Sep 11, 2019
Posted at 12:45 p.m. on September 11, 2019
The Brillion News
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The National Wildlife Federation said, in a new
report, that clean water protections, water infrastructure investment, and new
research are all needed to protect health of people and wildlife from toxic
PFAS contamination.
Studies have linked PFAS
chemicals to testicular, kidney, liver and pancreatic cancer; weakened
childhood immunity; low birth weight; endocrine disruption; increased
cholesterol and weight gain in children and dieting adults.
Per- or polyfluoroalkyl
substances, or PFAS chemicals, are a family of thousands of chemicals used to
make water-, grease- and stain-repellent coatings for a vast array of consumer
goods and industrial applications. These chemicals are notoriously persistent
in the environment and the human body, and some have been linked to serious
health hazards.
As communities across the
Great Lakes region grapple with contaminated drinking water due to toxic PFAS
chemicals, the new National Wildlife Federation report outlines how state and
federal officials can and should set clean water protections, support water
infrastructure investment, and back cutting-edge research to prevent and
remediate insidious PFAS pollution.
The new report, “The Science
and Policy of PFASs in the Great Lakes Region: A Roadmap for Local, State and
Federal Action,” details the science around a family of toxic chemicals known
as PFAS – focusing on impacts in the Great Lakes region – as well as policy and
legal solutions to tackle the problem.
The report also examines efforts to address PFAS in the Great Lakes states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York.
The complete report on PFAS and the dangers they present to human and animal health will be featured in the September 19 print edition of THE BRILLION NEWS.