Toxic Exposures and Pollution Prevention (continued)
PFAS Pollution Reduction in Water
Groundwater is an important water source in California, yet it is often rendered unusable by environmental pollution. To help combat preventable contamination of this critical resource, CEH sent legal notices to a total of eight California facilities last year after data indicated significant levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) being discharged from the facilities into the groundwater. This included five metal plating facilities in the Los Angeles area and three facilities in the San Francisco Bay Area, where PFAS were found in some cases to surpass EPA’s drinking water limits by more than 100 times.
Under Proposition 65, California’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, facilities cannot discharge hazardous chemicals known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive harm into known sources of drinking water. CEH’s legal action seeks to require these facilities to eliminate the source of PFAS and clean up their operations. It is also part of a national PFAS pollution reduction strategy that includes CEH’s yearslong campaign with our partners to address PFAS contamination in the Cape Fear River Region of North Carolina.
“We rely on groundwater to grow food, to quench our thirst, to keep our rivers full, and to keep green spaces, such as parks and forests, thriving. [ . . . ]. As such, we are taking legal action to halt this unchecked PFAS pollution and protect this precious resource.”
– Karina Gomez, Senior Manager of Community Engagement at CEH
Air Monitoring in Paramount, CA
For years, CEH has been working alongside community partners in the predominantly Latine community of Paramount, California to protect their right to clean air. Nearby metal manufacturing facilities continue to emit dangerous levels of a heavy metal known as hexavalent chromium (hex chrome), which is known to cause cancer, birth defects and reproductive harm, and damage to the kidneys, lungs, eyes, skin, liver, and respiratory system.
Last year, CEH completed a 10-month community-led air monitoring project that included working with residents to design an English-Spanish webpage which allows users to visualize and compare the results to the US EPA’s risk threshold for hex chrome air exposure. The air monitoring work continues through the Paramount Community and Environment (PACE) Initiative, which aims to increase awareness and engagement for a segment of the community that has often been left out of receiving linguistically and culturally appropriate information about hex chrome air pollution and other environmental health issues.
As co-collaborators, CEH has offered technical expertise and guidance in the creation of Spanish-language outreach and programming including community workshops, educational materials, and surveys. Given less-than-ideal regulatory action, CEH remains committed to supporting residents’ efforts to ensure their right to clean air by enforcing the legally binding agreements that we previously secured with four chrome plating facilities.