Connecticut will have $10 billion available to clean up PFAS chemicals in the state. The recent passage of the bipartisan federal infrastructure bill will fund the project to remove PFAS and other contaminants from the drinking water supply and wastewater.
PFAS are toxic chemicals linked to cancer and serious health problems. U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut joined environmental advocates on Monday to announce the project. This comes after PFAS foam used by firefighters was banned last month.
Blumenthal said this is an essential step in removing these “forever chemicals.”
“This $10 billion will enable a revolutionary change in firefighting foam and other equipment that is used to fight fire,” Blumenthal said. “There is simply no reason for firefighting equipment to contain PFAS.”
Blumenthal said PFAS and other chemicals don’t break down in the environment until cleaned up.
He said, “The forever chemical should be forever gone. It’s a forever chemical because it stays in your body, and it stays in the soil and river. But it ought to be forever gone.”
PFAS exposure has been linked to cancers and other serious diseases.
