Over this past year, I’ve tried to learn, report and turn myself into a mini-expert on PFAS chemicals. I first learned about PFAS in 2018 during a talk by Rob Billot, a lawyer who sued Dupont for PFAS contamination at a site in Parkersburg, West Virginia, not far from Pittsburgh. (Mark Ruffalo portrays Billot in the movie “Dark Waters,” which was released in November.)
Since that talk, I’ve been investigating PFAS contamination at the region’s two military bases and the Pittsburgh airport. Though PFAS contamination can spread outward, the laws aren’t strict enough to force either of them to test for contamination in nearby drinking water wells. And even though my reporting has proven that contamination is likely, it’s difficult to tell how many people might be affected.
PFAS contaminants are an emerging environmental threat and there is a lack of awareness about the gravity of the threat they pose. But they have been associated with health consequences, including elevated cholesterol, liver dysfunction, disruption of the immune system and kidney cancer.
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