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Connecticut To Investigate Safety Of Drinking Water After Toxic Farmington River Spill

Matt Rourke
/
AP
A mother pours bottled water into her child’s cup at their Pa. home, close to firefighter training locations where PFAS foams were used routinely. After a PFAS-contaminated water spill in Connecticut, authorities are testing the drinking water supply.";

The State of Connecticut will set up a committee to investigate the toxic chemicals PFAS, which are found in firefighting foam and many consumer products.

About 50,000 gallons of water contaminated with PFAS spilled into the Farmington River last month from a private airplane hangar at Bradley International Airport. PFAS have been linked to kidney cancer, reproductive problems and other illnesses.

Governor Ned Lamont says state agencies need more information on where PFAS are used in the state.

“Right now, the episodes in our water supply and other places are just minimal, but the risk is it can be highly toxic even at the most minimal levels.”

Lamont says state agencies will report back to him in October with findings on the danger of PFAS present in Connecticut drinking water.

“Our goal is to test, to find out how extensive it is here in Connecticut. Second, to find out the further impact it has on our bodies and our systems and our communities,” said Katie Dykes, commissioner of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal sponsored an amendment to the federal defense funding bill that would help communities prevent, monitor and dispose of PFAS.

Davis Dunavin loves telling stories, whether on the radio or around the campfire. He started in Missouri and ended up in Connecticut, which, he'd like to point out, is the same geographic trajectory taken by Mark Twain.