May 23 Firefighting foam contaminates public water system in Maine By Associated Press The foam used by firefighters who battled a deadly blaze at an apartment building in Waterville is presumed to contain PFAS chemicals, a group of compounds that are widespread, dangerous and expensive to remove from drinking water. Continue reading
May 11 Minnesota poised to ban non-essential uses of PFAS, or ‘forever chemicals’ By Steve Karnowski, Associated Press “Amara's Law” will allow only limited exceptions to the ban, such as firefighting foam used at airports and oil refineries and in protective clothing for firefighters. Continue reading
Mar 26 Watch 6:21 What we know about toxic ‘forever chemicals’ and how to reduce our exposure By Ali Rogin, Andrew Corkery, Claire Mufson A class of toxic chemicals known as PFAS has made its way into food, soil, water and even most people’s blood in America. In March, the EPA proposed the first regulatory standard limiting the quantity of PFAS in drinking water. Continue watching
Mar 14 Watch 5:38 EPA announces new rules to limit toxic ‘forever chemicals’ in drinking water By Amna Nawaz, Kyle Midura For the first time, the federal government is on the cusp of regulating a class of deadly, so-called "forever chemicals" out of America’s drinking water. The EPA's proposal applies to six of those chemicals, known as PFAS compounds, and would… Continue watching
Mar 14 EPA to limit harmful ‘forever chemicals’ in drinking water By Michael Phillis, Matthew Daly, Associated Press The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday proposed the first federal limits on harmful “forever chemicals” in drinking water, a long-awaited protection the agency said will save thousands of lives and prevent serious illnesses, including cancer. Continue reading
Mar 02 Poor communities await first EPA limits on ‘forever chemicals’ By Michael Phillis, Brittany Peterson, Associated Press The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to propose restrictions on harmful "forever chemicals" in drinking water after finding they are dangerous in amounts so small as to be undetectable. Continue reading
Sep 28 Watch 9:32 How firefighters’ life-saving work puts them at a higher risk of cancer By Stephanie Sy, Lena I. Jackson The life expectancy for firefighters is ten years less than the average person and it’s not just the fires themselves that present dangers. Firefighters are frequently exposed to toxic chemicals, and according to recent research, even their protective gear may… Continue watching
Sep 28 Why getting PFAS out of our products is so hard — and why it matters By Bella Isaacs-Thomas Researchers and consumers are calling on industries and institutions to phase out these chemicals and instead pursue safer alternatives that serve similar functions. But it's complicated. Continue reading
Aug 26 Watch 3:15 News Wrap: Moderna sues Pfizer and BioNTech, nuclear plant in Ukraine reconnected to grid By PBS NewsHour In our news wrap Friday, Moderna announced it's suing Pfizer and BioNTech accusing them of copying its technology for their COVID vaccine, workers at a nuclear plant in Ukraine began reconnecting it to the power grid, Britain says the war… Continue watching
Aug 26 2 ‘forever chemicals’ to be named hazardous substances, says EPA official By Matthew Daly, Associated Press The Environmental Protection Agency says it's designating some toxic industrial compounds used in household goods as hazardous substances under the Superfund law. Continue reading