New water quality standards allowing higher levels of carcinogens approved
- July 28, 2016
- 0 comments
- health
- Posted in ChemicalsEnvironmentalHealthIndustry News
TAMPA, Fla. (WTSP) – The Florida Environmental Regulatory Commission voted 3-2 Tuesday to approve new water quality standards, some of which allow for increased levels of cancer-causing chemicals in the state’s waterways. Just before the vote, a member of the public stormed the front of the room before being forcibly removed from the meeting.
“But the environmental community hasn’t been given a vote,” yelled the man. “The governor spat in the face of our democratic process by keeping those seats vacant for over a year.”
The seats he referred to were the two vacant positions on the governor-appointed commission, one of which is designated for a member of the “environmental community.”
“There are a couple hundred different chemicals and the state has to decide what levels of each of those chemicals are allowed to be in your water, so that’s where it starts getting complicated,” said Jeffrey Cunningham, Ph.D., associate professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of South Florida.
“For the most part, what we’re talking about today, what the state’s looking at today, doesn’t affect what’s coming out of your kitchen sink. What’s a bigger issue is: if you catch a fish, what chemicals might be in that fish, are the levels going to be higher or lower as a result of these proposed changes,” added Cunningham. “A lot of the chemicals that we’re looking at are chemicals that tend to bioaccumulate, which means they get stored in the fish, and then when you eat the fish that means you’re getting all that chemical into your body.”
Several members of Florida’s congressional delegation, including U.S. Senator Bill Nelson as well as representatives Ted Deutch, Lois Frankel, Gwen Graham, Alan Grayson, Alcee Hastings, Patrick Murphy, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and Frederica Wilson expressed their concerns over the vote to approve the new standards.
“We are deeply concerned that the state is proposing to raise the allowable levels for dozens of chemicals, including more than half of the most dangerous cancer-causing chemicals,” lawmakers wrote in a letter to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy. “We urge you to provide a more appropriate public comment period for the proposal and to carefully evaluate each proposed human health criteria to ensure the utmost protection for our population, environment, and economy.”