A New England Senator is calling on the CDC to study the exposure of harmful chemicals found in a firefighting foam.
Boston 25 News spoke exclusively with New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen in her Washington, DC office after reporting on concerns last week about the emerging contaminants that are showing up in drinking water across Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
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“We don't know what the long term effect of these chemicals are and that's part of the concern,” Sen. Shaheen told Boston 25. “For families in New Hampshire and all across this country, one of the most fundamental needs is to be able to turn on the tap and feel confident the water that you’re drinking is safe, and not going to harm you.”
In 2017, Sen. Shaheen established the first national study on the health effects of PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a diverse group of chemicals that can be found in every day household items, including non-stick pans and waterproof clothing.
A few years prior, toxic levels of PFAS were found across southern New Hampshire, including inside wells that supplied drinking water to two childcare centers and thousands of employees who worked at Pease Air Force Base.
Environmental officials tracked the water contamination to firefighting foam, called Aqueous Film Forming Foam, that was used in training exercises and to put out fuel fires at the airport.
According to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, military bases and airports across the Bay State have also tested for elevated levels of PFAS compounds in groundwater because of the use of the same firefighting foam at those facilities.
“The federal government needs to take action here,” Sen. Shaheen said.
In June 2018, the Centers for Disease Control published a study that claimed the health risks of PFAS exposure are worse than previously thought, and linked to high rates of testicular and kidney cancer, low birth weight, and thyroid disease.
“We need to be able to track the people who have been affected, so we can help them,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen told Boston 25 News.
Sen. Shaheen, along with Senator Elizabeth Warren, is sponsoring a bill that would create a national database for veterans and first responders who are suffering health effects that could be linked to their exposure to PFAS in the firefighting foam.
Sen. Shaheen and a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers are also calling on the EPA to set new standards for acceptable levels of PFAS compounds in drinking water that are legally enforceable.