SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KERO) — State Attorney General Rob Bonta announced his support for protecting Americans' drinking water supply on Wednesday.
Bonta showed support for a new rule proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency which aims to set standards for certain chemicals in drinking water. The proposal would require drinking water that exceeds a certain amount of these chemicals to be treated.
Bonta released a statement in his support, saying in part "known to contribute to various types of cancers, liver diseases, diabetes, and other ailments, PFAs are a serious problem that require serious solutions. The EPS’s rule is backed by science and would reduce risks to human health. I enthusiastically* support it."
According to Bonta's statement, "PFAS are widely used in consumer products including food packaging, cookware, clothing, carpets, shoes, fabrics, polishes, waxes, paints, and cleaning products, as well as in firefighting foams designed to quickly smother liquid fuel fires. These so-called "forever chemicals" are stable in the environment, resistant to degradation, persistent in soil, and known to leach into groundwater."
WHAT ARE PFAS?
- Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS_ are widely used, long-lasting chemicals, components of which break down very slowly over time.
- Because of their widespread use and their persistence in the environment, many PFAS are found in the blood of people and animals all over the world and are present at low levels in a variety of food products and in the environment.
- PFAS are found in water, air, fish, and soil at locations across the nation and the globe.
- Scientific studies have shown that exposure to some PFAS in the environment may be linked to harmful health effects in humans and animals.
- There are thousands of PFAS chemicals, and they are found in many different consumer, commercial, and industrial products. This makes it challenging to study and assess the potential human health and environmental risks.
