Trump Administration’s Stance On Toxic Chemicals At Odds With Supporters Whose Loved Ones Have Fallen Ill
Parents from a town in Indiana are demanding the EPA do something about the old industrial site that's responsible for carcinogenic vapors being released into their homes. But those pleas, along with a broader outcry for stricter regulations on such chemicals, is in direct contrast to the administration's efforts to roll back health and environmental rules.
The New York Times:
A Trump County Confronts The Administration Amid A Rash Of Child Cancers
The children fell ill, one by one, with cancers that few families in this suburban Indianapolis community had ever heard of. An avid swimmer struck down by glioblastoma, which grew a tumor in her brain. Four children with Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare bone cancer. Fifteen children with acute lymphocytic leukemia, including three cases diagnosed in the past year. (Tabuchi, 1/2)
In other environmental health news —
The Washington Post:
‘Not A Problem You Can Run Away From’: Communities Confront The Threat Of Unregulated Chemicals In Their Drinking Water
The day this small town told its residents to stop drinking the water, Jennifer and Justin Koehler decided to sell their white clapboard house and move their two children elsewhere. Sara and Matt Dean, who had relocated several years earlier from Chicago, started worrying about the health of their young son and the baby arriving soon. And Tammy Cooper felt a welling indignation that would turn her into an activist — one who would travel to Washington to push for action on the chemicals contaminating her family’s drinking water and that of millions of other Americans. (Dennis, 1/2)
New Hampshire Public Radio:
N.H. Proposes Lower Or Same Drinking Water Limits On 4 PFAS Chemicals
The state has released its plans for new limits on four types of likely harmful PFAS chemicals in public water systems. The new regulations would apply to four of the thousands of known PFAS chemicals. (Ropeik, 1/2)