When: Jan 30, 2024, 8:30 AM to 1 PM
Where: Vermont State House, State Street, Montpelier, VT
You are invited, on Tuesday, January 30th from 8:30 am to 1 pm, to join environmental groups for an Advocacy Day, starting with a rally outside of the entrances to Montpelier's State House. Next, we visit legislative offices, and end with a livestreamed press conference.
The Press Conference will be in the Cedar Creek Room at the State House starting at 12:00 pm and going through 12:45 pm. Press conference Livestream starting at 12 noon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGriJCR8oAc
For those attending in person, please arrive earlier to participate in legislative advocacy.
We hope you join efforts for a PFAS Free Vermont!
Sponsoring groups: The Vermont Pesticide & Poison Action Network, Vermonters for a Clean Environment, Vermont Pesticide & Poison Action Network, Lake Champlain International, Vermonters for a Clean Environment, Friends of Lake Memphremagog, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, the Vermont PFAS/Military Poisons Coalition, and other environmental groups and activists.
Health impacts of PFAS:
Contaminated well water is a problem in communities all over the state, especially for households near old or existing landfills. PFAS bioaccumulates; this the reason that these compounds are called "forever chemicals". This means that someone whose well water tests at a level below the state regulations still needs ongoing testing and remediation, because continuous exposure causes more build up in human tissue, eventually causing a variety of debilitating diseases. Vermont's current regulations are insufficient to address this problem.
Diseases caused by PFAS:
PFAS are linked to liver, thyroid, hormonal and immune disorders, and child development issues. Science has shown, exposure to even infinitesimal amounts of PFAS has been linked to effects like decreased fertility and high cholesterol.
A full list of the illnesses caused by PFAS includes neurological damage, many types of cancer (not just kidney and testicular), fertility issues across genders, and PFAS causes death. I was on an EPA call in which people from all over the country, many of them impacted while serving various branches of the military, described the death of service members and babies, mothers, fathers, aunts and cousins. Many of the people who spoke fear for their own health in the wake of the deaths of close friends, fellow service members, and family. (Please reply for water testing resources and for information on how to get blood tests for PFAS).
In the name of research and development, national security, war, conventional safety standards, and corporate wealth, the U.S. military and industry have exposed civilians and service members and their families in Vermont and around the world to harmful toxins with extensive environmental and health repercussions we are only beginning to grasp. Vermont has 7 contaminated military sites, including the VTANG base at the Burlington Airport, which continues to release PFAS into the Winooski River where people fish, and then this bioaccumulating substance goes downstream into the lake where children swim.
Please see this article to learn what steps other states are taking to protect their residents from PFAS forever chemicals: https://www.courant.com/2024/01/25/connecticut-suing-28-manufacturers-for-widespread-harm-to[...]th/
Action Idea: email Vermont's Attorney General and ask her to get involved. charity.r.clark@vermont.gov. You may wish to cc your email to the Attorney General's assistant amelia.vath@vermont.gov
The Coalition of groups listed above is advocating for specific bills that have been introduced and that deal with PFAS, pesticides, and toxins. In particular, the environmental groups support S.25, S.197, H.706, and H.48, as well as other environmental bills that are on the docket. Many pesticides contain PFAS. The Press conference will be informative about this, other sources of PFAS contamination, and other toxins in our homes and communities requiring regulation and remediation.