Read the full article by Steve Beynon (Stars and Stripes)
“WASHINGTON — House lawmakers presented an extensive amendment to the annual defense spending bill targeting harmful chemicals that have contaminated hundreds of military bases.
The bipartisan measure, headed by Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., is designed to scale back the risks of exposure to toxic fluorinated chemicals known as PFAS, so-called ‘forever chemicals’ because they are not expelled from the human body once ingested. PFAS have been linked to some types of cancer and have contaminated at least 328 U.S. military installations, according to the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit watchdog organization.
‘PFAS [chemicals] are poisoning our servicemembers and families and communities around military bases,’ Dingell said in a call with reporters Tuesday. ‘These harmful chemicals are found everywhere and much of the source contamination leads back to military facilities who aren’t taking the steps to clean up PFAS contamination.’
The amendment to the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act is identical to Dingell’s PFAS Action Act, which passed the House in January with the support of 24 Republicans. It requires the Environmental Protection Agency to list PFAS chemicals, including those found in firefighting foam that military bases use, as hazardous to get its Superfund grants for cleanup, and directs the EPA to set enforceable federal drinking water standards…”