In the wake of the Flint water crisis and groundwater contamination issues across New Hampshire, parents across the country and our state are rightfully demanding stronger protections for our children when it comes to our air, water and soil. That’s why as a soon-to-be-mom, I am deeply troubled by President Trump’s choice to head the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention.
If confirmed by the Senate, Michael Dourson would oversee the evaluation and regulation of chemicals that may be hazardous to your health. But he is not someone you can trust to protect your children from toxic chemicals. In fact, it is his extensive background as a paid researcher for the chemical industry that is toxic.
Dourson has been in the business of dangerously downplaying the health risks of chemicals, including PFOA, a highly persistent industrial compound linked to birth defects and cancer. PFOA, used in stain-resistant coatings, has contaminated water supplies across the country, including in New Hampshire.
At a time when the EPA has newfound and much-needed authority to test chemicals under the nation’s updated toxics law, passed with bipartisan support just last year, why invite the fox into the henhouse?
The Senate must protect us from Dourson – and not let him prey on our health.
ANNETTE ZOGOPOULOS
Bradford