The following is a statement from activist and actor Mark Ruffalo on the Trump Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed efforts to weaken drinking water standards for the “forever chemicals” known as PFAS:
Weakening the PFAS drinking water standards will make America sicker, not healthier, and dishonors people who have been poisoned by PFAS polluters without their knowledge or consent.
It also dishonors their families, who have fought tirelessly to bring justice for what can only be described as one of the greatest environmental crimes in our history.
After decades of delay, communities who were poisoned by PFAS polluters believed that help was finally coming. Today’s announcement is a bitter reminder that President Donald Trump and his team have been putting the polluters first when it comes to our air, water and food.
We had hoped that they meant it when they said “Make America Healthy Again.” It is obvious they didn’t. Today’s announcement to eliminate limits for four PFAS, including GenX, and allow water systems to delay compliance with limits for the two most notorious PFAS – PFOS and PFOA – is a recipe for more suffering, especially for people in states with no protections at all, like North Carolina.
The moniker for this administration is “Make America Cancerous Again.” Let’s cut the crap and call it how it is.
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The Environmental Working Group is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization that empowers people to live healthier lives in a healthier environment. Through research, advocacy and unique education tools, EWG drives consumer choice and civic action.
