MERRIMACK, N.H. — New Hampshire Congressman Chris Pappas (D-Manchester) is calling for tougher standards on toxic chemicals that have contaminated drinking water across the country.
Merrimack residents have been working with state legislators to limit harmful substances in their drinking water, but say any real change must also come from Washington DC.
"We’ve got to make sure that we are taking all the steps that we can to protect public health and we are doing it in a way that leverages the science that’s available," Rep. Pappas said.
He said families in New Hampshire are worried about their health.
"I heard from parents who had young kids, wondering whether or not they could bathe their children," Rep. Pappas said.
And state Representative Nancy Murphy (D-Hillsborough) is one of those parents. She’s a mom of six, raising her family in the shadow of Saint Gobain plastics, which state environmental officials say contaminated drinking water throughout the town of Merrimack with toxic levels of chemicals known as PFAS, or per and poly fluoroalkyl substances.
Federal health officials say PFAS chemical exposure has been linked to cancers, thyroid issues and low birth weight.
"The outrage [is] over having your hands tied and not being able to protect your children," Rep. Murphy said.
Now, residents are taking matters into their own hands. On Monday, the water commission will set a timeline to install filters on town wells at a cost of $14.5 million, paid by for residents like Murphy with a rate increase of nearly 30 percent. And they’re working with Congressman Pappas to prevent further contaimination.
"We’re going to look at filing a bill that would prevent PFAS discharges into bodies of water like the Merrimack River,"
Treating the wells to get to the source of PFAS is the kind of future Rep. Murphy has been fighting for.
"It's great to have him as an advocate, because that’s certainly what we need in our federal government," she said.
In a statement emailed to Boston 25 News, a Saint-Gobain spokesperson said, "Since first learning about the presence of PFOA in certain groundwaters around our Merrimack facility, Saint-Gobain has worked to be a leader and work closely with the regulators to find solutions tailored individual geographies in which we work."
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