Massachusetts bill filed to protect residents impacted by PFAS contamination

BOSTON (WWLP) – Legislative advocates for bills protecting citizens of the Commonwealth from PFAS hosted a briefing Tuesday afternoon that included residents who have been impacted by PFAS contamination.

According to the CDC, PFAS, or so-called forever chemicals, are associated with increased cholesterol, lower antibody response to some vaccines, kidney and testicular cancer, and more. Tuesday’s briefing was led by State Representative Kate Hogan and State Senator Julian Cyr who both say this public health crisis needs to be addressed immediately.

The bill that Sen. Cyr and I filed is a thoughtful, evidence-based response to PFAS contamination in Massachusetts. This legislation makes our Commonwealth safer and builds upon existing efforts to address PFAS contamination and advances the unanimously approved recommendations from the Legislature’s PFAS Interagency Task Force, which we led,” said Representative Kate Hogan (D-Stow). “We have worked extensively to gather a healthy consensus on this bill and early drafts have been strengthened through input from our environmental advocates, public safety experts, business stakeholders and the scientific community. It is time to join all the other states in the Northeast in remediating and regulating these ubiquitous ‘forever’ chemicals.”

“The ubiquity of PFAS in our environment and consumer products means that we must act now — what we do today will have significant effects on our environment and health in the years to come,” said Senator Julian Cyr (D-Truro). “The legislation that Speaker Pro Tempore Hogan and I filed is the culmination of hundreds of hours of work, the learned testimony of scores of experts, and the all-important contributions of the public coming to grips with the reality of PFAS contamination. The Massachusetts PFAS Act is the essential step that will enable us to mitigate and reverse the deleterious impacts of PFAS on our health and environment.”

Over the last decade, PFAS contamination has affected communities across the state including those in western Massachusetts. This is particularly true for firefighters whose protective gear often contains PFAS.

One bill from the House of Representatives would establish a trust fund to help municipalities deal with the costs associated with eliminating PFAS contamination of drinking and groundwater, soil, landfills, and more.

“An Act to protect Massachusetts Public Health from PFAS”, the House bill, was referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means early this month.

22News State House Reporter Olivia Ray was at the briefing…and has the details on how a House bill could help Western Massachusetts.

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