WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Andy Levin (MI-09), Congressman Dan Kildee (MI-05), Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-12), and Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin (MI-08) led a bipartisan letter with 33 of their House colleagues to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, and Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar demanding higher standards and increased oversight for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) near schools and child care facilities. A recent report by the non-partisan Environmental Working Group found that 27 schools and child care facilities across the country are located within a mile of a suspected PFAS discharge sites.
“We urge you to protect the health of our children, families and communities by taking comprehensive and urgent measures to identify and remediate PFAS chemicals in the drinking water of schools and child care facilities across the country,” the lawmakers wrote. “PFAS chemicals are not yet regulated contaminants under the Safe Drinking Water Act, meaning schools are not required by federal law to test for the presence of PFAS in tap water, nor are they required to filter it out.”
“It is crucial that federal agencies act immediately to protect our children from these harmful toxins,” said Rep. Levin. “Two of the schools in the Environmental Working Group’s report are in Michigan. The science is coming in fast: PFAS is extremely detrimental to children, even in small quantities. If we wait to act, we may cause easily avoidable harm to a generation of children.”
“PFAS chemicals are harmful to human health and have affected communities across the country, including schools in my district,” said Rep. Kildee. “PFAS chemicals have been linked to cancer as well as thyroid, kidney, liver, heart and reproductive problems. We should not be exposing our children to these harmful chemicals. The Trump Administration and Betsy DeVos must take action immediately to protect our children from these toxic forever chemicals.”
“We now know least 27 schools and child care facilities in 18 states – including Michigan – are located within 5,000 feet of manufacturers that are known or suspected of producing or using PFAS,” said Rep. Dingell. “PFAS chemicals have been linked to liver disease, weakened immune systems, thyroid dysfunction, and several forms of cancer. Children need to be kept safe. EPA and the Department of Education must take urgent action to identify and remediate PFAS chemicals near schools.”
The full text of the letter can be found here & below.
Dear Administrator Wheeler, Secretary DeVos and Secretary Azar:
We write to express our concerns regarding possible toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances
(PFAS) in the drinking water of our nation’s schools and child care facilities. We urge you to
protect the health of our children, families and communities by taking comprehensive and urgent
measures to identify and remediate PFAS chemicals in the drinking water of schools and child
care facilities across the country.
A recent analysis of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state data shows at least
27 schools and child care facilities in 18 states, including Michigan, Oregon, Pennsylvania and
Wisconsin, that are located within 5,000 feet of manufacturers that are known or suspected of
producing or using PFAS. Based on available state data, at least 110 schools and child care
facilities have tested positive for PFAS in their drinking water across the country. These toxic
chemicals present a serious danger to children and adults. Current studies show that PFAS
exposure may affect growth, learning and behavior of infants and older children and have been
linked to cancer and damage to both reproductive and immune systems in adults. Exposure
to PFAS can even reduce the effectiveness of vaccines.
PFAS chemicals are not yet regulated contaminants under the Safe Drinking Water Act, meaning
schools are not required by federal law to test for the presence of PFAS in tap water, nor are they
required to filter it out. Our understanding of the severity and scope of PFAS exposure in
educational facilities at this time is limited, with most research coming from states, including
Michigan, New Hampshire, Ohio and Vermont, who have recently initiated efforts to test for
PFAS in school tap water. Thus, reports indicating the close proximity of schools and
child care facilities to PFAS contaminants is all the more alarming and calls for swift action to
protect the health of American children.
We request that the EPA and U.S. Department of Education work together to combat PFAS
chemicals in educational facilities and their surrounding communities by:
1. Finalizing the determination of PFAS chemicals as regulated contaminants under the Safe
Drinking Water Act.
2. Enacting urgently needed national drinking water standards for all measurable PFAS
chemicals, including but not limited to PFOA, PFOS and GenX, ensuring standards apply
to educational facilities.
3. Creating national standards under the Clean Water Act restricting industrial discharges of
PFAS chemicals, including industrial dischargers near schools and child care facilities.
4. Providing schools and child care facilities resources to test and report results for PFAS in
facility drinking water systems, including school and municipal systems that serve fewer
than 10,000 people and additional tests for school and child care facilities that obtain
drinking water from local community water systems.
5. Developing a publicly accessible database of schools and child care facilities where
PFAS is detected and a national notification system to alert families, students and
workers at these facilities about possible exposure.
6. Working with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as state and
local governments to provide parents, family members, students and workers information
on the health hazards of PFAS exposure and applicable resources to seek health care,
including blood testing.
7. Conducting a nationwide study on PFAS exposure in school and child care facilities,
identifying avenues for exposure including in drinking water, school infrastructure such
as carpeting and food packaging where PFAS chemicals could be present.
8. Providing guidance to schools and child care facilities on ways to reduce exposures to
PFAS in items like cookware, food packaging, floor and furniture wax, carpeting and
upholstery.
We look forward to working with you to protect American families from the dangers of PFAS.
Sincerely,
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