“PORTSMOUTH – Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H. has secured another $10 million in funding for the first-ever national health study on PFAS exposure in this year’s Defense Authorization Act.

That means that over a two-year period, if the bill is ultimately signed into law, Shaheen’s amendments to the act will result in a total of $20 million going toward the health study for people exposed to the dangerous man-made contaminant.

Shaheen’s news comes after the Senate Armed Services Committee, of which she is a member, passed the Fiscal Year 2019 Defense Authorization Act.

The annual legislation authorizes national defense objectives for the fiscal year. It will now be considered by the full Senate.

Shaheen in March procured the first round of funding for the health study after an amendment she included in the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act was signed into law in 2017.

That amendment directs the Department of Defense to pay for the health study, which will be conducted by the ATSDR.

Thousands of people working at the Pease International Tradeport, along with children and infants who attended two day-care centers there, were exposed to multiple PFAS chemicals from contaminated water in the city-owned Haven well up until its closure in 2014.

Investigators believe the well was contaminated by PFAS used in firefighting foam at the former Pease Air Force Base.

In addition to getting $10 million more for the health study, Shaheen’s legislation to create a national database for service members and veterans experiencing health problems potentially due to PFAS exposure was also successfully added as an amendment to the bill.

Shaheen’s PFAS Registry Act is bipartisan legislation that would allow military personnel and veterans to receive updates on recent scientific developments on the effects of PFAS exposure and information on what resources may be available to address their health concerns…

Shaheen also included language in this year’s act to streamline the transfer of monies for the health study from the Department of Defense to the ATSDR, which is conducting the study.”

Read the full article by Jeff McMenemy