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Governor Rick Snyder applauds PFAS hearing

An upcoming hearing on per-poly-fluorinated (PFAS) contamination by the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Environment is getting high praise from Michigan Governor Rick Snyder. According to a press release from the governor’s office, the fact that Carol Isaacs, the head of the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team has been invited to testify at the hearing, demonstrates that Michigan is moving into a leadership role when it comes to PFAS contamination.

“The emerging contaminants known as PFAS are a national concern and need a national spotlight to be addressed appropriately,” Snyder said. “Michigan has been very proactive in reviewing the latest science and actively seeking out sources and possible elevated levels of contamination. We need the federal government to actively engage with all the states and help us address this issue head-on. Carol Isaacs was asked to lead MPART because of her no-nonsense approach to serving the public and getting to the heart of any matter that needs to be addressed. She is exactly who Congress should be hearing from.”

PFAS is a chemical that is used in waterproofing and in firefighting foam amongst other products. Over time, the chemical has been absorbed into the ground and made its way into private drinking wells across the country. If enough is consumed, it can lead to a long list of health concerns, including liver and kidney cancer.

Congressman Fred Upton said the discovery of PFAS in his district last month shows how Michigan’s proactive approach is working.

“We have more than 3,000 people in my district who are no longer drinking contaminated water because of the actions the local, state and federal government took in partnership to find this problem and root it out,” Upton said. “We need to learn what, exactly, happened here in Michigan so that we can prevent it from happening again.”

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