Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, of Pennsylvania’s 1st congressional district, (center) and Rep. Dan Kildee, from Michigan’s 5th congressional district listen as Joseph J. Nolan, a county consulting engineer for Warminster Township in Pennsylvania, explains how the new water treatment system on Well 10 works to remove the PFAS contamination.
Emily Cohen / for WHYY
Emily Cohen / for WHYY
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, of Pennsylvania’s 1st congressional district, (center) and Rep. Dan Kildee, from Michigan’s 5th congressional district listen as Joseph J. Nolan, a county consulting engineer for Warminster Township in Pennsylvania, explains how the new water treatment system on Well 10 works to remove the PFAS contamination.
The U.S. House of Representatives’ Environment and Climate Change Subcommittee held a hearing Wednesday on PFAS, a family of toxic chemicals found in drinking water supplies at sites in Pennsylvania and across the U.S.
The chemicals, once used in consumer products like nonstick cookware and flame-retardant fabrics, are being increasingly regulated by states as more becomes known about their links to cancer and other health conditions including thyroid problems, low birth weights and elevated cholesterol.
“We are still learning the full extent of the dangers,” said Democratic Rep. Paul Tonko of New York, who listed some of the health risks and continued, “…it is clear that there is considerable interest on both sides of the aisle and in both chambers to determine how Congress shuld proceed in the face of this growing crisis.”
Watch the full hearing below. The committee’s web page has more on the hearing.
