{"id":511,"date":"2022-03-22T18:19:54","date_gmt":"2022-03-22T18:19:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mexusnews.com\/espanol\/?p=511"},"modified":"2022-04-25T14:15:20","modified_gmt":"2022-04-25T14:15:20","slug":"el-congreso-para-ley-para-forzar-a-la-agencua-epa-regular-los-quimicos-forever-del-agua-que-a-causado-problemas-la-salud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mexusnews.com\/espanol\/2022\/03\/el-congreso-para-ley-para-forzar-a-la-agencua-epa-regular-los-quimicos-forever-del-agua-que-a-causado-problemas-la-salud\/","title":{"rendered":"El congreso para ley para forzar a la agencua EPA regular los qu\u00edmicos forever del agua que a causado problemas la salud"},"content":{"rendered":"

House passes bill to force EPA regulation of ‘forever chemicals’ linked to health concerns<\/h1>\n

The chemicals have been found in water systems around the country.<\/p>\n

House passes bill to force EPA regulation of ‘forever chemicals’ linked to health concerns<\/p>\n

The chemicals have been found in water systems around the country.<\/p>\n

The bill would require the EPA to set clearer drinking water standards and declare some types of per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) chemicals — commonly known as \u201cforever chemicals\u201d — as hazardous in one year, which would <\/span>require cleanups<\/a> <\/span>at potentially hundreds of new Superfund sites around the country. It would also require the agency to set a maximum limit of the chemicals allowed in sources of drinking water.<\/p>\n

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<\/use><\/svg><\/span>MORE: What you need to know about PFAS or ‘forever’ chemicals<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

These man-made chemicals are so common that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said almost all Americans have a measurable amount of the most well-known types in their blood.<\/p>\n

An agency within the CDC that evaluates human health risks released a report last year that found PFOS and PFOA chemicals caused health effects in rodents at even lower levels than the EPA’s recommended health limit — this included an increased risk of some cancers, interfering with hormones and the immune system, and growth and developmental impacts on children and infants.<\/p>\n

The <\/span>Environmental Working Group<\/a>, an advocacy group that pushes to limit exposure to chemicals, has found that water data shows as many as <\/span>16 million Americans<\/a> <\/span>could be exposed through their drinking water to levels of these chemicals that are well above the EPA’s recommended health limit.<\/p>\n

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<\/use><\/svg><\/span>MORE: Potentially harmful ‘forever chemical’ PFAS found in drinking water for 7.5 million California residents: Report<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Many of the sites where contamination is in the groundwater or in drinking water lower than the EPA\u2019s <\/span>recommended health limit<\/a> <\/span>have faced challenges getting help to clean up the chemicals because currently there are no federal guidance or requirements on when it has to be cleaned up and who will pay for.<\/p>\n

The EPA said it is \u201caggressively addressing\u201d the chemicals but has <\/span>already missed deadlines<\/a> <\/span>announced as part of its action plan to address the chemicals.<\/p>\n

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<\/use><\/svg><\/span>MORE: Contaminated water still plagues lakeside community in Michigan<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

EPA chief Andrew Wheeler has <\/span>previously told ABC News<\/a> <\/span>the agency has concerns about bills that could force action on the entire class of chemicals, saying it could force water systems to spend money testing for and addressing the chemicals even if they have more pressing concerns.<\/p>\n

Lawmakers from Michigan, where the state has been aggressively testing water quality since the Flint crisis, have also tried to add provisions on the chemicals to the National Defense Authorization Act and the spending bill — but the measures were ultimately dropped.<\/p>\n

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Rep. Debbie Dingell, who introduced the bill, gave a strong speech on the lack of action around these chemicals during debate over the bill, standing next to a map that shows the vast majority of congressional districts have some kind of contamination identified.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid the Flint water crisis not teach us in this Congress and the country something? I hope and urge, I thank all of my colleagues that have worked on this issue,” Dingell <\/span>said in debate this week<\/a>. “When you know the facts, I don\u2019t understand how anybody can let American people be poisoned and it\u2019s time for us to act.”<\/p>\n

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<\/use><\/svg><\/span>MORE: EPA working aggressively to address ‘forever chemicals,’ Wheeler says<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

But the future of the bill is unclear, as Senate leaders and the White House have said they don\u2019t support it.<\/p>\n

Sen. John Barrasso, chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, <\/span>told Bloomberg Environment<\/a> <\/span>it has \u201cno prospects\u201d in the Senate. The White House has also <\/span>threatened to veto the bill<\/a>.<\/p>\n

House Democrats blocked two previous Senate efforts to require EPA to set a drinking water standard for the chemicals. In response, a spokesman for Barrasso’s office said they don’t plan to take up the new bill.<\/p>\n

A House Energy and Commerce Committee staffer said the language in the bill passed Friday specifically includes a requirement that drinking water standards protect vulnerable populations, which the EPA could define as pregnant women or children, for example. She said the bills supported by Senate Republicans don’t include that language.<\/p>\n

“This is no time for partisan posturing,” Energy and Commerce committee chairman Rep. Frank Pallone said in a statement, urging the Senate to take up the bill.<\/p>\n

While the House vote was largely along party lines, 24 Republicans did vote in favor of the bill.<\/p>\n ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

House passes bill to force EPA regulation of ‘forever chemicals’ linked to health concerns The chemicals have been found in water systems around the country. House passes bill to force EPA regulation of ‘forever chemicals’ linked to health concerns The chemicals have been found in water systems around the country. The House passed a bill […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mexusnews.com\/espanol\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mexusnews.com\/espanol\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mexusnews.com\/espanol\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mexusnews.com\/espanol\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mexusnews.com\/espanol\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=511"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mexusnews.com\/espanol\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":512,"href":"https:\/\/mexusnews.com\/espanol\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511\/revisions\/512"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mexusnews.com\/espanol\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mexusnews.com\/espanol\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mexusnews.com\/espanol\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}