October 19, 2021

The National PFAS Contamination Coalition (NPCC) is grateful for Administrator Regan’s public commitment to partnering with PFAS contaminated community activists and his promise to “keep pushing the envelope” for aggressive EPA actions designed to protect harmed communities from PFAS exposures. We plan to hold Administrator Regan to his words. 

The NPCC sent a letter in January calling on President Biden to prioritize PFAS in the new administration’s priority agenda. The EPA’s PFAS strategic roadmap addresses some of these concerns including setting clear timelines and next steps for protecting communities across the country from PFAS contamination. It also urges the FDA, DOD, and other federal agencies to also take significant actions to address their responsibilities in protecting public health from these toxic “forever chemicals”. However, if Administrator Regan is going to bring true equity and environmental justice to the millions of American communities suffering from decades of PFAS exposures–more needs to be done and we call on Administrator Regan to work closely with the NPCC to prioritize these needs. 

Community leaders in the coalition, all of whom are directly impacted by PFAS contamination, praise the roadmap for establishing tangible deadlines for action, something sorely missing from previous EPA plans. They also acknowledge  more action is urgently needed and welcome continued dialog with Administrator Regan and his office.

“PFAS contamination is a public health emergency impacting every American who has detectable levels of PFAS in their blood,” said Stel Bailey of Fight for Zero in Cocoa Beach, Florida and co-facilitator of the National PFAS Contamination Coalition. “We know intimately the costs and burdens associated with EPA inaction. The EPA’s leadership in releasing this plan is an important first step in the right direction and more clearly highlights the extra work that needs to be done. We will do whatever it takes to see our communities are made whole. We promise to be as persistant as PFAS.”

The National PFAS Contamination Coalition formed in June 2017 in order to support local organizing for clean, PFAS-free air, soil, water, and food supplies, as well as advocating for occupational health and safety from workplace PFAS exposures. The coalition seeks these health protections through the sharing of stories, information, experiences, references, data, and connections with experts in their fields. The National PFAS Contamination Coalition envisions a PFAS-free world where people are not exposed to any PFAS, where the environment and public health are protected, where there is justice for the victims of PFAS exposure, and where laws and regulations prevent contamination disasters like this from happening again.

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The National PFAS Contamination Coalition is a network of grassroots groups fighting PFAS contamination in communities across the country, formed following the June 2017 PFAS conference in Boston, MA. The coalition has grown to represent 18 groups in 16 states across the country. See more at pfasproject.net. 

NATIONAL COALITION OF COMMUNITY LEADERS CALL FOR SWIFT FEDERAL ACTION ON PFAS 

Monday, January 11, 2021

[NATIONAL]—Community leaders across the country are calling on President-elect Joe Biden to act on ‘forever’ chemicals when he takes office this month. 

This class of chemicals, known as PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) can cause cancers, kidney diseases, reproductive disorders, and other major health problems. PFAS are known as ‘forever’ chemicals because they take an extremely long time to break down, and these chemicals are estimated to be in the drinking water of over 200 million people across the U.S.

Today, members of the National PFAS Contamination Coalition, representing communities across the country that have been poisoned by PFAS, released the first of several videos calling on President-elect Biden to act on PFAS contamination. The video points to the 22-point action plan published by the Coalition last month. 

“The year after my husband died of cancer, I found out that our drinking water had been contaminated by PFAS, at some points as high as 80,000ppt. Earlier this year, I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer,” said Sandy Wynn-Stelt of Belmont, MI. “I think it’s important that our federal government act on PFAS and act on it now. We don’t have time to wait. People are being contaminated by this and have no idea.” 

“I drank the contaminated water for 20 years. I had three boys, and we found out that my oldest, who was six years at the time, had a cancerous brain tumor. My exposure may have actually caused cancer in my child,” said Joanne Stanton of BuxMont Coalition for Safer Water in Warminster, PA.

“In 2013, my uncle was diagnosed with cancer. A few months later, my little brother was diagnosed with cancer. Three months later, I was diagnosed with cancer. Our father was diagnosed with cancer. Then, we found that our drinking water had been polluted with PFAS chemicals,” said Stel Bailey of Fight For Zero in Cocoa, FL and co-facilitator of the National PFAS Contamination Coalition. “We deserve to know what is in our water, to help prevent tragedies like what my family experienced. Now’s our chance to take action and help save lives.”

The National PFAS Contamination Coalition is a network of residents from communities across the country that have been directly impacted from PFAS contamination. The Coalition was formed in 2017 and now represents 18 grassroots community groups in 16 states fighting PFAS at the local level and beyond. 

The Coalition’s vision is a PFAS-free world where people are not exposed to any PFAS, where the environment and public health are protected, where there is justice for the victims of PFAS exposure, and where laws and regulations change to prevent contamination disasters like this from happening again.

The 22-point action plan turns this vision into concrete steps that President-elect Biden can take to end the PFAS contamination crisis facing communities nationwide. 

Ayesha Khan of Nantucket PFAS Action Group in Nantucket, MA: “My husband is a firefighter at Nantucket Fire Department. About a year ago he got diagnosed with testicular cancer. I started to look into the high rates of cancer in firefighters and through that I saw the correlations with PFAS in their gear and in the AFFF foam that they use. We need to remove these chemicals from the gear that is supposed to protect them. We cannot let another family go through this.”

Linda Shosie of Mothers Safe Air Safe Water Force in Tucson, AZ: “My daughter passed away in 2007. I’ve seen children as young as five years old died of brain cancer, including my niece. I have lived through the devastation of this pollution in my community.”

Laurene Allen of Merrimack Citizens for Clean Water in Merrimack, NH: “Every case that we talk about is a mother, a father, a loved one, a child. We learned in March 2016 that our water is contaminated by St. Gobain performance plastic. In my community, we hear story after story of mothers, children, fathers, brothers, sisters and whole neighborhoods that have health issues that we know are connected to PFAS. We drink it. We breathe it. I hear mothers asking questions about the health of their families every single day. I need action now.”

Cheryl Cail of Idle No More South Carolina, a committee of the South Carolina Indian Affairs Commission: “My son was diagnosed with testicular cancer. We started piecing things together and we really feel like the reason he had it was because of the contamination. The doctor even said his testicular cancer is not common with not having the usual precursors for it. There is an absolute need for something to be done about PFAS contamination. We should have started a long time ago.”

Hope Grosse of BuxMont Coalition for Safer Water in Warminster, PA: “We were drinking the water, we were swimming in the water, we had a private well most of our lives. I was diagnosed with stage four cancer in 1990 and my father was diagnosed with a brain tumor in the late 80’s and he passed away from it. My sister has autoimmune diseases and I fear for the future of my children, understanding that these chemicals can cross the placenta.”

Jay Post of Your Turnout Gear and PFOA and resident of Florida: “In January of 2018 I had my vocal chords, part of my esophagus, my epiglottis and part of my lymph nodes removed due to throat cancer. I wore my firefighter gear as directed by the manufacturer for 33 years. Little did I know, and did the rest of the firefighters in the country know, that the gear was manufactured with PFAS chemicals in them. Please join us in contacting the President-elect to get these chemicals banned… completely.”

Andrea Amico of Testing for Pease in Portsmouth, NH: “We still have no enforceable drinking water standard for PFAS in this country. My family and others have a right to live in a healthy and safe community. The EPA must regulate PFAS as a class and must set a Maximum Contaminant Level of 1ppt for the entire class of PFAS. Now is our chance to take action. That’s why I’m calling on President-elect Biden’s EPA to take a much stronger stance to regulate PFAS, to protect communities like mine, and to prioritize clean up and action for so many affected by PFAS.”

Eric Weiner of Clean Water Task Force at Windsor Climate Action in Windsor, CT: “Last spring, our river was covered bank to bank with foam that was three or four feet thick. There had been a spill of 40,000 gallons of firefighting foam containing PFAS that caused that contamination.”

Anthony Spaniola of Need our Water (NOW) in Oscoda, MI: “If the federal government is serious about PFAS, it must clean up its own act within the Department of Defense. Due to DOD’s long history of mismanagement and deceit on PFAS, our communities cannot wait any longer for DOD to reform itself. That’s why we need direct leadership and coordination on PFAS from the White House, overseen by a PFAS Czar, with input from a Presidential Council including leaders from heavily impacted communities and exposed groups (such as veterans and firefighters). The Department of Defense must be transformed from a laggard on PFAS to a national leader.”

Emily Donovan of Clean Cape Fear in Wilmington, NC: “I am one of 300,000 residents who live downstream from the DuPont/Chemours facility in Fayetteville, NC. We were chronically exposed to toxic levels of their chemical waste for nearly 40 years. Over 3,000 private well owners living around the Fayetteville facility have PFAS contamination as well. I live in a confirmed thyroid cancer cluster that spans three counties. My husband almost lost his eyesight to a brain tumor three years after moving to the region. President-Elect Biden must empower his administration to use their full authority to address all PFAS contamination–including industrial exposures.”

Shaina Kasper, Water Program Director at Community Action Works and Co-facilitator of the National PFAS Contamination Coalition: “PFAS contamination is an unfolding crisis for communities who are just now finding out they’ve been poisoned. When there’s a crisis, you don’t wait to act. On day one in office, President-elect Biden will have the power to act on one of the biggest toxic contamination threats of our time.” 

For more, see the hashtag #ActOnPFAS on Twitter and Facebook. 

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The National PFAS Contamination Coalition is a network of grassroots groups fighting PFAS contamination in communities across the country, formed following the June 2017 PFAS conference in Boston, MA. The coalition has grown to represent 18 groups in 16 states across the country. See more at pfasproject.net. 

Community Action Works works side by side with everyday people to confront those who are polluting and harming the health of our communities. We partner with the people who are most impacted by environmental problems, training them with the know-how anyone would need to make change in their own backyard. Learn more at communityactionworks.org.

7/6/2020

National PFAS Contamination Coalition Reaction to PFAS Being Regulated As A Class

On June 30, 2020, the peer-reviewed article titled “Scientific Basis for Managing PFAS as a Chemical Class” authored by 16 of the nation’s leading scientists was published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters. The paper presents a scientific basis for managing the thousands of chemicals known as PFAS as one chemical class. The reason for the class approach is related to the shared physicochemical, environmental, toxicological, biopersistence, bioaccumulation, and hazardous properties of PFAS studied to date. The paper also discusses options for how governments and industry can apply the class-based approach, emphasizing the importance of eliminating non-essential uses of PFAS, and further developing safer alternatives and methods to remove existing PFAS from the environment.

The National PFAS Contamination Coalition (NPCC) membership represents over 30 grassroots community groups in 21 states fighting PFAS chemical pollution in our air, soil, water, food, and from occupational exposures. NPCC’s top priority is to advocate for national regulation of PFAS as a class with a Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL)  of 1 part per trillion (ppt) or less. This article calling for PFAS to be regulated as a class strongly aligns with the goal of the NPCC and we fully support the position of this peer-reviewed, scientific paper. 

Members of the NPCC know first hand that for decades, residents in our communities were overexposed to a mixture of many different PFAS. Results from blood work and biomonitoring in various communities prove that our families have been contaminated with numerous PFAS, leading to an even more significant concern of the total body burden ourselves and our loved ones are experiencing.

The NPCC also views regulating PFAS as a class as an opportunity to address a more comprehensive clean up and remediation process under federal and state programs that will benefit communities currently being exposed to a mixture of PFAS. It is critical to stop the exposure of the entire class of PFAS and to clean up the extensive contamination nationwide to prevent further harm to human health and the environment.   

For far too long, PFAS have been given the benefit of the doubt, while communities suffer from ongoing exposure to a mixture of PFAS in the absence of protective regulation at the federal level. It is encouraging to see some states take action to set their own enforceable standards for PFAS in the absence of federal regulation. It is also promising to see some major companies removing PFAS from their products as referenced in this scientific paper. However, those steps are not enough to ultimately protect public health and the focus must be on regulating the entire class of these toxic chemicals. 

Sadly, we cannot undo the PFAS exposure that has happened to our members and families. We continue to face some of the known, as well as a vast number of unknowns of the long-lasting impacts the class of PFAS will present to us. However, we can learn from this situation and take action to prevent ongoing PFAS exposure to communities by regulating PFAS as a class, as presented in this peer-reviewed article supported by leading scientists. 

NPCC envisions a PFAS-free world where people are not exposed to any PFAS, where the environment and public health are protected, where there is justice for the victims of PFAS exposure, and where laws and regulations prevent contamination disasters like this from happening again. The NPCC is calling on the EPA to enact a national enforceable drinking water standard that is health protective for infants, children and vulnerable populations, by setting a Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) of 1ppt or less for all PFAS at the federal level.

June 16, 2020

Via electronic mail

The Honorable Roger Wicker, Chairman

Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

United States Senate United States Senate

555 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Maria Cantwell

Ranking Member

Committee on Commerce and Transportation

United States Senate

511 Hart Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510

RE: National PFAS Contamination Coalition OPPOSES Nancy Beck Nomination To Chair Consumer Product Safety Commission

Dear Chairman Wicker and Ranking Member Cantwell:

We, the undersigned community group leaders, are writing to express our strong opposition to the nomination of Nancy Beck to Chair the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). We are members of the National PFAS Contamination Coalition. Our membership represents over 30 grassroots community groups in 21 states fighting PFAS chemical pollution in our air, soil, water, food, and from occupational exposures. 

For decades, many residents in our communities have been overexposed to PFAS chemicals. We call PFAS “forever chemicals” because that’s what they do–they live forever, never breaking down. This dangerous forever chemistry bioaccumulates in our bodies and in our environment.

For too long, the health and safety of our families have been disregarded. We are seeing major diseases and illnesses in people far too young in our communities. Many in our group have visited Congress on numerous occasions testifying about our personal heartaches, our illnesses, and our fears because of these forever chemical exposures. 

As you know, the CPSC is the federal agency responsible for protecting the public against dangers associated with consumer products including toys, children’s products, home furnishings, cleaning supplies, cookware, and some tools and building materials. We rely on this agency to protect our health and our children’s health from unnecessary toxic exposures. That’s why it concerned us to learn Nancy Beck is best known for her long career of opposing health protections from dangerous toxic chemicals, including her time as an official for the largest trade association of chemical manufacturers. For the past three years, Beck has headed EPA’s “Chemical Safety” office, and she is currently leading the Trump administration’s policies on PFAS.

As organizations and individuals whose families and communities have been directly harmed by PFAS chemicals in our drinking water, food supply, the very air we breathe, occupational exposures and consumer products, we judge her suitability as a nominee by her record of action (or inaction) to address the nation’s burgeoning PFAS contamination crisis.  Unfortunately, her record is one of failure rather than one of action and urgency.

While directing EPA’s Chemical Safety office, Nancy Beck has failed to use her authority to address PFAS contamination, and she has undermined efforts to strengthen protections from these harmful toxic chemicals.

• Nancy Beck’s first actions after arriving at EPA were to rewrite rules under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to prevent consideration of the harm caused by PFAS in drinking water or polluted air .

• Beck never required chemical manufacturers to disclose information about PFAS, including how much was produced, how and where it was disposed of, and how many workers and people were exposed. Finally, Congress stepped in and ordered the EPA to gather the information.

• Beck never required industry dischargers to report their releases of PFAS into our air, water or land. Finally, Congress stepped in and ordered EPA to gather the information.

• Beck failed to require notice of potential new uses of PFAS in consumer products.  Finally, Congress stepped in and ordered EPA to act.  Beck then pressed EPA to adopt the weakest approach she could get away with, meaning more of our loved ones will be exposed to PFAS.

• Beck failed to ban, or even temporarily postpone, the introduction of any new PFAS into the marketplace (and into the environment and our bodies).  Instead, when the House was considering bipartisan legislation to postpone the approval of any new PFAS for five years, Beck helped issue a statement from the White House threatening to veto the bill (it passed anyway).

• Beck failed to issue a single order requiring toxicity testing of PFAS, despite the Administration’s claims that it needs more information about PFAS before it can restrict their use or set safety standards.

• Beck worked with White House staff to suppress a CDC report showing EPA’s existing health standards for toxic PFAS chemicals are too weak to protect our families. The White House was concerned that the report would be a “public relations nightmare.” 

The CPSC has jurisdiction over numerous consumer products that may contain PFAS, including cookware, carpets, raingear, and footwear. Beck’s record at the EPA and the White House amply demonstrates her total lack of commitment to addressing the PFAS crisis and should disqualify her for consideration to be the next Chair of the CPSC.

Unfortunately, Nancy Beck’s deeply problematic record isn’t limited to undermining efforts to address the PFAS crisis. She has blocked numerous efforts to protect the public from cancer-causing and brain-damaging chemicals, demonstrating her unfitness to lead an Agency charged with protecting our nation’s children. 

Most notably, Nancy Beck has:

• Withheld needed protection for children, workers and rural communities by blocking the proposed ban on the brain-damaging pesticide chlorpyrifos.

• Rejected needed protection for children by refusing to ban the use of a brain-damaging pesticide (TCVP) in pet products including flea collars and shampoos.

• Blocked proposed rules for protecting workers, consumers and children from TCE which is linked to cancer, fetal heart defects, liver and kidney toxicity and harm to the immune system.

• Refused to consider exposure to contaminated drinking water as a factor in determining whether to impose restrictions or set safety standards for 1,4 dioxane.

• Delayed children’s protections for lead by failing to update the hazard standard for lead paint – contrary to a federal court order.

The last thing that our communities need is Nancy Beck as Chair of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Our children and family’s health should be protected, not sacrificed. We strongly urge you to oppose her nomination.

Signed:

Linda Shosie, Tucson, Arizona, Environmental Justice Task Force- Tucson 

Eric Weiner, Windsor, Connecticut, Clean Water Task Force @ Windsor Climate Action

Stel Bailey, Cocoa, Florida, Fight For Zero

Lindsey Duhe, Pensacola, Florida, Saufley Field Community

Lynn Sprayberry, Summerville, Georgia, Chattooga County

Susan Phelan, West Barnstable, Massachusetts, GreenCAPE 

Ryan Riley, Salem, Massachusetts, Your Turnout Gear and PFOA 

Arnie Leirche, Oscada, Mighigan, Wurtsmith Restoration Advisory Board Community Co-chair

Anthony Spaniola, Oscada, Mighigan, Need Our Water (NOW)

Diane and Paul Cotter, Rindge, New Hampshire, Your Turnout Gear and PFOA 

Laurene Allen, Merrimack, New Hampshire, Merrimack Citizens for Clean Water 

Andrea Amico, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Testing for Pease

Loreen Hackett, Hoosick Falls, New York, PfoaProjectNY

Jack Caldwell. New Windsor, New York. Quassiack Creek Watershed Alliance

Emily Donovan, Wilmington, North Carolina. Clean Cape Fear

Katie Bryant, Pittsboro, North Carolina, Clean Haw River

Hope Grosse, Joanne Stanton, Bucks and Montgomery Counties, Pennsylvania, Buxmont Coalition for Safer Water

Kevin Ferrara, Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, Retired USAF Firefighter

Cheryl Cail, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, SC Idle No More

Shaina Kasper, Montpelier, Vermont. Toxics Action Center

John Cranmer, Gillette, Wyoming. USAF Firefighter

To: ATSDR
From: National PFAS Contamination Coalition Re: ​2020 ToxProfile Nomination

Dear ATDSR,

May 27, 2020

We are the National PFAS Contamination Coalition, comprised of citizen groups in 22 PFAS impacted communities in 18 states and territories across the country, and we are writing to express input ​on which substances ATSDR should prioritize for the next round of Toxicological Profile development​. We are writing today to advocate that a large class of chemicals known as perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) be considered in the next round of Toxicological Profile development. We are aware of ATSDR’s ​Toxicological Profile for Perfluoroalkyls released for public comment in June 2018. This document reported the data on some PFAS in this large class of more than 5,000 chemicals and recommended Provisional Minimal Risk Levels on only 4 different PFAS.

We feel strongly that ATSDR should consider the entire class of PFAS in their next round of Toxicological Profile development because many impacted communities are not just exposed to a handful of PFAS. ​And we urge ATSDR to consider a Provisional Minimal Risk Level of 1 part per trillion or less for the entire class of PFAS as we feel this is the most protective standard to minimize risk to impacted communities based on the best available science.

PFAS are called “forever chemicals” because they have one of the strongest bonds in chemistry causing them to live forever, never breaking down, and bioaccumulating in our bodies and in our environment. ​For decades, ​many residents in our communities have been overexposed to a mixture of many dif​ferent PFAS. Through blood work and/or biomonitoring in various communities, results prove as fact that our families have been contaminated with numerous PFAS, leading to an even larger concern of the total body burden, as well as the unknown of additional PFAS that haven’t yet been tested, but we know are in use. We do not have clear answers on what the long-term impacts of many of these individual PFAS will mean for our health. And we certainly do not have a clear understanding of how a mixture of many different PFAS, that we have been exposed to over a long period of time, will impact the health of our families and future generations. For too long, the health and safety of our families have been disregarded.

The use of non-target analysis to detect PFAS compounds in drinking water has been a pivotal catalyst for public awareness regarding the full extent of PFAS contamination for multiple community groups within our national coalition. We know we are not being exposed to one single compound anymore. ​PFAS is a large class of widely used chemicals causing communities to be exposed to so many different PFAS at once. It is ineffective to look at individual compounds one by one to determine risk to human health. Instead, our government agencies should take protective action on the entire class of PFAS and recommend minimal or no exposure to protect the health of the communities.​ We are seeing major diseases and illnesses in people far too young in our communities. Many in our group have spoken publicly on numerous occasions sharing our personal heartaches, our illnesses, and our fears because of these chemical exposures. Sadly, we cannot undo the PFAS exposure that has happened to us and our families. We continue to face the unknowns of the long lasting impacts the class of PFAS will present to us. However, we can learn from this situation and we can take action to prevent ongoing PFAS exposure to communities moving forward.

The National PFAS Contamination Coalition envisions a PFAS-free world where people are not exposed to any PFAS, where the environment and public health are protected, where there is justice for the victims of PFAS exposure, and where laws and regulations prevent contamination disasters like this from happening again. As organizations and individuals whose families and communities have been directly harmed by the contamination of our drinking water by PFAS, along with ongoing exposure via food, air pollution, occupational exposures and consumer products, we strongly request that you consider PFAS as a class in your next round of Toxicological Profile development and you recommend a Provisional Minimal Risk Level of 1 part per trillion or less for the entire class of PFAS.

Sincerely,

Andrea Amico Testing for Pease Portsmouth, NH

Diane and Paul Cotter
Your Turnout Gear and PFOA Rindge, NH

Loreen Hackett PFOA Project NY Hoosick Falls, NY

Linda Shosie
Environmental Justice Task Force Tucson, Arizona

Emily Donovan Clean Cape Fear Wilmington, NC

Sue Phelan GreenCAPE
W. Barnstable, MA

Laurene Allen
Merrimack Citizens for Clean Water

Merrimack, NH

Joanne Stanton and Hope Grosse Buxmont Coalition for Safer Water Warminster/Horsham, PA

Stel Bailey
Fight For Zero Brevard County, FL

Anthony M. Spaniola Need Our Water (NOW) Oscoda, Michigan

Community Impacts: Portsmouth, New Hampshire (by Andrea Amico):

The Pease International Tradeport is currently home to ~ 250 businesses where over 10,000 people a day come to work, attend daycare, visit medical office buildings, attend college, and more. It was once the former Pease Air Force Base from the 1950’s to the early 1990’s and has a legacy of significant environmental contamination. In 1991, it was declared a Superfund Site and has had extensive oversight by local, state, and federal agencies of clean up and past environmental issues while being redeveloped into the robust tradeport it is today.

However, in May of 2014, high levels of PFAS were discovered in the drinking water at the Pease Tradeport causing the largest producing drinking water well (one of three) to be shut down immediately. The source of PFAS at Pease is firefighting foam known to be made up of a mixture of many different PFAS. The Pease community was devastated to learn they had been exposed to high levels of contaminants in their drinking water for decades despite the extensive oversight of the environmental issues and clean up since the early 1990’s.

My two young children attended daycare at Pease starting at the very young age of 12 weeks old and my husband worked for a business there for years and they were drinking the water daily at work and at daycare prior to the discovery of PFAS in 2014. My family now has elevated levels of PFAS in their blood due to drinking contaminated water and I still lack clear answers on what the health effects will be given their exposure to multiple PFAS.

My life has changed forever as a result of their PFAS exposure. I feel incredible pain and fear that my family was exposed to a mixture of PFAS chemicals and I don’t have clear answers on what the long term consequences will be to their health – especially my children who were exposed at such young ages and at critical times in their development. I am angry that our government (DoD and EPA) knew of the harm and persistent traits of these chemicals for years prior to the discovery of the contamination in my community and not only did they not act to test for the compounds, but instead allowed the use of PFAS to continue. I feel guilty that I sent my children to a daycare where they were exposed to contaminated water, unbeknownst to me, and I have to forever worry about their health and development as these chemicals will take decades to leave their body. And I have been robbed of some of my happiness as a mother, a wife, and an individual that I have had to expend so much time and energy into advocating for an environmental catastrophe playing out across our entire nation while our government is slow to respond and take forceful and proactive steps to protect public health and prevent this devastation from happening to another innocent family.

Real people have been harmed by PFAS, families are devastated by this exposure, and communities are violated because they have been contaminated without consent. My personal story is just one of millions of people impacted by PFAS and we need strong action from our government to regulate this entire class of dangerous and toxic chemicals by recommending a level of 1 or less part per trillion for all PFAS.

First Responders, Nationwide (by Diane & Paul Cotter):

America’s Firefighters are exposed to PFAS via the Class B AFFF used in 58,000 fire stations in the nation with no national protocol for testing, removal, replacement and remediation. Only the state of New Hampshire has asked for a voluntary testing of fire wells when 7 of 10 wells tested elevated for PFAS in 2017. In addition to toxic AFFF, every firefighter who is wearing structural firefighting gear that meets NFPA Standard 1971 has been wearing staggering amounts of PFOA and PFAS that are degrading to form PFOA in hours to days, for at least 20 years. Only a non-industry independent investigation by nuclear physicist Dr Graham Peaslee of Notre Dame brought this issue to the attention of the fire service. His soon to be released findings may be the greatest challenge the fire service has ever faced. The fleet is hearing the ‘new C6 chemical replacement is completely safe’ and ‘ten times less toxic’. This a blatant disregard for the safety of our firefighters who are putting themselves in harms way.

This has been accomplished by the lack of regulations and health guidelines for the chemical family of PFAS. The makers of AFFF and PPE have ingrained themselves into every aspect of firefighter protection by immersing themselves within our own institutions, and making themselves voting members of the only safety councils we rely on, they are able to produce AFFF and PPE with staggering amounts of PFAS. Because of the C8 Science Panel and known health effects of PFAS chemicals, makers of our gear and AFFF produce science from paid consultants like Exponent who then use paid science to conduct the language to the fleet of America’s firefighters.

We must rely on strong health standards and independent institutional studies to break this corporate hold of the PFAS-circle-dance within the fire service as 3M, DuPont, Johnson Controls, and others are the sponsors of our own cancer summits and firefighter cancer research and voting members of our NFPA yet deny the harms of PFAS to the fire service.

Hoosick Falls, New York (by Loreen Hackett):

Hoosick Falls, NY, severely contaminated with PFOA leading to the first two Federal NPL Superfund site declarations, in addition to several NYS Superfund declarations for other sites in our community. Through several rounds of blood testing by NYSDOH, we now know we have a variety of PFAS toxins in our bodies, at disturbing levels. Through recent EPA and DEC air emissions tests, we know for fact there are many other PFAS being utilized by these industries, with many discovered as unidentifiable. Combined, these should be more than ample reasons to regulate PFAS as a class.

Tucson, Arizona (by Linda Shosie):

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to comment on behalf of citizens of Tucson and NPCC relating, ATSDR’s- PFAS substances we should prioritize for profile development. We thank ATSDR- for taking these major steps forward to safeguard the nations environmental health. We thank our Legislation for there role in this mandate.

In my form of judgement this process is critical, and I do not mean to be forward about my comments, but I will include my comments now.

For too long, the south-side residents have been fighting to cleanup historical contamination in our community, which has met with nothing but resistance from the Air Force. Four decades after TCE groundwater contamination, which includes the TIA Superfund Site, PFAS has been discovered at the Arizona Air National Guard Installations Water Systems that serves more than 675,686, people in our entire community.

My 19-year old daughter Tianna M. Shosie died of a rare disease, that I believe was caused by PFAS contamination. Our community has seen increased cancer rates for four decades, and other mothers like myself have also witnessed the deaths of their children, we believe is culprit to PFAS contamination.

It is our understanding that DOD- Installation Water Systems has detected PFAS (11-14,000ppt) above EPA current Drinking Water HAL, which serves our entire public water systems in our community that serves more than 675,686.

If this is the case, which it is, we would like to express our strongest support to ATSDR- proposal to add PFAS substances to the SPL.

It is immoral and unacceptable to us that our families, friends, and neighbors, particularly our children, could be placed in this position where they live, learn and play, and pray, in an area that presents a potential health hazard and/or imminent health threat. Furthermore, it is very disturbing to us that the EPA- would be so irresponsible as to be a party to the injustice out of which this problem has arise.

We are pleading to ATSDR- to please consider PFAS class chemicals on the SPL and ensure us a margin of safety and make recommendations for our public protections to end exposures to PFAS.

Wilmington, North Carolina (by Emily Donovan):

In June 2017, over a quarter of a million residents learned they’d been consuming large quantities of newly identified PFAS chemicals, including GenX, Nafion Byproduct 2, and PFMOAA, coming from industrial discharges related to a fluorochemical manufacturing facility upstream from our primary source of drinking water. Many of these exposures were happening for decades. A human exposure study conducted by NC State further revealed more newly identified PFAS chemicals in blood samples of the Wilmington residents who participated–many of the PFAS chemicals detected in 98% – 99% of the samples taken. There is no proven safe disposal method for PFAS chemistry. Over-exposed communities, like ours, can no longer afford for industry, government, and/or the scientific community to be wrong regarding PFAS chemistry. PFAS compounds must be reviewed and assessed as a class.

Hyannis, Cape Cod, Massachusetts (by Sue Phelan):

In May 2016, the Hyannis, MA, community learned that several wells supplying municipal drinking water tested above the EPA’s Drinking Water Health Advisory level (70 ppt) for perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs). Only 2 PFASs of the thousands known were tested. These contaminants entered the water supply from fire training exercises utilizing AFFF (Aqueous Film Forming Foam) from the 1950’s to the present from the Barnstable County Fire and Rescue Training Academy and the Barnstable Municipal Airport as well as other possible sites yet to be identified. All are located above the sand-covered EPA-designated sole-source aquifer of Cape Cod-the only drinking water supply for the entire county. Hyannis is also the Cape’s hub of transportation, commerce, and tourism, with a year-round population of nearly 50,000 that expands to 150,000 in the summer. The area served by this water district is also a state and federally designated Environmental Justice Community. As individuals and as a community, we do not yet know the dosage or duration of our exposure or what, if any, related health outcomes we and the next generations might experience in our future. Many residents report a variety of health issues that have been associated with PFAS exposure, including cancers. It is critical for our community of thousands -exposed to PFAS for decades via the public drinking water supply-to know that their water is protected by federal law to the fullest extent possible. Regulation of a few of the hundreds of PFAS chemicals in the water supply is utterly inadequate. It would benefit the nation to have more protective and legally enforceable PFAS standards for drinking water, surface waters, soils, foods, air, and discharge permits, that treat per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) as a class of compounds and regulate their total to be protective of the most vulnerable populations. This is critically necessary to spare further damage to the physical and mental development of the next generation.

Merrimack, NH ( by Laurene Allen)

An active industrial PFAS user in Merrimack, NH is the identified responsible party for drinking water contamination for public and private wells in my home town and 5 additional communities. State investigation with the assistance of the EPA has identified the presence of 190 PFAS in air stack testing and 34 PFAS compounds in water samples. While thousands of residents have been exposed to multiple PFAS chemicals for up to 2 decades, the lengthy process of toxicological profiles approaches this chemical class individually. NH’s investigation counts on the federal government’s guidance and our residents’ exposure to a full panel of PFAS in drinking water must be acknowledged.

Everywhere we look, we see health issues known to be associated with PFAS exposure in our impacted communities, with countless family stories of significant harm. Children with rare cancers, reproductive health disruptions, neurobehavioral and autoimmune disorders have not

been counted in my community and surrounding areas known to be contaminated with PFAS chemicals. Adults with multiple and unexpected health conditions have not received answers to their questions of whether PFAS exposure could be the reason they have been struggling. I believe my family’s health has been altered by our long term exposure to PFAS in our drinking water and environment.

It is not conscionable for the CDC/ATSDR to engage in the endless task of individual PFAS toxicological profiles as health impacts are consistently found to exist for each compound. Merrimack and 5 surrounding communities have significant environmental contamination that will never go away, people deserve the information that both they and their physicians need. The work of the ATSDR must reflect the true PFAS exposure communities with drinking water contamination are consuming. We need you to put together the science for PFAS as a class to justify an end to the presence of toxic chemicals in our water sources so we can make our communities whole again.

Warminster/Horsham, PA ( by Joanne Stanton and Hope Grosse)

Nearly 100,000 area residents living in close proximity to the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove in Horsham, PA and/or the Naval Air Warfare Center Warminster in Warminster, PA were exposed to PFAS and many other hazardous substances released from the Naval Bases into public and private drinking water wells since the early 1970s. Area residents are concerned about the health effects their families have suffered or will suffer as a result of the exposure.

We are two concerned mothers that formed a non-profit advocacy group after PFAS was detected in our local drinking water at some of the highest levels ever found in the country. Too many area residents have seen loved ones, including our own children, die from cancer or suffer other chronic illnesses as a result of drinking DOD contaminated water for decades.
Like many other communities across the country we have been left alone to deal with the health effects of PFAS and far too many unanswered questions about our exposures. Mothers have been especially hard hit dealing with insurmountable guilt. Did we unknowingly expose our babies to PFAS through the umbilical cord or our breast milk? Did PFAS cause my child’s cancer or other chronic illness? With increased cancer rates locally in both adults and children and groundwater levels of PFAS still at levels 4,000 times EPAs HAL, we need action! How can the EPA and ATSDR continually turn a blind eye to much of the PFAS science conducted by top federal scientists at the NIH? Choosing instead to hide behind ongoing political agendas. Sadly, the combined and cumulative effects of this class of chemicals has never been studied leaving us completely in the dark with regards to the full extent of our health effects. It is time for ATSDR to step up to the plate and publicly establish the science behind this entire class of chemicals and fulfill its mission to protect the health of the American people and an exposed community’s right to know!

Brevard County, Florida (by Stel Bailey)

Patrick Air Force Base is one of the nation’s military installations most severely impacted by PFAS contamination. Wells on Patrick Air Force Base tested at 4.3 million ppt of PFOA and PFOS. Families were devastated to learn that PFAS and other hazardous substances were in the water. Patrick Air Force Base, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and Kennedy Space Center utilized AFFF (Aqueous Film Forming Foam), which entered our water. In 2016, scientists measured these chemicals at the highest levels ever found in alligators, dolphins, manatees, and mullet. Through our crowdsourcing efforts, which began in 2014, we collected 800 cancer cases in one zip code (32937) directly next to Patrick Air Force Base. These health concerns were brought to light in 2018 by Dr. Julie Greenwalt, an oncologist and cancer survivor. She attended the high school next to the base that had at least 56 graduates diagnosed with cancer within a few years of one another. The area had a cancer cluster investigation in the 90s with 27 cases of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. At that time, Dr. Richard Clapp, a former director of the Massachusetts state cancer registry who studied more than 1,000 cancer cases, said that the cancer cluster was one of the most striking in U.S. medical history. My family was personally affected in 2013 when my uncle, little brother, the family dog, father, and I were diagnosed with rare blood cancers. Dr. Greenwalt’s concerns combined with our crowdsourced medical information resulted in another cancer cluster study in 2019, where the Department of Health concluded that cancer rates are high in Brevard County, FL, but cannot explain why. It would benefit our military service members, their families, and surrounding communities if we had more protective and legally enforceable PFAS standards. It’s time for ATSDR to step up and protect the health of our communities by regulating this entire class of dangerous chemicals.

Oscoda, Michigan (by Anthony M. Spaniola)

Oscoda, Michigan is the home of the first publicly reported PFAS contamination site in Michigan and the first publicly reported U.S. military PFAS contamination site in the world. The contamination stems from the use of AFFF fire fighting foam at the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base. Since Michigan regulatory officials discovered the contamination in 2010, public health officials have issued five separate public health warnings for the Oscoda area, comprised of (1) a “Do Not Eat” fish warning for a 9 mile stretch of the Au Sable River (which flows directly into nearby Lake Huron); (2) a “Do Not Drink” water warning for residential water wells serving approximately 3,000 people; (3) a “Do Not Eat” venison warning for deer harvested within a five mile radius of the former base; (4) a “Do Not Come Into Contact” warning for highly contaminated surface water foam on a large inland lake; and (5) a “Do Not Eat” warning for all small game and semi aquatic wildlife in a beautiful marsh near the former base. People in Oscoda have been exposed for decades to a PFAS cocktail containing far more than the four PFAS chemicals for which Provisional Minimal Risk Levels have been recommended. As new lives are being brought into this world every day, and as new PFAS chemicals are added regularly to the already large PFAS class, we simply cannot wait for a one-at-a-time review. For our families, for our children and for future generations, it is time to act now, and to act decisively, on the entire class of PFAS chemicals. That’s why my group, Need Our Water (NOW), wholeheartedly supports and joins the National PFAS Contamination Coalition in calling for a Provisional Minimal Risk Level of 1 part per trillion, or less, for the entire class of PFAS chemicals

The National PFAS Contamination Coalition strongly opposes the incineration of PFAS-contaminated wastes and collected PFAS products as incineration and other similar thermal treatment technologies and facilities have not been specifically permitted to treat PFAS nor have they been demonstrated to destroy PFAS, ie reducing it to carbon, fluoride salts and/or other constituents. We also object to placing collected PFAS product in landfills which can readily leak PFAS to the surrounding environment.  Instead, collected PFAS product should remain stored within each state until safe alternatives to incineration are in place and fully operational. 

For Immediate Release: September 25, 2018

Contact Information​:

• Laurene Allen, Merrimack Citizens For Clean Water, ALaurene@gmail.com, (603) 494-8395
• Mark A. Favors, Fountain Valley Clean Water Coalition, MarkFavors@Hotmail.com,  (718) 427-0677
• Cody Angell, Michigan Demands Action Against Contamination, MIDemandsAction@gmail.com, (616) 214-5735
• Cathy Wusterbarth, Need Our Water, NowActionGroup@gmail.com, (810) 441-9855
• Andrea Amico, Testing For Pease, ABrown3@worcester.edu, (978) 549-9122
• Kristen Mello, Westfield Residents Advocating For Themselves, klm.wraft@gmail.com, (413) 433-4505

CONTAMINATION VICTIMS JOURNEY TO CAPITAL SEEKING HELP FROM SENATE

Contamination from Per- and Poly-fluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) affects more than 16 Million Americans and, as more and more sources of PFAS pollution are revealed, that number is rising. Scientifically linked to harmful diseases in humans such as cancer, these extremely toxic compounds have contaminated: air, ground & surface waters; soils & agricultural products, fish & shellfish; and human beings all across our country and the world. PFAS are difficult to break down and accumulate in the environment and our bodies for years.

Members of the National PFAS Contamination Coalition are heading to the nation’s capital to attend the first Senate hearing on PFAS, “The Federal Role in the Toxic PFAS Chemical Crisis”, scheduled for 2:30PM in the Dirksen Senate Office Building and held by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs’ Subcommittee on Federal Spending Oversight & Emergency Management. This Senate hearing comes on the heels of the September 6th hearing held by the House of Representatives’ Energy & Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on the Environment. Additionally, several EPA Regional PFAS Community Engagement Events were held this summer, and toxicological profiles for PFAS were released by the ATSDR in June.

When asked why they would take the time away from family and work, Coalition members said:

“We can’t undo decades of drinking toxic water or the tax it has taken on veterans and our communities health. But we can do the right thing now, and that means holding polluters accountable and restoring safe drinking water for every community affected,” said Arnie Leriche Community Co-Chair of the Wurtsmith Restoration Advisory Board (RAB), and member of NOW (Need Our Water) in Oscoda, MI, and one of the community leaders testifying at the hearing.

“We want to show that we are real people; we are real families who have been impacted by this widespread contamination,” said Andrea Amico of Testing for Pease in Portsmouth, NH, another impacted resident testifying at the hearing. “We want our government officials to understand what our needs are and what we need from them to help us solve this nation wide problem. It is critical our government prioritize public health by taking swift and meaningful action to help so many exposed to these contaminants.”

“When a disaster happens, you don’t just sit back, let people deal with the aftermaths and hope it doesn’t happen again—you do something about it,” said Cody Angell of Michigan Demands Action Against Contamination based in Belmont, MI. “Everyday Michiganders are waking up to news headlines. Headlines reading about new contaminated sites being found with record-setting levels of PFC’s being found in their lakes, rivers and drinking water. With the world’s largest fresh surface water in our backyard, we should be doing everything we can to protect our most vital resource. Water is Life. ”

“Merrimack is just one of countless communities identified in 40 states and as victims of this chemical crisis. We don’t just bear the pain of our losses and health struggles, but also the cost of bottled water, water filtration systems, medical bills and chronic stress, depression and anxiety,” said Laurene Allen of Merrimack Citizens for Clean Water in Merrimack, NH. She said she traveled to Washington D.C. in order to begin a partnership with Congress to work together for solutions. She added, “We cannot change the past, but I know we have the ability to do better and together we must make America safe again.”

“The U.S. Air Force and the state of Michigan need to fully participate in the remediation of the substances and provide a long-term solution for clean drinking water,” NOW (Need Our Water) member, Cathy Wusterbarth said. “MPART was established to be the main resource for PFAS information, but we’re still having to go to all the agencies separately to obtain current and accurate information.”

“My father and cousins, one a Vietnam veteran, died of kidney cancer and I have a 14-year-old cousin who had to receive a kidney transplant last year,” said Mark Favors of Fountain Valley Clean Water Coalition in Colorado Springs, CO. “Peterson Air Force Base admitted polluting our drinking water for decades. These toxic chemicals are scientifically linked to kidney disorders, cancers, immune response, reproductive disorders, and so much more. We need to stop this contamination crisis now—once and for all!”

“Our pollution sources are all different and unique, yet our needs are the same,” said Kristen Mello of Westfield Residents Advocating for Themselves (WRAFT) in Westfield, MA, who also traveled to DC to call for urgent action in her home state and across the country. “This is a decades-long, slow-motion unfolding, environmental and public health disaster requiring a comprehensive and coordinated response.”

Residents in communities suffering from PFAS contamination need our federal government to respond to the “Toxic PFAS Chemical Crisis” as the emergency it is:

➢ providing safe drinking water, medical care and monitoring for victims;

➢ ending current PFAS discharges;

➢ determining the extent of PFAS contamination by testing blood, surface waters & groundwater, fresh & saltwater fish & shellfish, and soils & agricultural products;

➢ remediating contamination sites;

➢ recovering costs from PFAS polluters; and

➢ preventing this from ever happening again.

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For more information about the National PFAS Contamination Coalition, visit https://pfasproject.net/

National PFAS Contamination Coalition Statement Re: Pruitt’s resignation  

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 5, 2018

Contact: Shaina Kasper, Toxics Action Center, 802-922-4780

In response to the news that Administrator Pruitt is resigning, The National PFAS Contamination Coalition issues the following statements:

“This coalition is here to send a message that no matter who’s in charge at EPA, the PFAS crisis impacting drinking water for millions of Americans should be a top priority,” said Shaina Kasper, Vermont and New Hampshire State Director at Toxics Action Center, the New England-wide public health and environmental non-profit.

“We call on incoming administrator Andrew Wheeler to take the Environmental Protection Agency’s mission seriously and take a strong path of action pertaining to the PFAS crisis in our country,” said Cathy Wusterbarth, a community leader of Need Our Water (NOW) in Oscoda Michigan.

“It is great news for Americans who care about ethics in government that Administrator Pruitt will finally be leaving office. But we need to stay vigilant. There is no reason to believe that his successor will be any less ambitious when it comes to dismantling the rules our children and our communities rely on to keep them safe from harmful pollution,” said Joanne Stanton of Bucks-Mont People for Clean Water in Harleysville, Pennsylvania fighting PFAS drinking water contamination in the region.

“People who have been exposed and continue to be exposed to PFAS contamination will continue to expect the EPA to take a leadership role by holding polluters accountable and by prioritizing public health and the environment through a strong PFAS Management Plan. Impacted communities need much stronger regulations and a 1ppt drinking water standard for total PFAS,” said Andrea Amico of Testing for Pease, a community group fighting PFAS drinking water contamination at the Pease Tradeport in Portsmouth, New Hampshire

“It is critical that the EPA continue to host regional meetings in all impacted communities this summer to gather direct community input to help form the EPA’s PFAS Management Plan,”  said Susan Gordon of Fountain Valley Clean Water Coalition, of Colorado Springs, who is currently working with the regional EPA office to finalize the plan for their Regional EPA PFAS meeting August 7-8.

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Residents Of Poisoned Communities Nationwide Demand A Seat At The Table With EPA

Communities affected by PFAS in drinking water demand to be included in decisions on cleanup and regulation

For immediate release: May 22, 2018

Note: Images from around the country are below.

Media contacts:

Shaina Kasper
Shaina@toxicsaction.org
(802) 922-4780

Washington, D.C. — Today kicks off the the EPA’s National Leadership Summit on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in Washington D.C., and a national coalition of communities who are dealing with the toxic crisis in their drinking water are demanding to be heard.

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt convened the summit to bring together stakeholders to take action on PFAS, the family of chemicals found in non-stick, waterproof and stain resistant products, firefighting foam, and the drinking water of nearly 16 million people in 33 states. Representatives from state government, environmental agencies and national environmental groups across the country were invited to attend. Conspicuously absent are representatives from communities that are suffering from PFAS water contamination.

In light of last week’s news that White House staff and the EPA actively worked to suppress the release of a key study on the health effects of PFAS, community leaders from the National PFAS Contamination Coalition took to social media today using the hashtags #SeatAtTheTable and #PFAS to pressure the agency into being more transparent.

“Last week, we learned that the EPA suppressed a PFAS study. This week, they’re convening a summit on PFAS, and, out of millions affected, only ONE of us is allowed to attend on only ONE day to bear witness. How are we supposed to trust anything about this?” asked Kristen Mello, co-founder of Westfield Residents Advocating For Themselves (WRAFT), a group in Westfield, MA, working on PFAS water contamination in their town. “It’s our water and our bodies that are contaminated, and will remain so for years to come. We deserve to be part of the solution, and we deserve to see that study.”

So far, over 36 communities in 10 states have shared why they need a seat at the table through the campaign. Residents of PFAS contaminated communities in Alaska, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Michigan, Colorado, New York, North Carolina, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin are sharing why they need to be included. And the number is still growing.

“We drank polluted water for years without knowing it. Now it’s time for transparency,” said Laurene Allen, of the PFAS-focused community group Citizens for Clean Water in Merrimack, NH. “We want to know exactly how the EPA plans to clean up this public health catastrophe and we want to be part of the solution.”

There are no enforceable federal regulations on PFAS contamination and many experts believe that the EPA’s standards for how much of the chemicals can be in drinking water are too high. While the EPA found that 70 parts per trillion (ppt) is a safe level for PFAS in drinking water, states like Vermont have set their standards at 20 ppt. The study that the EPA suppressed is expected to reveal that standards should be even lower.

“It’s our water that’s contaminated and it’s our health that’s at risk,” said Emily Donovan from Clean Cape Fear in North Carolina. “The science being done and the policies being created are really about us, our health, and our communities, and we deserve a seat at the table.”

“In the United States, we pride ourselves on our democratic process. That means communities on the front lines need to have a seat at the table, always,” said Shaina Kasper, Water Program Director at Toxics Action Center.

The National PFAS Contamination Coalition is a network of impacted communities that formed last year. The group coordinated the social media action and is encouraging impacted communities across the country to participate by sharing why they need to be included in decisions on PFAS.

“The communities most affected by the science and policies should be centered in — not excluded from — the efforts to understand, remediate, and regulate these dangerous chemicals.” said Arnie Leriche as Community Co-Chair, Wurtsmith RAB in Oscoda, MI. “We demand to be part of the discussion that will affect our health, our water and our families for generations to come. It’s shocking to be left out.”

Toxics Action Center works side-by-side with communities to prevent or clean up pollution in New England. Learn more at http://www.toxicsaction.org.

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