The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sought public comments on its proposal to limit and regulate several types of “forever chemicals” called perfluorinated and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS). PFAS have been around since the 1940s and are known for their resistance to environmental degradation – hence their nickname, “forever chemicals.” EPA’s proposed changes are in response to recent research that PFAS harm human health, with negative impacts from fetal growth to cancer risk. June 2023 Update: 832 Salud America! members submitted a model comment to support the regulation of PFAS in drinking water and the environment to protect the health of Latino and all communities. 121,969 people submitted comments overall. Comment period ended May 30, ...
Rural Latinos and farmworkers in the US are disproportionately exposed to nitrate-contaminated drinking water. This health disparity stems from a larger issue of Latinos generally having less access to clean, safe drinking water in the US. Join us as Salud America! explores this rising health disparity through a three-part series on Latino drinking water contamination. Today we will tackle what nitrates are, how prevalent they are in Latino drinking water, and emerging efforts to promote safer water for Latinos and all people. Part 2 will address drinking water contamination at Superfund sites, its impact on Latinos, and current efforts to promote safer drinking water in these areas. Part 3 will focus on water insecurity in colonias and the US/Mexico border, and how we ...
Earlier this year, the EPA under Andrew Wheeler announced plans to address widespread lead corruption in U.S. public water supplies. In October, the agency released proposed revisions to the Safe Drinking Water Act's "Lead and Copper Rule." These modifications aim to decrease the pervasiveness of the toxin through a series of regulations — including limits on allowed levels of lead in water. Environmentalist groups—including Clean Water Action—are calling for further action. Mainly, they urge for a full replacement of lead services lines throughout the country. If these lines are left intact, they pose a serious concern to Latinos and Americans across the country who face dangerous lead exposure through their drinking water. "Everything else is small potatoes," Erik ...
Crystal Jankowski ran the faucet in her hospital room for 12 hours straight the day she gave birth — all in hopes that the tap water would come out clean for Amelia, her newborn girl. Just days before her delivery in August 2014, the city of Toledo, Ohio (8.3% Latino) told residents not to drink the municipal water. High levels of health-threatening toxins contaminated the public water supply sourced from Lake Erie. Jankowski, a Toledo-native, wanted to do something for her two children and all kids. So, she became an organizer for Toledoans for Safe Water (TSW), a group with an idea for a controversial Lake Erie Bill of Rights to enable residents to sue lake polluters. “When you fight for clean water you are fighting for people of the reservations, you’re fighting for ...
Children across the U.S. acquire and education through public school — they also receive lead exposure, according to new research. At least 22 states failed to protect students from water contamination, according to a study conducted by the Environment America Research & Policy Center and U.S. PIRG Education Fund. Worse, only two of the 32 tested states received a B rating. Not one state made an A. Schools in states with large Latino populations also fared poorly. “It's concerning,” Julie Ma, a mother in Boston (19.4% Latino) who prepares water bottles for her kids every day, told CBS. “I really would like to get the lead out of the water supply as fast as possible for the students ... Many schools don't even know if they have it and haven't been able to make those ...
The U.S. Military is facing massive costs, criticism because of toxic substances polluting the drinking water of numerous bases where members of the armed forces and their families reside. So far, 106 bases have tested positive for per-and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) — chemicals found in firefighting foams that have been widely used by the military for years. The House Oversight and Reform environment subcommittee heard testimony last week from experts, witnesses who say contamination cleanup could cost billions of dollars. “[I felt] stabbed in the back,” Army Staff Sgt. Samuel Fortune told The New York Times. “We give our lives and our bodies for our country, and our government does not live up to their end of the deal.” Causes for Concern PFAS are connected to many ...
More than 5.6 millions Americans are drinking water with increasingly high amounts of nitrates known to cause health problems, according to a new study. Latinos are disproportionately exposed to nitrates in public water systems. "Since the lead crisis in Flint, Michigan, there's been a real push to document other types of disparities in drinking water quality in the U.S. and understand the factors that drive them," said Dr. Laurel Schaider, lead author of the study in the Journal of Environmental Health and an environmental chemist at Silent Spring Institute, in a statement. "Because at the end of the day, everyone should have access to clean and safe drinking water regardless of your race or where you live."
The Shocking Study Results
For the study, scientists at the nonprofit ...
Water and milk are now the "default beverage" on kid's menus in California, thanks to a new law that experts say is a public health win against the devastating effects of sugary drinks. The Healthy-By-Default Kids’ Meal Beverages Act, which went into effect Jan. 1, 2019, makes California (39.1% Latino) the first state to require water or milk as the beverage automatically offered with kids’ meals at restaurants, according to Voices For Healthy Kids. The change also bans the display of sugary drinks on kid's menus and ads.
A Win For California Parents
The new law is the first of its kind. Bipartisan legislators and health advocates supported the law, including Public Health Advocates, a Voices For Healthy Kids grantee. Latino Coalition for a Healthy California also showed ...
Access to free drinking water is not a given in schools and child care centers, although it is a key strategy to build lifelong healthy habits in children. Safe and appealing drinking water is particularly important to increase water consumption among Latino kids, who face more obstacles to being healthy, thus face higher rates of obesity and chronic disease. At the state policy level, drinking water availability in child care centers is governed by child care center licensing regulations, and drinking water availability in public schools is primarily governed by school nutrition policies, state plumbing codes, and school facilities standards. A recent study looked at state-wide policies in 20 states for drinking water quality and access in public schools and licensed child-care ...
