Nearly 60 Million Americans Don’t Drink Their Tap Water, Research Suggests Distrust and disuse of tap water is a public health problem.
This article originally appeared in The Conversation. Asher Rosinger
April 15, 2021
Imagine seeing a news report about lead contamination in drinking water in a community that looks like yours. It might make you think twice about whether to drink your tap water or serve it to your kids – especially if you also have experienced tap water problems in the past.
The number of Americans who don’t drink tap water has increased at an alarmingly high rate since 2013. Photo by Airman 1st Class Alexxis Pons Abascal/US Air Force.
Commentary: Biden must take action on PFAS
The Progressive (TNS)
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With a deadly pandemic, an economic downturn, the climate crisis and an urgent need for racial and economic justice, President Joe Biden already has plenty on his plate. But another cause demanding federal attention is turning up in people’s sinks and the nation’s waterways.
Toxic, fluorinated chemicals are present in as many as 1,500 drinking water systems across the country, affecting up to 110 million people. These hazardous, human-made compounds have a long and hard-to-pronounce name: per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. They have been linked to cancers, immune system disorders and liver and thyroid disease. And the presence of these compounds can render vaccines less effective against diseases including tetanus and diphtheria.
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In March, Proposition 65 (“Prop. 65”) citizen plaintiff groups once again sent just over three hundred (300) total 60-Day Notices of Violation (“Notices”). Plaintiff groups issued the most amount of Notices for phthalates in plastic consumer products (122 total Notices), followed by lead (116 in total) for both consumer products and foods. Plaintiff groups continued to allege that various chemicals in foods and consumer products require Prop. 65 warning labels because the products’ use or consumption exposes California consumers to chemicals in quantities that could cause cancer or reproductive harm.
Prop. 65, the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, requires “clear and reasonable warnings” on products sold in California if use of the products causes exposure to chemicals on the Prop. 65 List. Prop. 65 also gives interested citizen plaintiffs a private right of action to enforce these clai
Ninth Circuit in California granted on March 29, 2021 the California Chamber of Commerce’s CalChamber motion for a preliminary injunction, halting new lawsuits to enforce the Proposition 65 warning requirement for acrylamide in food and beverages.
Special to USA Today Network
BATON ROUGE, La. The Cadeville Water District in Ouachita Parish has received a $1.9 million loan from the Louisiana Department of Health’s Drinking Water Revolving Loan Fund Program to improve the quality of drinking water for area water customers.
Cadeville Water District President Barry Turner said the funds are being used to construct a water treatment system, a large-capacity ground storage tank, a booster station, and site piping and fencing on recently purchased property along Highway 546. The district recently spent more than $500,000 of self-generated revenue to dig a new well at the site. The well was successfully completed last year.