We are hearing from those who have been impacted by the potentially dangerous chemical known as PFAS. On Monday the EPA laid out a roadmap to fight PFAS at the federal level.
“The foam was bubbling up right about there,” Barrington Morris said.
Morris doesn’t have to go far down memory lane to remember the impact of the 2019 firefighting foam spill at Bradley International Airport. The stacks of bottled water that he and his family in Windsor still depend on daily are a constant reminder.
“We don’t drink the water because I use well water,” Morris said.
Get Connecticut local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Connecticut newsletters.
While state health and environmental officials found no traces of PFAS in Morris’ well water, they did find elevated levels of PFAS in his neighbor Matt Kozloski’s front yard.
“You just never really know what’s there or what will leach and whatnot,” Kozloski said.
Local
On Monday, the EPA announced a comprehensive national strategy to confront PFAS pollution. Among the top priorities is setting aggressive timelines for enforceable drinking water limits under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
“We need EPA leadership when it comes to drinking water in setting safe drinking water standards, is the job of EPA,” Lori Mathieu with the Connecticut Department of Public Health said.
Mathie, along with the state’s PFAS task force, have been addressing public health, prevention and remediation of PFAS at the state level, Mathieu says the EPA’s PFAS roadmap was much anticipated.
“As a co-regulator, we kept asking EPA what's going on. You can do the research, you can do the technology, you can work with other national groups or you know, around the country,” Mathieu said.
“I think that identifies and solidifies that there is a problem,” Kozloski said.
Kozloski says the EPA’s announcement is a step forward in fighting PFAS but Morris still isn’t taking any chances with his water.
