urge the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) to adopt a combined maximum contaminant level (MCL) for PFOA and PFOS that is no less stringent than the individual MCLs.
As the science on PFAS advances, we expect the DOH to propose and revise MCLs as necessary to protect the public from the harmful effects of this class of toxic chemicals.
The public comment period is open until September 24, 2019.
