Michigan Democratic Rep. Dan Kildee on Tuesday rejected a contention by Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt that his agency can’t release a study on the dangers of chemicals in the water supply.
Kildee, in a May 14 letter, demanded the EPA and Department of Health and Human Services release a federal study that found a class of chemicals that have contaminated water supplies are harmful to human health at lower levels than the EPA previously deemed safe.
Emails produced by a Freedom of Information Act request show the EPA and the White House tried to block publication of the study of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, that have been linked with thyroid defects, problems in pregnancy, and certain cancers. The stain-resistant chemicals have been used since the 1940s in Teflon, nonstick pans, electronics, water-repellent clothes, food packaging and firefighting foam.
Pruitt, in a return letter to Kildee on Monday, downplayed his agency’s role in blocking the study and said that only HHS, which prepared the study, has the authority to release it.
Kildee says the EPA is making excuses.
“Under Scott Pruitt’s EPA, there’s lots of talk, but little action,” Kildee told the Washington Examiner. “Time and time again, Administrator Pruitt has claimed he is working to address harmful contaminants in drinking water like PFAS or lead, but his EPA continues to kick the can down the road on taking any real action to protect American families. It’s long past time for the Trump administration to get serious about updating outdated drinking water and clean up standards to protect public health.”
The study, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the EPA’s benchmark for PFAS, at 70 parts per trillion, is six times higher than what it should be. It also said exposure to PFAS in drinking levels at just 12 parts per trillion can be dangerous.
An analysis published Tuesday by the Environmental Working Group found that up to 110 million U.S. residents may be exposed to drinking water contaminated with PFAS.
Michigan, Kildee’s home state, is planning to spend $1.7 million to test water supplies across the state, including in 1,380 public water systems and 461 schools. He represents Flint, Mich., the site of the 2014 water crisis in which corroded pipes caused by a change in fresh water sources tainted the city’s drinking water with lead.
Communities in New York, West Virginia, North Carolina and other states also have found the PFAS in their drinking water.
As Pruitt sought to deflect responsibility for releasing the study, he is hosting a summit Tuesday and Wednesday with state and local officials to discuss how to combat PFA contamination.
“It’s clear this issue is a national priority we need to focus on as a country,” Pruitt said at the opening of the meeting Tuesday morning, which also included tribal, industry and nonprofit officials.
He said the chemicals have “helped save lives” but acknowledged “concerns” about them tainting the environment in an “adverse way.”
