Brunswick Environmental Action Team
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Emily Donovan via ActionNetwork.org <info@email.actionnetwork.org>
Date: Mon, Jul 19, 2021 at 9:08 AM
Subject: URGENT: Action needed on PFAS in NC
Hello Friends!
We need you to ACT right now on PFAS contamination in North Carolina. Please sign-up to give virtual public comments this Tuesday, July 20th at 6:00pm. NC DEQ is holding a virtual public hearing on proposed new surface water quality standards. Click here to register.
These proposed standards were recommended by the Environmental Management Commission (EMC). This triennial review only happens once every three years and the EMC did not include PFAS/GenX!! By the way, the EMC is made up of 15 members, including 9 appointed by the Governor, 3 by the Senate Pro Tempore, and 3 by the Speaker of the House.
We have already paid the ultimate price. We were poisoned by PFAS for decades. Our blood was contaminated without our consent. It's time NC DEQ puts OUR needs first.
We cannot wait another three years for action on PFAS. We deserve surface water quality standards ASAP and DEQ has the power to correct this oversight.
Use this link to register:
https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx...
Surface water quality standards are used to protect our rivers, lakes and streams. Over 1.5 million North Carolinians rely on the Cape Fear River as their primary source of drinking water.
Multiple studies confirm NC has some of the worst PFAS pollution in the nation. DEQ must create surface water quality standards for PFAS so the burden to remove these “forever chemicals” from drinking water sources falls on the polluters—not innocent ratepayers.
A growing body of research suggests these “forever chemicals” are toxic at trace amounts and have lasting health impacts. Many North Carolinians have been chronically exposure to large quantities of PFAS for decades.
PFAS exposures are associated with immune suppression, developmental effects during pregnancy or breastfeeding, thyroid problems, increases in cholesterol levels which leads to stroke or heart attacks, and a number of cancers—including thyroid, kidney, bladder and testicular cancers.
We need you to make your voices heard! When you give your public comments tell DEQ why this matters to you. Explain how PFAS contamination has personally impacted your lives.
Demand DEQ do the following:
Immediately adopt a surface water quality standard for PFAS as a class at a health protective level of 1 ppt for the sum total concentration of all PFAS.
Establishing a 1 ppt surface water quality standard for the sum total of all PFAS will stop the spread of newly released PFAS at the source--instead of placing the burden on drinking water utilities. It will also protect our natural wildlife and aquatic life from unnecessary PFAS contamination. This health protective level is supported by multiple research studies.
You have until noon on Tuesday, July 20th to sign-up to speak. Please show up and bring your friends. Can we count on you to get three friends to join you? Click here to register to speak.
Thank you so much for helping us remove PFAS from our air, soil, water and food supply.
Sincerely,
Emily Donovan & your Clean Cape Fear leadership team
for 2021. For the Zoom link, please go to:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81477228617
Get More Information about BEAT Calendar Events by clicking on the event date and scrolling up or down. Additional information about the event such as time, location/address and description of the event (and other links) are provided in this event calendar when possible.
PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE BEAT LETTER OF SUPPORT FOR the Brunswick County NAACP’s proposed Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Multi-Use Greenway/Blueway Trail, Brunswick County, North Carolina
FYI: An Informative PDF about PFAS as it Relates to Brunswick County in 2020 - by Eugene Rozenbaoum of LG Chem
President Gilbert Presentation to Brunswick County
School Board on September 19, 2017
On September 19, 2017, BEAT President Neil Gilbert along with Emily Donovan of Stand Up Brunswick and Tom Goodwin of SOBAD made presentations to the Brunswick County School Board regarding the safety of water being consumed by students, teachers, staff, and administrators. This is the text of Neil’s remarks:
On June 15 BEAT issued a public statement urging state and federal legislation to ban the release of GenX into public waters. Knowing that fluorocarbons have been linked to cancer and other serious health problems, allowing the release of Gen X is totally unacceptable.
Since BEAT's June 15 statement, there have been numerous meetings and forums in both Brunswick and New Hanover Counties. In these meetings there has been no new science to dissuade BEAT to change their original statement. To the contrary, the new science and readings are showing other unknown compounds in our drinking water that can pose more of a threat to our health than Gen X. Most noteworthy was the Gen X Forum held on July 19 at Brunswick Community College. When a panel of 8 scientists and government officials were asked by moderator Amanda Fitzpatrick "Who is drinking the water?" not one scientist raised their hands. To me that spoke volumes. As recently as this past Saturday's ProH2GO meeting in Leland, Dr. Cahoon of UNCW further confirmed BEAT’S statement of June 15.
Being a volunteer at West Brunswick High School, this has me greatly concerned for the health of the students, teachers, administrators, and staff in Brunswick County Schools. Having worked with Boards of Education for over 30 years, I realize that Board members are often put in a position to make difficult decisions. Normally the issue of state drinking water is not one of those important decisions, but it is now.
Being the good School Board members that you are, I am sure you have asked yourselves the important questions about the toxicity of the water in our schools. There has been so much information available over the past several months that you should have plenty of information to make an informed decision.
BEAT would like to remind the School Board that you do not need to depend on the state to provide clean water options for our students. You can take the lead by showing strength, character, and conviction by taking a stronger stance outside of Raleigh's guidelines. By doing this you will gain the support of all residents of Brunswick County.
BEAT is offering our services and advice to the Brunswick County Board of Education so you can do what is right for our students and employees of Brunswick County schools. It is BEAT's position that, when it comes to safe drinking water, the parents of Brunswick County, their children, and all who work in the schools deserve safe and healthy water.