Mark Ruffalo presses Biden to act fast on 'forever chemicals' before Trump takes office
Actor and activist Mark Ruffalo is urging the Biden administration to take decisive regulatory action on "forever chemicals," as the return of President-elect Trump to the White House looms near.
"The EPA has worked their butts off, against all odds, to get a drinking water standard on this particular chemical class," Ruffalo said at a Monday webinar, hosted by the Environmental Working Group.
"Now the Biden administration just has to close the loop and hold the people responsible who have killed people," he added.
Ruffalo was referring to the producers of the thousands of types of synthetic compounds known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.
Notorious for their ability to persist in the human body and in the environment, these chemicals are found in certain types of firefighting foam, industrial discharge and a long list of household items. They have been linked to many serious illnesses, including thyroid disease, testicular cancer and kidney cancer.
"We've been to the White House with families who've lost children from these diseases, and they continue to compile in our bodies," Ruffalo said.
"The problem now is they still are protecting these companies from accountability," he added, referring to the federal government.
The Biden administration has already taken several decisive steps in the long-term missions to regulate and clean up the decades of PFAS pollution caused by companies and military institutions across America.
In April, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) designated two types of PFAS as hazardous substances under the country's legacy "Superfund" law — making it easier to force polluters to pay for their actions. That decision occurred just days after the EPA issued a separate rule setting limits for several PFAS in drinking water.
And just last week, the agency published a new regulation preventing........© The Hill
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