U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer Wednesday led a letter with nine other senators calling on EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and other administration officials to immediately release the study reportedly being kept secret by the Trump administration which shows that perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are dangerous at far lower levels than EPA previously said was safe. Senators Gillibrand and Schumer also demanded that Pruitt release all internal documents and communications regarding the discussion about the attempted cover-up of the report.
“I’m extremely disturbed by the report that the Trump administration is hiding information from the public about the dangers of PFAS because they are scared that Americans will be angry,” said Senator Gillibrand. “This attempted cover-up is outrageous. Numerous communities in New York have already had their water supplies poisoned by these very chemicals, and if the Trump administration has more evidence that PFAS are harmful to people’s health, then they need to come clean and tell the public. No New Yorker should ever have to fear that their drinking water is going to make them sick, and New Yorkers deserve to see the results of this study immediately.”
“I am deeply disturbed by reports that the Trump administration and top EPA officials are blocking a report vital to protect public health. This is a clear dereliction of duty, and the American people need and deserve to know just how harmful PFAS and PFOA are to the body. Any attempt by the administration to mislead or suppress this new information is an affront to communities in Newburgh, Suffolk and across the nation now confronting toxic PFOA-PFOS contamination in their drinking water and beyond,” said Senator Schumer. “EPA Administrator Pruitt has only one way to make this right: release this study immediately.”
Gillibrand and Schumer are sending identical letters to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, Secretary of Defense James Mattis, and Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney.
The full text of Gillibrand and Schumer’s letter is available here.
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