Latest / HEATED / MAGA's scariest environmental proposal

Transcript

MAGA's scariest environmental proposal · HEATED

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Hi, this is Arielle Samuelson from Heated.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: I'm reading you my story, Magus, Scariest Environmental Proposal.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: This is part of our series on Project 2025.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: To check out the rest of the series, learn more at our series announcement.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: Diane Cotter is a proud firewife, the wife and mother of firefighters.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: On a phone call last week,
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: she told me she's very much afraid for her family and firefighting community
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: because of a little-known environmental proposal in Project 2025.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: In the Heritage Foundation's 900-page blueprint for Donald Trump's second term,
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: there's a brief proposal to potentially deregulate a class of toxic chemicals
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: called PFAS found in firefighting foam and gear and linked to high rates of cancer
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: among firefighters nationwide.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: Written by former members of Trump's administration,
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: it says the Environmental Protection Agency should revisit the designation of PFAS
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: chemicals as hazardous substances.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: The PFAS section does not specifically say how it will revise the EPA's protection against the chemicals.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: But further in the document,
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: Trump's former EPA chief of staff reveals a vision to eliminate toxic chemical
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: regulation of all kinds to save,
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: quote,
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: billions in economic costs for the chemical industry.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's just absolute bullshit,
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: Diane said of the proposal and told me about the hell she believes PFAS has put her
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: family and community through.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: Her husband,
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: Paul Cotter,
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2014,
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: shortly after making lieutenant after 28 years at his firehouse in Worcester,
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: Massachusetts.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: In Worcester alone,
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: Paul's got a list of 50 of the guys that he's worked with,
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: and they have cancer,
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: said Diane,
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: whose experience led her to become one of the most prominent PFAS activists in the country.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: It just destroyed us.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: All you think of is a death sentence.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: Paul survived his cancer, but complications from his life-saving surgery ended his career for good.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: He soon slipped into a depression so deep he couldn't speak, Diane recalled.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: I just couldn't recognize my husband anymore, she said.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: Diane links Paul's cancer to PFOA,
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: one of the most common types of PFAS chemicals and a known carcinogen,
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: because of its ubiquitous presence in protective turnout gear.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: One night,
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: she pulled out Paul's 10-year-old suit and found small pieces of fabric missing
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: from the crotch area.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: The skin is so much more absorbent when a firefighter is sweating, she recalled.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: It took a nanosecond for me to click in and think, did Paul's gear degrade in the groin?
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: And that went right into his reproductive organs.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: Diane sent samples to a physics professor at the University of Notre Dame.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: He found so much PFAS that he described the samples as off the scale in parts per million of fluorine.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: Doctors were never able to confirm precisely what caused Paul's cancer,
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: but multiple peer reviewed studies have linked PFAS and other chemical exposure to
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: increased cancer risk among firefighters.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: And research has also confirmed that firefighting gear releases more PFAS the longer it's worn.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: If PFAS chemicals are deregulated as Project 2025 envisions,
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: firefighters won't be the only ones at risk.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: Because of the pervasive nature of these toxic chemicals in household goods,
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: food,
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: and drinking water around the country,
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: advocates and academics tell me that this is among the most harmful environmental
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: proposals of Project 2025.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: It just is really shocking,
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: said Scott Faber,
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: Vice President of Government Affairs at the non-profit Environmental Working Group,
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: which tracks PFAS contamination across the country.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: It's hard to imagine a more irresponsible act.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: PFAS,
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: the abbreviation for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances,
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: are a large complex group of synthetic chemicals found in everything from nonstick
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: pans to stain-resistant carpets,
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: cosmetics,
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: microwavable popcorn,
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: and firefighting foam.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: They're commonly known as forever chemicals because the vast majority don't break down.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: Once they're released, they remain in the environment and human body forever.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: The vast majority of PFAS forever chemicals,
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: which include more than 12,000 chemical compounds,
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: remain unregulated,
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: untracked,
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: and poorly understood.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: But one thing health experts do know is that exposure to even very small amounts of
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: common PFAS chemicals are incredibly harmful,
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: leading to cancer,
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: reproductive issues,
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: birth defects,
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: immune system disorders,
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: thyroid,
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: and other diseases.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: That's why this year the Biden administration began regulating PFAS in the nation's
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: drinking water supply,
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: the first time in more than 30 years that the Environmental Protection Agency has
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: made a new rule for drinking water.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: The testing has so far revealed that more than 1,000 drinking water systems have
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: PFAS levels above the safe limits set by the EPA,
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: affecting more than 100 million Americans.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: Among them are thousands of military service members and their families,
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: who are the most likely to be exposed to high levels via firefighting foam and
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: their protective suits,
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: called turnout gear.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: The chemical industry,
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: however,
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: finds these regulations costly and burdensome,
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: which is one reason why Project 2025 proposes to revisit them.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: Along with revisiting the designation of PFAS as hazardous,
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: the document proposes to,
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: quote,
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: revise groundwater cleanup regulations and policies to reflect the challenges of
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: omnipresent contaminants like PFAS.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: This would, quote, save billions in economic costs, the document says.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: Mandy Gunasakara,
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: Trump's former EPA chief of staff,
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: also argues that the current safe limit of PFAS set by the EPA is not based in
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: sound science.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: Currently,
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: the EPA's recommended safe levels for six PFAS compounds range from 4 parts per
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: trillion to 10 parts per trillion,
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: though some scientific studies recommend a lower limit of only 1 part per trillion.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: The current designation was the result of a politicized,
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: outcome-driven process that has preceded completion of key scientific assessments,
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: such as a clear understanding of PFAS impact on human health,
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: said a spokesperson for Project 2025 in an email.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: Quote,
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: the current designation was the result of a politicized outcome-driven process that
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: has preceded completion of key scientific assessments,
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: such as a clear understanding of PFAS impact on human health,
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: unquote,
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: said a spokesperson for Project 2025 in an email.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: Quote,
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: the recommendation from Project 2025 would be to complete that process and then
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: make a decision based on complete,
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: unadulterated information.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: But scientists I spoke to for this story strongly disagreed with Project 2025's assessment.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_00: This really has been a long time coming,
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: said Scott Bartell,
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: professor of public health at the University of California,
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: Irvine,
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: about the EPA's drinking water standard.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: There's been a lot of scientific evidence over the last decades demonstrating the
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: variety of toxic impacts of PFAS exposure.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: who has spent the last 25 years studying PFAS in drinking water and its health effects,
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: said that other scientific organizations outside the EPA have come to the same conclusion.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: PFOA,
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: one of the most notoriously widely used PFAS chemicals,
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: is a known carcinogen and does cause cancer in humans.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_00: And PFAS is a possible carcinogen, he said.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: This is not a radical statement.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: Indeed,
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: the EPA's PFAS standards are based on decades of research that link forever
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: chemicals to debilitating or deadly diseases.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: And the first people to know about the dangers of PFAS were the chemical companies themselves,
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_00: who knew as early as 1970 that the chemicals were,
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: quote,
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: highly toxic when inhaled and moderately toxic when ingested.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: Despite this knowledge,
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: chemical giants like 3M and DuPont continue to sell PFAS-riddled products and
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: dispose of the chemicals by burying them,
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: burning them,
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: or dumping them in waterways across the U.S.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: Since then,
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: thousands of people across the country,
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: including military service members,
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_00: firefighters,
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: and citizens,
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: have launched lawsuits against PFAS manufacturers.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: 3M paid $10.3 billion to settle lawsuits over contaminated drinking water.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: DuPont paid more than $1.2 billion.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: Tyco Fire Products, the makers of firefighting foam, settled for $750 million.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: Altogether,
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: the chemical industry has paid $11 billion to cover the costs of cleaning up ground
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: and water contaminations.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: But so far,
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: no individuals,
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_00: including the Cotters,
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_00: have been compensated for the potential effects of exposure to carcinogenic PFAS chemicals.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: If adopted,
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: the Project 2025 approach will result in large numbers of Americans getting cancer
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: and other devastating illnesses,
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: said Judith Enck,
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: president of the nonprofit Beyond Plastics and a former EPA regional administrator.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: It is clear that the authors of Project 2025 do not understand science and are
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: doing the bidding of polluters.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_00: Loosening regulations on PFAS is just one part of a much larger Republican plan to
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_00: overhaul the EPA and make it science subject to political scrutiny.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: But it's an example of a small change,
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_00: given no more than two sentences in a 900-page document,
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: that could have a massive impact on public health.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_00: The problem of PFAS pollution may be even more widespread than previously reported,
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: impacting 200 million Americans in all 50 states,
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_00: according to an EWG analysis based on EPA data.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_00: The worst of that contamination is found on military bases,
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_00: where federal testing found PFAS levels in groundwater exceeding 100,000 parts per trillion.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_00: It's also in the food chain,
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_00: contaminating farmland and livestock through the municipal sewage the federal
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: government encouraged farmers to use as fertilizer.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: What worries me more is the food chain contamination, said Bartel.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: For most people who don't have PFAS in their water supply, food is the largest source of exposure.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_00: Deregulating PFAS could put many of those Americans at risk, particularly those on military bases.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: because if forever, chemicals are no longer considered toxic by the EPA.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_00: The DOD is no longer legally required to clean up the plumes that are flowing from
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: more than 600 DOD installations into defense communities,
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_00: said Faber.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: Changing that hazardous designation would just postpone even further into the future,
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: the day when literally some of the most contaminated sites in the world will be
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: cleaned up,
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: he said.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: That could set back decades of work from activists and whistleblowers like Diane Cotter,
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: who have fought to make people aware of the danger they could face from simply
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_00: using a nonstick pan or drinking their tap water.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's a particularly scary prospect because unlike a hurricane or a wildfire,
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_00: the PFAS crisis is mostly invisible,
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_00: impossible to see with the naked eye,
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_00: only making itself known once the damage has been done.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: So Diane is going to keep fighting for stronger regulations on PFAS,
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: she tells me,
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_00: because though her husband Paul may have retired,
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_00: her son Polly now rides the same fire truck his father once did,
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: still wearing turnout gear saturated with forever chemicals.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: It terrifies me, she said.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_00: I'm more terrified about him wearing the gear than I am about the job itself.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: If Project 2025's proposals are made policy by the next conservative president,
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_00: she said it would have devastating effects on the work of activists,
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_00: scientists and environmental groups that have worked for years to make incremental progress.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_00: We cannot afford to go back one step, she said.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: You can't give up anything in this war.