Vulnerable and disadvantaged communities disproportionately exposed to pollution would be the first to receive federal funding to clean up drinking water contaminated by PFAS under a bill approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, along with two other Democrats, co-sponsored an amendment to the bill, which would regulate PFAS, a hazardous family of human-made chemicals used in many consumer and industrial products, such as firefighting foam, tanneries, cell phones, cookware, food packaging, metal platers, Scotchgard and Teflon. The legislation, called the PFAS Action Bill, was sponsored by Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan.
The bill would require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish nationwide drinking water standards for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly known as PFAS, which are nearly impossible to biodegrade.…