PROVIDENCE — With Massachusetts towns finding toxic chemicals in their drinking water, environmental advocates are stepping up the pressure for Rhode Island to adopt regulations for the “forever chemicals” known as PFAS.
Massachusetts enacted new safety regulations last fall, and 20 percent of public water sources that have done testing report PFAS concentrations above what state regulations allow, prompting some towns there to distribute bottled water or install filtration systems.
James Crowley, staff attorney for the Conservation Law Foundation in Rhode Island, said the test results in Massachusetts underscore the urgency for Rhode Island to begin regulating toxic chemicals, which can come from firefighting foam, Teflon, and food packaging, among other sources. Read more…