Not enough is being done to address the PFAs crisis - that was the message of environmental groups testifying Wednesday at a U.S. House subcommittee hearing.
PFAs, or Perfluoroalkyl substances, are a chemical contaminant that has been linked to health problems including cancer.
Anna Reed is with the Natural Resources Defense Council. She said there needs to be laws requiring companies that pollute to clean up.
“A lot of us learned in kindergarten that if you make a mess you have to clean it up. It seems like so far polluters haven’t learned that lesson.”
Reed said changing how PFAs are classified will help hold polluters accountable and will also require more reporting about where and when PFAs are being released into the environment.
Currently, she said, no such requirements exist.
“There are probably many communities in the state that probably don’t know that they are being exposed to high levels of PFAs yet.”
Reed said that while more research is important there is already enough science to strengthen regulation.
“I think calls for more data and more science is actually putting a lot of us at risk.”
Specifically, Reed said, some members of congress implied that more research was needed before regulations could be made. She said she does not think that is the case.
Reed said PFAs should be regulated as a whole because it takes too long to address the individual chemicals that make up the PFAs family.