Read the full article by Mara Hoplamazian (New Hampshire Public Radio)
“State regulators say a move by the Environmental Protection Agency to designate two PFAS chemicals as ‘hazardous substances’ could strengthen efforts to clean up contaminated sites in New Hampshire.
PFAS – a group of widely used man-made chemicals found in waterproof fabrics, food containers, and firefighting foam — have contaminated water in communities across the state. There’s evidence that exposure to the so-called ‘forever chemicals’ can lead to negative health effects, like kidney cancer and abnormally high cholesterol.
The EPA is proposing a hazardous substance designation for PFOA and PFOS under its ‘Superfund‘ program, which allows the federal government to clean up contaminated sites by requiring the parties responsible for the contamination to pay for the costs.
‘A hazardous substance designation gives us the ability to get some polluter accountability,’ said Laurene Allen, who founded the advocacy group Merrimack Citizens for Clean Water after her community’s water was contaminated with PFAS from the Saint-Gobain manufacturing facility.
Mike Wimsatt, who heads the waste management division at New Hampshire’s Department of Environmental Services, said that would be especially helpful in PFAS cleanup efforts for sites that are already listed as federal priorities, like the former Pease Air Force Base and the Coakley Landfill.” …