More Congressional Hearings on PFAS, when can Americans expect Action Taken by Regulators?

Photo by Alex Kondratiev on Unsplash

If the title seems a bit confusing, so does the fact that more hearings are occurring on the class of chemicals which are pervasive across parts of the United States -- particularly around specific Military installations.  Congress is hearing more on PerFluorinated Alkyl Substances this week to determine what action needs to be taken according to 'Politico Energy:'

PFAS-PALOOZA GETS UNDERWAY: The legislative push around PFAS begins in earnest today with a hearing in the House Energy and Commerce Environment and Climate Change subcommittee on a range of bills that would direct everything from drinking water and air regulations for the toxic chemicals to guidance for firefighters on how to minimize risks from firefighting foam containing PFAS.

As lawmakers push for regulation, a key fault line will be whether to require EPA to set limits for individual chemicals or the entire class of PFAS chemicals. The more than 5,000 chemicals in the family share a strong carbon-fluorine bond that causes them to linger in the environment and human bodies, but they haven't all been studied thoroughly or shown to cause harm, as Annie Snider reports this morning.

House Democrats, public health advocates, and some Republicans with contamination in their districts have pushed for a class-based approach, arguing that it's the only way to truly address such a large class of chemicals. But industry has fiercely opposed it, saying that the chemicals vary widely and that a "one-size-fits-all" approach will stifle innovation — an argument already being echoed by some Republicans on Capitol Hill.

Expect the debate to heat up further with Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) introducing a bill in the upper chamber today that would require EPA to set an enforceable drinking water limit for the entire class of compounds within two years. Presidential hopeful Gillibrand has called for a ban on all PFAS and said in a statement introducing the bill that EPA has "failed to do what is necessary" to protect families from toxic chemicals like PFAS

First, remember last summer when Congress intervened and started to take an interest in the Trump administration's attempt to cover the problem up.  Here are two blog posts on that coverage - here and here.  After which a conference was held by the Environmental Protection Agency to explore the dangers of this class of chemicals.  During the meeting, reporters were thrown out and not allowed to cover the discussion - which caused an appropriate outrage by the Press. 



All of this started when the Trump administration released a health report through the Department of Health and Human Services, which tried to downplay the dangers of the well-known class of dangerous chemicals.  More can be found from the government agencies at the Environmental Protection Agency's web page -- click here.



The hearing in the House is shown below (in full):

As of this morning, the news from above has progressed to the following by 'Politico Energy':

SENATE TEES UP PFAS ACTION: A more targeted approach to tackling contamination from toxic PFAS chemicals is taking shape in the Senate, compared to a set of sweeping bills that have been taken up by the House. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is preparing a hearing on six bills for next week.

The hearings are promising that meaningful legislation is on the horizon.  At the very least, these hearings give the public the sense that there is still a responsibility on the part of Congress to protect the American people against harmful chemicals entering the water system and the environment.  Taking responsibility and seeking some solution is the first step toward a better world.  No Congress of politicians is perfect.  But the hearings are evidence of change toward a better solution for the American people are coming soon.  Stay tuned.



Related Blog Posts:


Update: EPA Throws Journalists Out Of PFAS Conference - Why?


Update: Congress asks Federal Agencies about Dangerous Chemicals -- PFOA and PFOS


Congress Asks Defense Department and Environmental Protection Agency about Dangerous Chemicals