Protect New York’s Drinking Water

Dangerous “forever” chemicals known as PFAS have been found in the drinking water systems of close to 2 million people in New York.

These chemicals have been linked to serious health risks like cancer, liver damage, immune system dysfunction, and harm to developing fetuses, infants, and children.

Although the New York State Department of Health (DOH) recently recommended new drinking water standards for these PFAS chemicals, these recommendations do not go far enough to protect the health of New Yorkers, and water suppliers may not have to comply for another three years.

Submit your comment to Governor Andrew Cuomo and the DOH now: Tell them that there is no safe level of PFAS chemicals in our water, so stricter regulations must be put in place immediately.

Photo: Jacob Pritchard for NRDC

Submit your comment to Governor Andrew Cuomo and the Department of Health now: There is no safe level of toxic PFAS chemicals in our water, so stricter regulations must be put in place immediately to protect the health of New Yorkers.

Your message will be sent to:

Governor Andrew Cuomo
Department of Health

Subject line:

Protect New Yorkers from toxic PFAS chemicals in our drinking water now

(Consider adding your own thoughts — personalized messages are especially effective)

Dear Governor Cuomo and Commissioner Zucker,

I'm writing to ask you to put in place the strongest safeguards possible to protect New Yorkers from toxic PFAS chemicals immediately.

These dangerous chemicals have been found in the drinking water systems of close to 2 million people in New York.

And they've been linked to serious health risks like cancer, liver damage, immune system dysfunction, and harm to developing fetuses, infants, and children. Something must be done.

While I appreciate that New York is advancing new drinking water protections for PFOA and PFOS, they don't go far enough. Please ensure that:

* That state set a combined maximum contaminant level of 2 parts per trillion for PFOA and PFOS to ensure safe water and that public health is fully protected. 
* New PFOA and PFOS standards are implemented immediately without any deferral provision. We can't allow water suppliers to wait another three years to provide safe drinking water.
* Once DOH finalizes its regulations for PFOA and PFOS, it should act to fully protect public health from this dangerous class of chemicals. There are thousands of related chemicals in the PFAS class that pose a similar risk to public health as PFOA and PFOS.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has failed to step in and set tough federal standards for these chemicals in our drinking water. So it's up to states, like New York, to step up and take the necessary steps to protect residents from the dangers of PFAS chemicals.

Access to clean drinking water is a basic human right and New Yorkers must be protected from the extreme health risks that PFAS chemicals in our water pose.

Sincerely,

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Protect New York’s Drinking Water from Toxic Chemicals!

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