Schumer calls for EPA action on local water crisis
By: The Hudsonian Eboard
Sen. Chuck Schumer announced The Environmental Protection Agency’s new maximum contaminant level (MCL) for cancer-causing chemicals in Hoosick Falls water supply after a two-year delay.
The New York Senator addressed the community’s unsolved water crisis at the University at Albany Cancer Research Center in East Greenbush on Feb. 20.
“We all know how environmental contaminants have hurt our area here in the capital region,” Sen. Schumer said. “The most recent, of course, is what’s occurred in Hoosick Falls and Petersburgh a few years ago.”
In those communities, harmful chemicals called PFA substances have significantly polluted the drinking water.
“After a lot of pry, we got the EPA, the federal environmental agency, to set a maximum contaminant level for PFOS and PFOA,” Sen. Schumer said.
The news came after four years of lacking regulations and conflicting information, leading to no solution and a community concerned for their health.
Dr. Erin Bell, Epidemiologist of environmental exposures at University at Albany, stressed the importance of the MCL.
“A standard level will aid in the development of a framework that systematically monitors these chemicals, develop strategies for minimizing exposure and facilitating the continued evaluation of the many potential health effects related,” Dr. Bell said.
Dr. Bell strongly encouraged and supported the EPA process being implemented as quickly and efficiently as possible. The process will provide a consistent framework for monitoring the contaminants in drinking water and reducing potential exposure for those affected.
Mayor of Hoosick Falls, Rob Allen, believes that the action is long overdue.
“We are here today to implore an agency to simply do its job,” Mayor Allen said. ”The manufacturers of these substances knew of the health risks since the 60s and actively hid this knowledge.”
Mayor Allen expressed his frustration with the EPA’s lack of action in helping communities affected by these chemicals.
“The sad truth of the matter is that there will be many more communities across the nation who will discover that they have these toxic chemicals in their water and their blood,” Mayor Allen said.
“Unfortunately, the EPA has a history of being pushed around by the chemical industry and not doing everything it’s supposed to do,” Sen. Schumer added. “They all drag their feet and set a level that shows the effect of lobbying by the chemical industry.”
Sen. Schumer argued that America deserves an EPA that will cater to the average citizen, instead of special interests.
“I want to assure the residents of Rensselaer County, of Petersburgh and Hoosick Falls, and all of New York state, that I will not rest until I get the EPA to get moving quickly and get moving in the right direction,” Sen. Schumer stated.