U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York told federal environmental, health and defense officials that more needs to be done to remediate drinking water. She says firefighting foam that was used for decades at public airports across New York has contaminated nearby groundwater.
The carcinogenic chemicals known as PFAS were the subject of an Environment and Public Works Committee hearing last week. Gillibrand is a minority member on the committee.
She wants relief for the panicked families that live around the Air National Guard Base at Francis S. Gabreski Airport in Westhampton, Long Island, who are exposed to serious health risks because of PFAS.
“Whether the water they bathe their children in, whether the water they cook food for their families in has created a toxin in their bodies, in their blood that they won’t be able to recover from.”
The Trump administration increased funding for and announced new grant opportunities in October to help cleanup efforts in states with PFAS in or likely in their public water systems and wells.
