WASHINGTON, D.C. (WKZO AM/FM) — Provisions for combating PFAS exposure have been included in the National Defense Bill as of Tuesday.
The provisions, authored by Senator Gary Peters (D-Michigan), are meant to help reduce PFAS exposure, as well as phase out their usage altogether.
Although the provisions have been approved, the final defense budget must now pass the House and Senate before it heads to President Donald Trump for approval.
“PFAS contamination is impacting Michigan communities, families and our military. I am pleased that the final national defense bill includes provisions that I authored to take steps to address exposure and help communities struggling with PFAS,” Peters said in a statement.
Peters notes that not all of his proposed provisions were included in the final bill.
“Although there are important provisions to confront the PFAS crisis in this bill, I’m disappointed several measures were not included. More must be done, and I will continue to push the Trump Administration to help clean up sites that have been contaminated and establish drinking water standards,” Peters said. “I will also look for other opportunities in the Senate to move these actions forward.”
The provisions that were written into the bill include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Stopping the Use of PFAS Chemicals in Firefighting Foams: The bill prevents the Department of Defense from buying firefighting foam that contains PFAS after October 1, 2023 and from using these foams after October 1, 2024.
- Preventing Use of PFAS-laden Firefighting Foams in Training Exercises: The bill directs the Secretary of Defense to prohibit the use of firefighting foams containing PFAS in military training exercises.
- Funding to Better Understand PFAS Through Advanced Computing: The bill includes a provision to authorize $2 million for advance computer modeling to improve the understanding of PFAS. This is similar to bipartisan legislation Peters authored and introduced earlier this year.
- Developing New Technologies to Detect PFAS, Adding PFAS to the EPA’s Toxic Release Inventory, Helping Farms Impacted by PFAS from Military Sites: The bill includes a provisions Peters supported that provides the US Geological Survey with more resources to develop new advanced technologies to detect PFAS and conduct nationwide sampling for PFAS in the environment.
Securing funding in the National Defense Bill isn’t the only PFAS-related measure that has been passed this year.
Earlier in 2019, the news of a grant that will replace PFAS fire fighting equipment at Michigan airports was announced and passed.
